The episode, “Storyteller,” really illustrates how Buffy is constructed as a new and more complex kind of heroine. We talked in class about how she is a different (and possibly “better” heroine in comparison with Catherine). One of the initially attractive things about Buffy, at least to me, the childhood karate enthusiast, is her physical strength. She is a force to be reckoned with; someone who dispels the notion that a woman is necessarily passive, or inherently the victim.
However, I think what makes Buffy even more revolutionary than the fact that she is a blonde cheerleader who “kicks butt,” is that she has some characteristics in common with Catherine. Part of what makes Catherine so endearing, despite, and in fact because of, her ignorance, is her willingness to think the best of people. Buffy, despite having suffered multiple deaths and having battled the worst the Hellmouth has to offer, still sees the good in people. When the principal questions the prudence of trusting the formerly “dark” Willow, Buffy replies that everyone makes mistakes. Buffy is interesting precisely because she is not just a vampire killing machine who sees everything in black and white.
Nothing is more heroic than seeing the best in people. If I were making a hero, physical prowess would be secondary to moral integrity. Batman is a good hero to compare with Buffy. Batman does not have super powers, but has an obsession of ridding the world of evil. Between good and evil, good must win every time. That is a powerful tool to have on your side.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is Buffy's greatest strength that distinguishes her from all others. She struggles with her desire to see the good in people throughout the seasons, and she struggles even more with the burden of deciding what's good enough to be redeemed and what or who must be destroyed for the greater good. At one point in season 5 or 6, Buffy explicitly states that someone always has to draw that line, and that that person is always going to be her. Obviously with Andrew, she decided that he was "redeemable," (Andrew's favorite phrase) and forces him into that in the end. Andrew recognized that and thanked her, even.
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