In “Fear Itself”, one of fantastic Halloween-themed episodes of BtVS, our Buffy has been recently dumped by the cruel and unfeeling Parker. Sad Buffy, caught in an existential crisis, feels empty and without a purpose in life in the otherwise happy holiday of Halloween. Obviously, sad Buffy is a recurring theme throughout the Buffy series. Let’s face it, Buffy has a little more angst than other teenagers, it’s no wonder she ended up with High Supreme Angst King, Angel. But my tangent aside, I find it interesting that Joss and the writers used Buffy’s existential crisis to comment on the empty symbolism of not only Halloween, but the college experience, Baudrillard-style. But rather than the ever-optimistic French philosopher, who believed that everything in this world is an empty symbol of something significant rather than anything actually significant, Joss and the writers use the magic of the episode and fear itself to reinstall significance that has become empty to Buffy.
The haunted house stands most obviously as a symbol in the episode. Erected by fraternity brothers (who create symbolic relationships of “brotherhood”) it is full of replicas: fake skeletons, spiders and heads. These decorations stand as cheap imitations of the real and significant: real human remains and real, living insects. When they decide to draw an occult marking on the floor, they draw it for the decorative effect, thus removing significance from an actual symbol. The holiday itself, to the frat bros, is not representative of anything with the occult, but has been replaced in their minds as an excuse to “get laid”.
The Scooby Gang, in their experiences and their costume choice, reinforce this idea of symbolism. Buffy dresses as a Red Riding Hood, an innocent (cheerleader anyone?) with unexpected weapons hiding in her basket. Willow as Joan of Arc, dresses as a symbol of what she is, a witch. Xander, as Bond, sees his costume as the unattainable: coolness and confidence. But what distinguishes the Scooby Gang from the haunted house is their belief in the symbolism. While none of them “become” their costumes as happened in season 1 or 2 (I don’t remember!), they all become corruptions of their costumes. Willow loses control of her magic and it does her in, much as Joan of Arc was done in by her proximity to other-worldly forces (Loaded topic, let’s leave it at that). Buffy, gets victimized by a big-bad much like her costume would suggest. Oz, who dresses as God, an all-powerful being, loses power over his ability to control himself and his werewolfery. The magic within them corrupts the symbolism of their costumes as well as their acceptance of reality, as each of them fall prey to a hallucination…not a actual fear, but a symbol of fear.
When the haunted house becomes real, Halloween evolves from a holiday based on the simulation of fear (controlled, safe environments) to reality of horror. As the house attacks the Scooby Gang, each member must put a name to their own fear, and while they do not actually confront and move past their fears, they accept them, and therefore become cognizant of their own selves. For Buffy, she actually does fight fear (the cute fear demon) and recognizes her fear of abandonment is what has been leaving her empty. When we see the fear demon, and realize that it is all of two inches tall, we realize that the actual fears of the Scooby Gang are in fact exacerbated by their own neurosis. The Buffy at the end of the episode, no longer sad Buffy, is now a fulfilled Buffy—who through the acceptance and confrontation of her fear now is an authentic individual, no longer symbolic of anything but Buffy Summers herself.
Halloween, Buffy and the show therefore gain recognition on their own merit, for being significant only of themselves. Joss’s use of symbolism in the episode, to me, reveals that he sees the show not as a symbol of both the gothic and teen drama traditions but as a significant show in it’s own right.
I don't think symbol lost meaning in this episode. An empty symbol could not be a symbol anymore. I think what did happen here is that the symbols took on a different meaning than what they were originally intended for. For example, the occult symbol that was drawn in the frat house, although was not used to summon the fear demon, was used to represent something cool and mystical, which in itself has given the symbol a new meaning.
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