I really enjoyed "Once More With Feeling." Like a lot of people, I found the lack of musical talent a little painful to listen too; however, I thought this episode was one of the most "Gothic" episodes we've watched this year. Like The Nutcracker, it didn't provide a neat solution to the underlying discomfort that characterized it. While the demon, or devil, left at the end of the episode and stopped forcing the inhabitants of Sunnydale to sing and dance whenever they faced problems in their life, it created more questions than it answered and left the audience with an unresolved sense of dissatisfaction.
As Janelle told us in class, "Once More With Feeling" is a revelatory episode. It brings to the surface all of the underlying tensions and problems in the Scooby Gang which will be resolved, one way or another, in "Tabula Rasa." Although the cheery "musical" tone of the episode initially obscures many of these issues, it provides an important commentary about the state of the relationships between the members of the Scooby Gang. On the surface, the Scooby Gang is united in their fight against evil. Yet, problems are clearly brewing. In addition to the problems directly voiced by the members of the Scooby Gang, the episode reveals that the bonds holding the Scooby Gang together are slowly breaking down after six years together. While singing helps the Gang's members finally speak about the issues that have been troubling them, it also prevents them from listening to those of their friends. Buffy's training session with Giles most clearly demonstrates this fact. Giles pours his heart out in song about the fact that he feels he must leave Buffy in order to make her a stronger and more independent person though he knows it will pain him. Buffy doesn't hear a word. Instead, she is training and, when Giles finishes singing, says, "I'm sorry. Did you say something?" Xander and Anya have a similar experience during their number. Although each finally vocalizes his/her fears about the future and the durability of their relationship, it is very clear that they don't hear or acknowledge each other's feelings. In short, the singing allows the characters to vocalize their problems but prevents them from addressing those of their friends. As such, it serves as a purely divisive force.
I suppose one could say that "Once More With Feeling" has a happy ending. The demon leaves and Sunnydale returns to normal. However, he isn't really vanquished. The tensions his singing revealed still exist and will lead to the rupture of the Scooby Gang in "Tabula Rasa." Similarly, nobody recognizes or addresses Buffy's depression. Although Willow, Xander, Anya, and Tara discuss it in "Tabula Rasa" they don't really try to act on it. Additionally, they fail to recognize or try to stop Buffy's self-destructive behavior for the rest of Season 6. As such, the demon's visit effectively sets in motion the events that lead to the destruction of the Scooby Gang. He cannot successfully be vanquished because the effects of his visit will last and continue to wreak havoc. Despite the episode's seemingly happy ending, the audience is left with a feeling of uneasiness. In my opinion this is what makes the episode truly Gothic. This ending reflects the realism of the real world problems that the Gothic genre seeks to address. Social problems cannot be solved easily in an episode, or a book. They require work and often continue to exist. "Once More With Feeling" acknowledges this by revealing the problems that will play out during the rest of the Season and maybe the rest of the show's run on television. There is no indication that they will neatly be solved or will be met with happy endings. The Gothic genre is about addressing and confronting real-world problems. "Once More With Feeling" certainly does this.
The Nutcracker serves as a good analogue to "Once More With Feeling," or, I guess, one could say vice versa. Like "Once More With Feeling," The Nutcracker's ending, for all intents and purposes, is happy. However, it also leaves its audience feeling dissatisfied and unsettled. The text reveals the presence, or the possible presence, of the problems surrounding Marie. Marie's parents not only dismiss her adventures with the the nutcracker as the figment of her imagination but they seem unconcerned that these adventures have harmed her. Most importantly, the story suggests the possibility that she is being sexually abused by her godfather; however, it doesn't provide a clearly happy ending to this situation. Instead of becoming a strong and independent woman, Marie falls in love with her godfather's nephew, who is clearly many years older than her, at the age of seven and marries him at the age of eight. Like "Once More With Feeling" the ending leaves the reader feeling like there are unresolved issues that cannot and will not be addressed. Consequently, I believe "Once More with Feeling" and The Nutcracker are the most "Gothic" texts that we "read" this semester because they react realistically to the social problems that they discuss.
As Janelle told us in class, "Once More With Feeling" is a revelatory episode. It brings to the surface all of the underlying tensions and problems in the Scooby Gang which will be resolved, one way or another, in "Tabula Rasa." Although the cheery "musical" tone of the episode initially obscures many of these issues, it provides an important commentary about the state of the relationships between the members of the Scooby Gang. On the surface, the Scooby Gang is united in their fight against evil. Yet, problems are clearly brewing. In addition to the problems directly voiced by the members of the Scooby Gang, the episode reveals that the bonds holding the Scooby Gang together are slowly breaking down after six years together. While singing helps the Gang's members finally speak about the issues that have been troubling them, it also prevents them from listening to those of their friends. Buffy's training session with Giles most clearly demonstrates this fact. Giles pours his heart out in song about the fact that he feels he must leave Buffy in order to make her a stronger and more independent person though he knows it will pain him. Buffy doesn't hear a word. Instead, she is training and, when Giles finishes singing, says, "I'm sorry. Did you say something?" Xander and Anya have a similar experience during their number. Although each finally vocalizes his/her fears about the future and the durability of their relationship, it is very clear that they don't hear or acknowledge each other's feelings. In short, the singing allows the characters to vocalize their problems but prevents them from addressing those of their friends. As such, it serves as a purely divisive force.
I suppose one could say that "Once More With Feeling" has a happy ending. The demon leaves and Sunnydale returns to normal. However, he isn't really vanquished. The tensions his singing revealed still exist and will lead to the rupture of the Scooby Gang in "Tabula Rasa." Similarly, nobody recognizes or addresses Buffy's depression. Although Willow, Xander, Anya, and Tara discuss it in "Tabula Rasa" they don't really try to act on it. Additionally, they fail to recognize or try to stop Buffy's self-destructive behavior for the rest of Season 6. As such, the demon's visit effectively sets in motion the events that lead to the destruction of the Scooby Gang. He cannot successfully be vanquished because the effects of his visit will last and continue to wreak havoc. Despite the episode's seemingly happy ending, the audience is left with a feeling of uneasiness. In my opinion this is what makes the episode truly Gothic. This ending reflects the realism of the real world problems that the Gothic genre seeks to address. Social problems cannot be solved easily in an episode, or a book. They require work and often continue to exist. "Once More With Feeling" acknowledges this by revealing the problems that will play out during the rest of the Season and maybe the rest of the show's run on television. There is no indication that they will neatly be solved or will be met with happy endings. The Gothic genre is about addressing and confronting real-world problems. "Once More With Feeling" certainly does this.
The Nutcracker serves as a good analogue to "Once More With Feeling," or, I guess, one could say vice versa. Like "Once More With Feeling," The Nutcracker's ending, for all intents and purposes, is happy. However, it also leaves its audience feeling dissatisfied and unsettled. The text reveals the presence, or the possible presence, of the problems surrounding Marie. Marie's parents not only dismiss her adventures with the the nutcracker as the figment of her imagination but they seem unconcerned that these adventures have harmed her. Most importantly, the story suggests the possibility that she is being sexually abused by her godfather; however, it doesn't provide a clearly happy ending to this situation. Instead of becoming a strong and independent woman, Marie falls in love with her godfather's nephew, who is clearly many years older than her, at the age of seven and marries him at the age of eight. Like "Once More With Feeling" the ending leaves the reader feeling like there are unresolved issues that cannot and will not be addressed. Consequently, I believe "Once More with Feeling" and The Nutcracker are the most "Gothic" texts that we "read" this semester because they react realistically to the social problems that they discuss.
Erin, I really like your idea that the Gothic is more about "addressing and confronting real-world problems" than about the superficial aesthetics (dark and stormy nights, foreboding castles, supernatural creatures). If anything, the Gothic allows us to confront our very intimate, human fears from a "safe" distance, since everything is supposedly fictionalized. And I think that, as you said, "Once More With Feeling" is indeed a Gothic text in that it scrutinizes such 'mundane' problems as miscommunication, doubt, and uncertainty.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that you define the gothic as dealing more with "realism" than its own supernatural elements. I myself believe that the supernatural part of gothic stories is there just to see how these normal characters respond to their addition, and to embody real-world themes like temptation and internal conflict (Dracula and Hyde respectively). And I also agree with your point that "social problems cannot be solved easily in an episode, or a book. They require work and often continue to exist," but I don't know if this portion of the episode is what made "Once More with Feeling," into a gothic piece. I think what really brought out the gothic tones of the piece was the character movement that the presence of the demon forced upon everyone by making them sing their songs, like how it revealed Anya and Xander's unhappiness, and Buffy's struggle with the turns her life was taking.
ReplyDelete