Every Generation

Three years ago, almost to date, the WB network shut down. Now this will possibly only be a milestone for my generation, the masses that lived and breathed the teenage vitality presented by so many characters and shows night after night. The WB defined a generation, it's what was talked about during passing periods, it's who we had plastered on our notebooks, it's the music we had in our CD players, it shaped our teenage culture. The final farewell spots on the channel even pulled our heart strings. It was a reminder that we were a part of everything; our hearts beat faster every time Buffy saw Angel, our mourning was real when Prue died, our laughter was shared with Reba, our confusion was understood by Pacey, our siblings were as crazy as Matt, Mary, Lucy, Simon and Ruthie, and so much more.

Is it then not fitting that Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one of their most popular shows, is about the one chosen one for the generation to kill and defeat all evil. Or even Charmed being about three sisters chosen to be the most powerful witches of their generation. The supernatural shows carried the theme of being the chosen, the destined for our generation. But every show gave us as a societal group a voice, a presence in society unlike anything I believe has existed before. It was not just one person like Madonna or Michael Jackson had done for the 80s, no this was a broader sense and encompassed so many different types of teens but they were all teens. This is not meant to be a social retrospect, but these are my first impressions as I started to watch Buffy again for the first time since it originally aired on the WB many years ago.

I wasn't a Buffy fanatic, I watched it because as I stated above that's what we talked about during passing periods. At least that is how it started, I watched parts of season 1, more of season 2 and most of seasons 3 and 4. I believe around 4 is when I was no longer captivated. Be it because Angel had moved on to his own series or because maybe I was never really that big on that show I don't really remember. I do remember how much I was attached to Buffy and Angel though, maybe more Angel as I proved to watch all 5 seasons of his show even if the last one got extremely odd and not as much my style. Over the course of the last few days, I have watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer the movie and all 13 episodes in the first season.

The movie was something of a shock in comparison to the show. It was made in 1992 and it followed the same basic canon of the show. The only carry over character was Buffy herself, which during the movie was a vapid shell of a popular girl with no substance to truly get attached to until she becomes the slayer and even then as an audience you're not sure if you like her, or that could just be me. It was a true early 90s teen drama action movie, slightly reminiscent of Clueless with the fashion tips and small catch phrases. But the story line was intriguing, it just wasn't demonstrated to its full potential in a 120 minute period. It started in LA, clueless cheerleader finds out that she is the chosen one and slayer and has to start fighting vampires. She doesn't want to, because it will interfere with her having a life (I might insert that this concept bothers me, its a repeated theory in many media portrayals of teenagers in the early 90s as self-centered non-participating individuals when in truth we've been very active in our communities, just check out our voting numbers in the last two presidential elections). As predicted she has to take up her destiny and starts killing vampires and saves the school at the end of the film. Biggest problem in the movie is that its too light and fluffy, even though I understand that is what the feel is suppose to be with teenager destined to kill vampires in the 90s, it was too much.

Then 5 years later the show comes onto the scene. Its unclear how many viewers started watching the show because they were such big fans of the movie, but I would bet it wasn't many. The series picked up where the film left off, Buffy had moved from LA after her final epic battle destroyed her school's gym and everyone saw her kill vampires. She moved to Sunnydale to get away from the prying eyes. At her first day in Sunnydale, Buffy seems to have gained perspective and a personality. She is no longer the vapid cheerleader, though she still retains key personality traits of witty banter and popular catch phrases but that was a connecting point. As the first season progresses we see a Buffy that is an empowering young female still battling with everyday problems like her hair not looking perfect, not studying for tests, and boys. She struggles with her destiny, but not because of it interfering with her social life (though let's face it that is the case occasionally but again it makes her more human) but because of real fears of failure and death that plague her. As a character Buffy matures into someone that a generation could relate to, choosing your own path, following your heart, fighting for what you believe in. The show on a whole was dark and twisted with a notch of lighthearted teenage romance, relationships, and raillery.

In all good stories there must be relatable characters that grow as the story progresses. Our characters are part of who we are as individuals as a society. A storyteller should always be aware of their audience and their needs, and Buffy still resonates with me and I think maybe even possibly might with the newer generations. Even though the plot of the show is outside the realm of possibility for the audience, it is like tales of the ancients like Hercules, we relate because of the people not because of the situations. So my musing is as a story teller you breathe life into the characters but others keep that life alive, as proof in how me and my generation will probably always think of Miss Buffy every time we hear a guitar rife.