Slayage: The Online International Journal for Buffy Studies
February 17, 2002 4:50 PM   Subscribe

Slayage: The Online International Journal for Buffy Studies offers scholarly essays on the characters and themes of 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer.' Interesting reading for brainy Buffster fans. (The navigation is less than ideal -- click on the link above the cover to enter the latest issue and archives.)
posted by Dirjy (14 comments total)
 
yess!
anthour place for my exilnt, exlint fan fiction!
posted by dong_resin at 5:10 PM on February 17, 2002


If it's anything like Buffy the Vampire Disciplinarian:
Institutional Excess and the New Economy of Power
, could I get some samples, Mr. Resin?
posted by kittyloop at 7:56 PM on February 17, 2002


No!
it;s not redy yet!
it will be, just.... not yet.. i dont wuant u 2 laff at me!

hint: spike and buffy DO IT!
posted by dong_resin at 8:51 PM on February 17, 2002


This is so spooky weird. Just yesterday I hung out with a friend and she just bought the DVD of the first season of Buffy. After I got home I still hadn't had enough Buffy so I've just been watching my video tapes of the show. I happened across this same link cited above this morning, but didn't think to post it here to MetaFilter cuz, well, being a fan of Buffy is kinda like admitting you like cute bunnies or something. It's embarrassing. People think you're a freak. But then come to think of it, everybody already knows I'm a freak so..

hint doug: that's old news. =)
posted by ZachsMind at 9:19 PM on February 17, 2002


Well, I like Buffy and cute bunnies. But I know what you mean, ZachsMind. I was at a dinner with a professor and two students, and one of their daughters showed up. She and I started chatting about Buffy and the next thing you know eyes were rolling like bowling balls. But I think if you like TV (rather, know that it's not all generic crap) and are remotely familiar with the horror genre you can't help but like Buffy...even my cranky fella was won over. And he's pretty cranky.
posted by kittyloop at 9:50 PM on February 17, 2002


Actually, if you're a fan of Anya, it's okay to be against the bunnies, and still like the show.
posted by bingo at 10:27 PM on February 17, 2002


If you're doing your thesis on Buffy, you first heard about this site when David Lavery and Rhonda Wilcox proposed this idea about three years ago, and you're wondering why there isn't more literary criticism on the show.
posted by grrarrgh00 at 10:29 PM on February 17, 2002


"Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes!
They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses!
And what's with all the carrots?
What do they need such good eyesight for anyway?!!
Bunnies! Bunnies! it must be bunnies!!!
...or maybe midgets?"



I cheated myself actually. When the TV show was first broadcast, I avoided it. Yet another pathetic TV show based off a pathetic movie. Donald Sutherland was the only reason to see the movie, and even he wasn't very good in it. Well, Paul Reubens was a pleasant surprise if memory serves, but Rutger Hauer was terrible and the movie as a whole was laughable in a bad way.

I happened by chance to catch a few episodes with Seth Green as Oz the reluctant werewolf. I enjoyed those because the chemistry between Seth Green and Allison Hannigan on camera was wholly unique and downright fun. When they wrote Oz out of the story, I just had no desire to tune in. Then this season they moved from the WB to UPN, and just out of curiosity I caught the season premiere where they brought Buffy back from the dead. I've been hooked ever since.

I figured bringing Buffy back would be a real poor cheap trick from a writing perspective, but I was really impressed with how they handled it. From a writer's perspective, the way they killed off Buffy, it was like they painted themselves into a corner. However having Willow bring her back with dark magicks and then have Buffy climb out of her own grave? Wow. And then they didn't just dismiss it and tie it all up in a nice bow. The characters are still reacting several episodes later to the ramifications of that event. It's given Buffy a darker edge that makes her more than a stereotype.

The musical episode was very worth the hype they gave it, and that's rare in this world of "overhype-ism."And the rest of the Scooby Gang has grown leaps and bounds. Willow reacting to black magic like she was a drug addict. Xander becoming domesticized with a construction job and marrying an ex-demon. Giles leaving (for his own spinoff show in Britain). Tara leaving Willow. Amy coming back from being a rat. Buffy using Spike as a "convenience" now that Angel's gone. I love how the characters have grown and how the writers are constantly playing with predictable plot elements by throwing a wrench in the works. Willow's role is particularly remarkable. They've really expanded her position in the Scooby Gang in ways I'd have never anticpated. Hannigan's ability to shift from vulnerable innocence to dangerous threat in a heartbeat and pull it off - what actress wouldn't kill for a chance to show such range?

This is a completely absurd world that the writers have created but most of the time they stick to their own rules. A writer can create a world in which the sky is green and the earth is blue, and so long as they stay true to their own rules the audience can suspend disbelief enough to enjoy it. The power of the show though isn't just the action or the comedy or the attempt at horror. It's the interplay between the characters, from the strange banter to the heartfelt emotions of ordinary souls in extraordinary circumstances. I mildly resent admitting it, but Buffy's got damn good writing, and deliciously shyster actors who can fool an audience into believing anything. I cheated myself years ago when I judged it on face value. That being said, I do have some little dismissable issues with the show.

[several paragraphs detailing a handful of the aforementioned issues have been deleted for your pleasure. You're welcome.]

One just has to bow to the absurd. To paraphrase MST3K, If you're wondering how she eats and breathes and other slayer facts, fust repeat to yourself "It's just a show."It's a fun roller coaster ride of a show. I should really just relax. At the very least there's a lot of room here for critical analysis both good and bad.
posted by ZachsMind at 1:04 AM on February 18, 2002


What is it with those Slayage cover illustrations though? As for "Synergy and Smut: The Brand in Official and Unofficial Buffy the Vampire Slayer Communities of Interest". Bring it on.
posted by zimbobzim at 8:43 AM on February 18, 2002


ZachsMind: Buffy is one of my guilty pleasures. I gave up on it the first year or so the series was out. But the resurrection and the musical episodes this year brought me back to it, and I've been Tivoing the episodes I've missed that show every night on FX.

To me, Buffy is a lot like Highlander was. I don't obsess over TV series much, but when they are well-done and deal with interesting issues, I get hooked. Both of those qualify to me.

And when the HELL are they coming out with the CD of the musical, anyway? I have most of tracks from Morpheus, but I want an opportunity to purchase properly licensed content from them, and it's not here yet.
posted by ebarker at 9:09 AM on February 18, 2002


This is one of the many reasons why I feel mp3s should never be illegal. I got all the tracks from Kazaa, and made my own CD. Awhile back I saw at the official Buffy forum thingy that they were asking people if they'd buy a copy. I didn't see any formal announcement that they were actually going to produce a CD for sale. Just that they were thinking about it. One can also find most of the buffy musical mp3s by searching "index apache mp3 once more with feeling buffy" at google.com and digging around. Chops to Dave for that one. Although if they ever do produce a commercial CD I'll probably buy it cuz I've yet to find any Buffy mp3s that are high enough quality. Even the ones I've found at 192kbps still have pops and goofs and the volume's screwed up on them.

I was exactly opposite with Highlander. I loved the first movie, but the sequels and the tv series annoyed me. There can be only one and there WAS with the end of the first movie. I did give the second movie a shot, and the tv series, and I feel I cheated myself then too because it cluttered up my appreciation of the original. The first movie had everything AND Sean Connery! No need to elaborate further on perfection.
posted by ZachsMind at 10:59 PM on February 18, 2002


Oh. And there IS a version of "Under Your Spell" which is complete. In the episode the song cuts off just after Tara starts hovering over the bed (because of whatever Willow's doing to her off camera). I found a complete version off Kazaa. I don't know how that copy got on the 'Net though. It doesn't fade out like other versions that people made from pulling off the tv. It's almost twenty seconds longer than any version taken off the 'Net, and sounds slightly different. Better quality music. It's still Amber Benson's voice, but ..well it's weird. This makes me wonder if someone working on the set sneaked it out and uploaded it.
posted by ZachsMind at 11:15 PM on February 18, 2002


Zachsmind:
I think it was a preview track available from UPN's Buffy site when they were promoting the episode last fall.
posted by Dirjy at 10:28 AM on February 19, 2002


Ah... thanks Dirjy. =)
posted by ZachsMind at 4:38 PM on February 19, 2002


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