Blog 19 - Article

This is the article I read for this blog: http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=can_buffys_brilliance_last
The article agrees that Buffy is much different than other classic high school setting shows. It considers it a good successor to Catcher in the Rye. Saying that is saying a lot. I really hope that doesn't offend JD Salinger. Anyways, it's saying that this show really does have a deeper meaning than the seemingly superficial monster killing and typical high school drama. It also talks about the portrayal of Buffy. She is seemingly a typical cheerleader with a funny name, but, as the article says, she has all the traits every girl wants. Teenage girls want to feel needed, like they have a purpose, a talent that is useful in the world. Then they feel that they are significant, and so feel important, and more confident. The article also argues that Buffy the Vampire tries to play down sex. By showing that kisses in the show are usually kisses of death, it makes kissing look bad. Then, Buffy carrying the motto, don't do it if it doesn't feel good promotes the prevention of teens experimenting before they really want to do anything. It also talked about the fact that it showed that, since there were many male vampires, like in the episode called reptile boy, if a girl lets her guard down for a little while, she could end up dying via vampire bite, which is metaphorical to bad decisions on the part of teenagers. The article also talked for a little bit about where the show goes towards the final seasons, which I haven't watched any of yet, and it seems to be going downhill. The author worries that it will have a fate like many other series which end up failing towards the end.