How does Buffy deconstruct traditional literary notions of good and evil?
Just to get some dictionary definitions the Collins English Dictionary (2010) says that 'evil' is expressed as wickedness or morally bad. 'Good' is morally excellent, or a person is seen as reliable or well-behaved. Even from these definitions you get the sense that morals is an important determinate of what is good and what is evil. Moral/s is said to be “concerned with right and wrong conduct” (p.381). So knowing what good and evil means how is this related to Buffy? On a basic level we see the good as Buffy the Vampire Slayer killing the evil – Vampires / demons.
Looking at the article from Braun (2000) he uses the character Angel as an example of showing both his good and evil sides. As Angel was in his past before he met Buffy, one of the most evil and powerful demons ever, his family had to place a curse on him which meant he would gain a human soul. Because of this he agrees/wants to help Buffy and they become a team – showing goodness. When Buffy eventually loses her virginity to Angel she is the innocent – good, from this Angel regains his vampire tendency / nature and evilness as the curse is lifted from his experience of 'perfect human happiness' - good. There is a change in Buffy where she is overcome with aggression to kill Angel which is some form of 'Evil' – Anger. “We all have the capacity for evil” (p.6) is a strong quote from Braun (2002) that really shows the changes that Buffy and Angel go through.
Rose (2002) looks deeper into Buffy and compares it to Frankenstein – Mary Shelley's masterpiece of creation which shows the themes of learning what is right from wrong and what is good and evil. Rose (2002) uses the episodes in Buffy “Goodbye Iowa” and “The I in Team” to relate to key scenes in Frankenstein. In “Goodbye Iowa” a creation 'Adam' made by Maggie Walsh is similar to Frankenstein's creation. Both creations escape from their birthplaces / laboratories and go out to find who and what they are. Along the way they both kill a child as they find out that they are monsters. These ideas of creator and creation are both twists of good vs. evil. The creator is evil to have made this creation therefore the creation is evil. However as the creation tries to find the truth they show some side of good. Each creation turns against their creator which makes the creator vulnerable so would appear to be good and the creation is evil as they try to kill their masters and innocent people.
Quoting from Rose (2002) “without the combined efforts of the full community, it is impossible to defeat demons, both those that manifest and those that lie within”. “Evil – demons – are a part of that order, but, as Buffy and the Scooby Gang demonstrate, the combined power of the community can defeat them”(p.142). Rose (2002) has addressed another theme of Buffy about the joint power of the community and that you can never fight your battles alone. Regarding this to good vs. evil, working together as a community it is easier to fight the evil.
So we see in Buffy that there is a constant play of going from good to evil and each character trying to find within them if they are good or evil. The themes within Buffy are deeply involved with so many different human emotions / situations that it has used the themes of good and evil to show these hidden messages of the good and evil concepts / issues in today's modern society.
References:
Braun, B. (2000) The X-files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The ambiguity of evil in supernatural representations. Retrieved 18 October, 2005 from: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0412/is_2_28/ai_64688900
Collins English Dictionary (4ed.). (2010). Glasgow, UK: Collins
Rose, A. (2002) Of creatures and creators: Buffy Does Frankenstein. In D. Lavery & R.Wilcox (Eds) Fighting the forces: what’s at stake in Buffy the vampire slayer (pp. 133 – 142). Lanham, England: Rowman and Littlefield.
Traditionally, good and evil were viewed as intrinsically seperate entities, polar opposites like ying/yang, God/Satan, black/white. Buffy takes a more human approach. Stereotypically evil characters become the good guys, such as Angel and Spike. A typical good guy becomes evil once a month i.e Oz. The nerd embraces her darker side to fight evil - fighting fire with fire kind of thing (Willow). Buffy herself, as the good character, also embraces the darker side to her nature and establishes relationships with the very 'evil' creatures she is meant to destroy.
ReplyDeleteSo Buffy takes the concept of good and evil and changes it to show us that there is light and dark in all of us, and this is the nature of life (for example, life/death, winter/summer).
good and evil has been showen throughout the Buffy series, rather the whole programme is based on this subject of good and evil. I like the way you have firstly defined good and evil and then placed your analysis following thoes definitions. Good and Evil has been analysed also by Rose (2002) goes in depth explanation in regards to the relationship between Buffy and Frankenstein, which allows us to understand how good and evil has been portrayed in Buffy. Buffy also involves real life based ideas to portray the meaning or difference between good and evil.
ReplyDeleteGreat response Jenna including some useful references to the theoretical and primary texts to support/develop your argument. One thing that many students overlook here is BtVS as a metaphor of teenage/highschool life where moral ambiguities are commonplace and a frequent source of conflict.
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