ART
BY LEAH OLDS
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY JAKE WINKLE
“BUFFY” 2 5 Y E A R S L AT E R ,
STILL SLAYS
REMEMBERING “BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER” FOR THE PROGRESSIVE SHOW IT WAS
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lutch your crucifixes and wriggle into those leather pants, Scoobies! This month marks the 25th Anniversary of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,”, a series which bears no shortage of groundbreaking drama, tantalizing romances and epic battles to preserve the future of humanity. The show debuted on March 10, 1997 and ran until May 20, 2003, for seven complete seasons. Note: Gasp-worthy BtVS spoilers will be avoided in this article. Synopsis: What happens in Sunnydale stays in Sunnydale Expelled from her former school, teenager Buffy Summers moves from Los Angeles to the fictional town of Sunnydale. There, she meets Sunnydale High School’s pragmatic librarian Rupert Giles, played by Anthony S. Head, who is revealed to be her “Watcher,” and serves as
her mentor and trainer. With the help of her two best friends Willow Rosenberg, portrayed by Alyson Hannigan, and Xander Harris, played by Nicholas Brendon, she protects the evil-infested town from “vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness,” as recited in the inaugural season’s opening prologue. Throughout the series, Buffy and friends, also known as the “Scooby Gang,” came of age and found themselves confronted by unlikely friends, hellraising foes, and one of the most polarizing love triangles to ever be televised. The show’s story structure was hybridized, being partly episodic and partly serial in nature. Viewers could bounce from a multi-episode arc beckoning apocalypse to a one-off installment whose big baddy is just… a horny haunted house? Oh yes, such an episode exists. But when it comes to delivering an enticing narrative, “Buffy” satiated. Danger
was always imminent, but survivability was not always guaranteed. Compelling storylines showcased talent behind the camera, where top-notch screenwriting reflected the show’s evolving stakes and emotional resonance. A new age of representation: Characters who changed the game Buffy Summers There are many attributes that elevated Buffy to iconography, including her fierce physicality, quick wit, and chic fashion sense. But even though such traits are inseparable from the character, they do not make the character. Rather, it was Sarah Michelle Gellar’s adaptive performance style, where she fulfilled the precise and shifting tonal demands of each and every episode, that made Buffy a truly dynamic heroine. The character embraced traditional femininity but remained empathetic, strong-willed, and vulnerable; a complete subversion of a typical horror trope
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