Essay The Importance of Gender in Buffy, The Vampire Slayer

The Importance of Gender in Buffy, The Vampire Slayer What is gender? The answer to that is not so simple. â€Å"Gender is what culture makes out of the ‘raw material’ of biological sex,† (Unger and Crawford, 1995). Also, there is a difference between what is gender identity and what is a gender role; a difference which seems to be even more difficult to differentiate between than the words â€Å"gender† and â€Å"sex†. Media and other parts of our culture seem to believe they know the difference, yet up until a certain period in time, the same stereotypical characters were portrayed and used as role models for others in most media. Women characters being the helpless victims, while the strong men would come to save them (including television†¦show more content†¦At the same time, though, the show allows its characters to explore their own ideas of what gender is, and how those ideas come into play with the ideas of the people in their environment. In the film, Buffy is a strong, demon fighting woman, taking on opponents who only she can do any damage to; whereas the men in her life (Pike and Merrick) must stand back or they might be hurt. But upon speaking, Buffy practically epitomized the reason for every â€Å"dumb blond female† joke. She did not understand big words, and spoke in the true stereotypical â€Å"California-girl† manner, using the â€Å"like† after almost every other word. She seemed like an airhead, and up until she truly understood what her destiny was, she spoke and acted like one. But the film version was meant to be a â€Å"flaky comedy†, while the television series is many times referred to being a â€Å"dramedy† (it is considered a drama, in this case, a science fiction/action drama, with a bit of comedy to keep it â€Å"light†.) In the television series, although Buffy still speaks in slang and still appears to be the reason a â€Å"dumb blond joke† was ev er invented, her vocabulary has become much more mature and clear. She is more in control of what is happening, or has happened to her, and is beginning to harness herself as her own person, her own identity. She is not acting, or trying to be a certain type of person because everyone is telling her that â€Å"that† is who she is. Instead she is taking her identity and molding it; shaping itShow MoreRelatedEssay on Buffy the Vampire Slayer5067 Words   |  21 PagesBuffy the Vampire Slayer Mentors feature prominently in the Gothic genre. From Dr Van Helsing in Bram Stokers Dracula, who leads the young heroes into their quest to annihilate the Count, to Rupert Giles, the Watcher in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, older and more experienced adults have provided essential guidance for the younger protagonists of the genre. The differences in media of expression and the subsequent adaptations from novel to television series has not affected the presence of thisRead MoreThe Relationship Between Body Image And Society1841 Words   |  8 PagesBody image and Society have always been interrelated throughout time especially in maintaining gender roles and imposing the perfect image of the female. It is society that have dictated how a woman should look and act and both positive and negative body image is a direct correlation with a woman s social worth. This essay will discuss how the relationship between body image and society is presented in a multitude of texts and how these view s are differentiated depending on the decade they are publishedRead MoreFeminist Theory Of Witchcraft And Sisterhood1378 Words   |  6 Pageswitchcraft prophecy and saving innocent lives by battling the forces of evil. The witches are good and spread their goodness by being this way to everyone around them. In its inception, the plot, setting and characters of Charmed all help to reveal the importance of human relationships, both in the real world and the world of witchcraft. Serial narratives all involve some genres that have common plot elements. They are so regular that they are easy to map out. Those conventions and tropes help CharmedRead MoreDracula: An Epitome of the Gothic Novel2430 Words   |  10 Pagesplans. Dracula, by Bram Stoker, is a perfect example of a â€Å"good versus evil† novel. Stoker uses the Christian characters such as Mina, Dr. Seward, Van Helsing, Harker, and others to portray the side of good in the story. Dracula and his fellow vampires are depicted as the evil characters of the gothic novel. The novel begins with the evil Count Dracula holding Harker captive, in order to attain his ultimate goal, to drink his blood. Harker states in his journal that he wishes to die rather than