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Buffy and Spike
We have an interesting essay about the controversial Buffy / Spike relationship based on a book called "Messages About Sex and Violence in the Buffy/Spike Relationship on Buffy the Vampire Slayer A Fine Line Between Love and Hate". |
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer": Future is Now
 Heather Fowler's paper "Messages About Sex and Violence in the Buffy/Spike Relationship on Buffy the Vampire Slayer A Fine Line Between Love and Hate" has been published on AssociatedContent June 01 2006, more than three years after the show ended. Fowler, a romantic fiction novelist, uses TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as prime example to illustrate her point that TV should be more responsible in telling stories about dark and unhealthy relationships. She doesn't insist directly on tightening TV censorship but maintains that controversial scenes may send "mixed messages" to the audience. Fowler writes "In this paper, I deal specifically with the message given by the complicated sadomasochistic relationship between the series' heroine, Buffy Summers, and the wildly popular arch-villain-turned-hero, Spike. [...] I contend that the message of this relationship to young viewers is a dangerous one."
Buffy and Spike are natural enemies. Buffy's mission is to slay vampires, but she ends up falling in love with them; Spike's natural calling is to kill Slayers (he has already killed two of them) but he falls in love with Buffy; their relationship is as dark and complicated as prime-time TV can afford. In later seasons Buffy, torn out of heaven, is "addicted to misery" and she punishes herself by using Spike as sex toy, insulting and beating him. He, in his turn, encourages her dark desires because he has no soul and can't tell right from wrong (in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" soul is regarded as person's moral compass). Buffy and Spike indulge each other in sadomasochistic games where "no" may mean "yes" - until the day when Spike misreads Buffy's signals and tries to impose himself on her when her "no" really means "no". Horrified by his act of attempted rape he fights for his soul so that he could never hurt Buffy again. After many crucibles Buffy forgives him and in the final episode of the show confesses her love to him. The ultimate message of the show is that love overcomes everything, empowers women and helps to change the world.
According to Fowler, Buffy and Spike's story damaged "show's meta-narrative of female empowerment". In her opinion, "the attempted rape scene brought to the forefront some disturbing viewer attitudes toward women, sexual agency, abuse and violence." Fowler uses random quotes from long-defunct message boards as the proof that the relationship between Buffy and Spike undermines viewers' morality. She accuses writers of not dealing with the consequences of attempted rape and implies that genre conventions (Buffy is much stronger than her partner - she's a slayer and a battle-hardened fighter) are unacceptable when writers explore serious issues. Fowler concludes her paper with the statement: "Ours is a world where 80% of rapes are committed by acquaintances of the victim, less than half of those attacks reported to authorities, and in which many teens express a belief that women in certain situations do not have a right to say "no" to sexual activity (Eschbacher, 2002). Therefore, it is more important than ever to examine mixed messages in popular media such as the Buffy/Spike relationship, and understand what they communicate to younger viewers as to what constitutes a healthy romantic and/or sexual relationship. This is especially true in a popular television show whose creators publicly profess themselves and their program to be progressive and feminist, and who are enlightened, educated people with no excuse for not recognizing their influence on, and responsibility toward, young viewers." .......
Darkness and controversy around Buffy and Spike's relationship surpassed that of all the other couples put together. Heroes first met in the beginning of the second season and the chemistry between actors Sarah Michelle Gellar and James Marsters was so strong that fans immediately started to fantasize about mortal enemies as a couple. In season 4 Whedon made a test: during the course of one episode a runaway spell made Buffy and Spike betrothed. Again, the chemistry was so powerful and explosive that in the next season Whedon started a very intriguing and unpredictable love affair between them - and bumpy ride evolved into an exciting rollercoaster. Devoted fans who always are emotionally ahead of the story, wrote thousands and thousands of fanfics about the couple, discussed the tiniest details of their behavior on multiple message boards, made video-clips and Photoshop manipulations, organized campaigns to support heroes. Other fans, who disliked the couple also were very vocal - they wrote letters to show-runners, to TV bosses, to media outlets to express their dissatisfaction.
 One of show-runners, Marti Noxon later reminisced about the season 6 when Buffy and Spike finally became lovers: "This was the beginning of the most divisive story we’ve ever had, which was Buffy and Spike boning. Really, I’ve never seen such a strong reaction on both sides. People either love it or hate it. To this day, people either truly believe that Spike is completely redeemed and should be treated a lot better, or they truly believe that Buffy is a fool for trusting someone who’s been evil and how can she be so unheroic as to allow herself to be caught up in this really sordid romance? So you get the total Buffy/Spike shippers or you get the attitude, ‘I just don’t respect Buffy any more.’ It’s fascinating to see. The thing I keep saying is that it’s not black and white. I’d love it to be, but it’s not. To me, this is much more real. If these two crazy kids can make it work, it will be a lot more interesting than a kind of perfect romance with obstacles thrown in. To me, this is real life; this is people making their own problems. If they can get it together, that would be amazing. But it was never going to be easy".
And it wasn't. Fans desperately wanted happy ending for Buffy and Spike, but Whedon, true to form, ended their relationship tragically: Spike dies saving the world immediately after Buffy confesses her love to him. Moreover, Whedon not only plunged a knife into fans' hearts, but also twisted it: Spike doesn't believe that Buffy loves him and she doesn't get time to convince him........
It won't be an overstatement to say that "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" started a new age in TV history. The show that started in one millennium and concluded its run in the next millennium, became a bridge between yesterday and tomorrow. Three years has already passed after the ending of the show and we are still passionately debating about Buffy and Spike. Obviously there is something about them that continues to fascinate people.
| | [by PinkLady (www.associatedcontent.com) ] [12 comments]
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer, its characters, and the Buffy logo are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB Television Network, and Twentieth Century Fox. Angel-The Series, its characters, and the Buffy logo are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB Television Network, and Twentieth Century Fox.Other Series, their characters and logos are property of the proper right owners.
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