Buffy the Vampire Slayer uses countless different metaphors within its episodes to parallel that of a normal high school student’s life. Teens often deal with the challenges of not fitting in, feeling invisible, peer pressure, relationship troubles, parents, and misunderstanding. In Buffy’s world, the high school is faced with real monsters and dark magic. They mingle with werewolves, zombies, witches, demons, and especially vampires. But what are these monsters really representing? Inner fears, relationships, and high school in general. For example, in the episode, “Out of sight…out of mind”, a young girl roams the halls unnoticed by everyone until she finally becomes invisible in the literal sense. This is obviously a play on the average teenagers struggle with identity and fitting in. In another episode, “The Pack”, Xander is possessed by the spirit of the hyena, along with some other boys, and they proceed to harass and taunt the other kids using gang tactics. This is referencing high school kid’s seemingly “Pack mentality”, with which they pray on other less popular students. The metaphors are very obvious, yet so entertaining that they are almost hard to recognize. I thought it was very interesting and relevant that “High School is Hell” pointed out Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Here, the monster spiraling out of control is a metaphor for what might happen if science and technology cross the line. Even back then authors used underlying meanings to describe less talked about topics. Perhaps the episodes were so entertaining to its viewers because deep down we realized those kids were living our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment