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Wednesday, Nov 25, 2009
May 30, 2002 | [Read the story.]
I applaud Stephanie Zacharek for her wonderful review of the season finale of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," particularly her observations about creator Joss Whedon's effective use of tragedy.
Two of the most memorable tragic TV moments for this fan came from the series. The first was in the episode before the one that focused on Joyce's death. Buffy talked to her dead (as we later learn) mother as if nothing was amiss. Only when she realized something was wrong, at the very end of the episode, did she utter the line, "Mommy?"
The second, of course, was the death of Tara. The writers were able to highlight the absurdity of the tragedy with Tara's dying words, "your shirt," uttered to Willow as she observed her own blood sprayed across Willow's blouse.
I have long maintained that "Buffy" is one of the most cleverly written shows on television, probably in the history of TV. The season finale only supports my belief.
I am sorry to hear that some fans, many of whom started watching the show when a lesbian relationship was introduced, might now turn their back on Whedon's creation. Rather than accuse Whedon of being anti-gay, perhaps they should remember that while Buffy was dead, Willow and Tara assumed the role of young Dawn's parents. Whedon deserves credit for presenting this familial relationship as legitimate with neither criticism nor fanfare.
-- Mark Rupright
Stephanie Zacharek's analyses of this season's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" have been so insightful and spot-on. Her latest is easily the best article I've read all week about the breathtaking finale, as well as the best of her articles on the subject so far. Zacharek states firmly in her article what other true believers have always said: "Buffy" is art, and all good art prompts lengthy discussion. I will gladly welcome any of Ms. Zacharek's entries into that discussion. Thank you.
-- Bilal Dardai
Clearly, Stephanie Zacharek enjoyed this season of "Buffy" as much as I did. The only flaw I found in the season, and in Zacharek's article, was the use of the words "Wicca" or "Wiccan" instead of the traditional "witch" to describe Willow. Wicca is a contemporary neo-pagan religion that celebrates nature's seasonal cycles, and a Wiccan is someone who practices it. Unlike the character of Willow, Wiccans don't shoot beams of evil magical energy at people, summon balls of fire to incinerate their enemies, or rip apart police stations. The only characters on the show who have come close to representing real Wiccans were the women's spirituality group at U.C. Sunnydale from two seasons ago. Willow is clearly a witch, in the folkloric and literary sense of the word, and follows in the tradition of characters like the Wicked Witch of the West or Samantha from "Bewitched." The promo for the season finale, with its tagline "Hell hath no fury like a Wiccan scorned," was particularly egregious in its misuse of the word. Would the name of any other religion be used in such a degrading way?
-- Peter Muise
There is a pervasive cliché in popular culture -- writing, movies, television and more -- that, as one mother of a friend of mine said, "Lesbians are such unhappy people." That lesbians (and gay men, and anyone of alternative sexual persuasion) are unstable at best, secretly insane at worst. This cliché, which plays out again and again and again, usually involves the lesbian couple ending up dead, evil or both. The underlying cultural message is, "This is your punishment for being unnatural." (And this is only in the cases where one of them doesn't go off and discover that "she really wanted a man after all!" and "redeem" herself.)
The issue at the heart of the fans' disappointment is that Mr. Whedon and his staff have repeatedly indicated their recognition of said cliché and their intention to avoid it at all costs. And then going ahead and doing it anyway.
Mr. Whedon is not necessarily anti-gay or misogynist -- that's not what the majority are saying. He has simply lied, and that is the betrayal at the heart of the controversy of Tara's death.
-- Jude McLaughlin
Be nice to me -- my world has just been rocked. For me, nothing worth noting happens on this planet unless it's reported in Salon, but what I've just read has shaken my faith. Stephanie Zacharek's review of the latest "Star Wars" installment was one of the most vitriol-dripping indictments of anything I've ever read. But today, she goes on in agonizingly treacly detail about how "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is high art! Granted, "Star Wars" is not great cinema and "Buffy" is a good, perhaps great, TV show, but does Salon not employ editors?
Her opinions in these reviews are so obviously biased as to throw into question her professional viewpoint on anything. It's sort of amusing to compare both reviews, and funny, also, how much faith I've put in one news source. I guess, just like Buffy and Luke occasionally do in their respective fictional worlds, I've learned something about the "real" world today and, in the process, myself. Let's all hold hands and sing along with the credits ....
-- Dave Brackenbury
