Genny the Patriarchy Slayer

Firstly, let me just say that this is going to have some Buffy the Vampire Slayer major spoilers (but only from the first two and a half seasons, because that's as far as I've gotten) and also a little bit about Avatar (but that you've probably seen).

We'll go with Avatar first, since I feel like that will be a slightly shorter tangent. I totally loved it (with the exception of... why couldn't the blue girl princess character be the one who rode the orange flying beast? That would have been too legit), but it definitely got me thinking (as I often do) about what was drawing people to this movie. I mean, obviously, you have the massive budget that everyone keeps talking about, new breakthrough animation methods, and James Cameron. These are things that certainly had something to do with it, as most of the buzz I heard in my hometown circles focused on how it was the most expensive movie ever made, and how James Cameron had been working on it "since Titanic." I already wanted to see it, because it seemed a very "indigenous people good, army people bad" kind of movie and those are just my type. As I was sitting there in my Tinseltown seat, I suddenly had a thought: What is suddenly attracting the general populace to a movie whose theme normally only the fringers like me and Hodgens from Bones really thrive on? But then I again realized that this isn't anything new. Since the times of Children of Men and V for Vendetta, filmakers have been calling out the crazy evil government in one way or another and making tons of money with it. I think this was surprising because it was a continuation of what I assumed to be a Bush trend, but what I realize now is just a trend of disillusionment, similar to what happened during Vietnam. I just wonder if anything other than movie plots will come from it.

OK. Now on to Buffy, my new favorite TV show. First, who doesn't love that the Chosen One is always a girl? This isn't just any Chosen One, this is the one in charge of facing the greatest evil (i.e. vampires, demons, and other powers of darkness) and saving humanity. And she is always, always, always, the proud owner of two X chromosomes. They had me at hello. Second, I absolutely love that Buffy is strong, independent, and fun. I think she reminds me a lot of a Jessica Valenti feminist: their independence and self-awareness are coupled with the choice to be how they like and to push back against the feminist stereotype. Not that there's anything wrong with being the feminist stereotype, and not like I'm unaware of how many teenage boys probably tuned in because of the hot girl in the hot clothes, but I still like this other face of feminism. The other characters are great, too, challenging certain stereotypes about popular girls and "geeks" at the same time, and the plot of each episode is always tons of fun. Did I mention that it has both tacky nineties vampires and the beauty of nineties clothing? Like I said, a true gem.

Now to focus on one of the most feminist, and most frustrating, parts of the show so far. That is the Buffy/Angel relationship, and believe me it has caused me quite a bit of distress. In the efforts of saving time (and assuming that I'll be writing more about them later), I'll just address what happened in the last episode I watched today, which was the eighth episode of season 3. In it, Buffy and Angel are totally called out by Spike, the crazy but somehow lovable english punk vampire, who tells them that they can never be friends because they love each other. And, by the way, that love will kill them both. Yikes. This is kind of the (for now, unless they keep them apart for the rest of the season in which case it will be forever) culmination of two and a half series' worth of relationship problems, which can be explained quite quickly by this:

Slayer meets Boy. Slayer falls for Boy. Slayer realized Boy is Vampire with a tortured soul. Angsty desire, longing witty banter, and intermittent kissing ensue. Inevitably, Boy and Slayer fall in love and do the dirty... which causes Boy to lose his soul and become angry murderous torturing pre-soul vampire. Yikes. Enter season 2. Slayer gets over it. Slayer must kill Boy. Boy gets soul back when it's too late. Slayer kills Boy. Season three: Slayer goes emo. Slayer gets over it. Boy magically reappears with soul intact.

Which brings us to today. Buffy and Angel totally love each other, but there's the problem of pure happiness banishing his soul, and that Buffy is the one source of that true happiness. They keep trying to play friends (and accidentally kissing) until Buffy, in true Slayer fashion, calls bluff on the situation. This is the part that totally kills me, because as a Buffy fan and a girl who wants to be kissed I want her to be all lovey with Angel, but also the part where I realized how cool this show really is. Buffy, a seventeen year old girl who can't quite pass all of her classes but who constantly tries to save the world (which she didn't choose as a vocation, by the way, but was chosen for it) also has the self-awareness to say enough is enough. At the end of the episode, she told Angel that she wouldn't be coming back to see him anymore. Why? Because, and I paraphrase (because I don't know where to get the exact quote), he will never be able to give her what she wants. Talk about a girl sticking up for herself! She knows what she needs in a relationship, and she knows that even though she loves Angel (and he loves her), it isn't healthy for either of them. Of course, for them "isn't healthy" means "could end up with hundreds of people dying, the end of the world, or worse if they allow themselves to be happy," but still. Even as I sat there and screamed at the screen for Buffy not to leave Angel, the most perfectest boyfriend ever (except for the we can't fuck because I'll lose my soul and kill your friends thing), I knew that she was actually doing a really awesome and feminist thing: and that is having the self-respect and self-love to do what's best for you even when it means leaving someone you might love. Too often on TV (and in certain recently popular movies/books... *ahem* twilight)we see girls (and boys) who hold on to love despite all of the damage it does to them, and this is an entirely negative and destructive relationship model to show to young girls and people in general. Love should be about two whole people coming together to enjoy each other and make each other happy, not staying together even though we might die and the world might end because this is it. You don't need someone to complete you, no matter what Tom Cruise says, because you can complete yourself. Falling in love should be like the icing on the whole-you cake, because without a content self you can never enjoy another person. Or so they say.

That said... I'm going to continue to get my boyfriend fix from nineties TV shows (Roswell, Buffy, and 90210 for starters) until something worthwhile comes around. But heck, at least I'm not dating a soulless demon, right?

Until next time,
-g