(no subject)

[orangerful]

There's a discussion going on at buffyphilosophy about the spell willow casts at the end of "Chosen" and what it means. Now, I've never spoken with Joss, and season 7 isn't out on DVD yet for me to hear his commentary, but I'll tell you how I viewed the spell. Here's what Buffy says as we see the spell taking effect:

"From now on, every girl in the world who might be a slayer...
will be a slayer.
Every girl who could have the power...
will have the power... can stand up,
will stand up.
Slayers... every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong? "

my interpretation of the end of the episode was that all girls were potential slayers, and that all women were transferred some part of the slayer strength, be it physical or mental. We see the girl gain confidence while at bat, we see the battered woman stand up for herself, and we see all of the potentials at their full....well...potential. We see the abused (and now insane) girl on "Angel" realize that she doesn't have to take the abuse she has recieved, but unfortunately she had been pushed to madness (though hopefully Andrew and the others will bring her back to reality...too bad Angel wasn't on another season so we could see her again...but I digress)

I'm not sure if that was what Joss was trying to do, but that's how I read that moment. It wasn't about the literal "slayer strength", it was about all females becoming empowered and realizing that they are amazing for being who they are, because that is what BtVS has always been about.

People at the board didn't agree with me, and that's okay, but part of that makes me sad because it means they more or less just watched Buffy, it seems they were too busy tracking the literal meaning of the episode, rather than looking for the metaphors. Watching Buffy for me is not about just watching a TV show, I sit there and look for all the meaning that has been put into it. They are fussing over who the next slayer will be and what about all the potentials that have power now yadda yadda - the point is that there will never be a Slayer like Buffy. (I'll address Fray in a moment). The spell has ended the archaic "one girl chosen" ritual, that's why Buffy did it. She was sick of having her destiny controlled by a bunch of dead men. She dispersed Slayer power so that all women could protect themselves, if they chose to. It was about free will. If they chose to stand up, if they want to fight now they can...I liked the idea that all of us now had some part of Buffy's strength and courage inside of us....

Fray, Joss' slayer of the future, is never really "called". She is targeted. I don't want to spoil the comic for anyone, but reading it now after season 7, she takes the title as Slayer because her society needed her. She says she didn't inherit the memories of old slayer, the way that Buffy did. That's because she is a different breed of slayer. Less Chosen and more, Stepped Forward.

Hm, yes I'm not even sure if that's all clear. I needed to vent though.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

FWIW, Jim interpreted it the same way you did. I've only seen it once and sort of knew what was going to happen, and there was something which made me wonder if it meant only certain potentials. But I like the "we (women :-) all are potentials" interpretation better since it's such a great way to conclude the series.

The fact that the scenes Joss chose were situations where women have traditionally felt unempowered (abuse, sports) supports your view. I forget, were there other scenes?

-becky

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

yay Jim! haha. I've only actually watched the episode once, (I taped it but haven't gone back yet to rewatch cuz i know i'll bawl like a baby when it's over). I used the handy-dandy transcript from BuffyWorld (http://www.buffyworld.com/buffy/season7/transcripts/144_tran.php) to find those quotes.

I can't wait until the season 7 DVD actually comes out on DVD and I can listen to Joss' commentary, just to see what he says. :) I love Joss' commentaries.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

P.S. I still think you should get your own Livejournal so you can rant more. :)

[kimberleym.livejournal.com]

YEAHHHH! I'm right there with you! And you know what? I think Joss is too. He's too smart to have included all that metaphor by accident. It's so obviously a part of the show, it's woven in, engraved. That's why I love it too. It's so much more than just the linear story. I don't understand people who can't see that. :)

I have to watch the end of Chosen again because I didn't see the abused girl that appears in Angel before...that's so cool!

Anyway, you rock. I'm glad we see the world, or Buffy's world anyway, through similarly tinted eyes. And I will email you at some point about the movie stuff...I'm just real busy right now.

Kim

PS YAY Fray!!!!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm so happy someone understands! The writing on Buffy has always kept me watching, even when things got rough in season 6, the meanings behind the stories had me glued the screen. And I think people who are unable to see beyond the linear story are really missing out!

I'm not sure if it's the same actress who actually ended up on Angel...now I'm going to have to watch it again. I haven't seen it since it aired, even though I taped it. I just know if I watch it, I'll end up bawling my eyes out. I can't wait for the DVD so I can hear Joss tell talk about it (and hopefully take our side in this "debate".)

And "Fray" - well, Joss is the man for making sure that it fit into the Buffy mythology. I hate it when spin-offs have no regard for their originating show. But joss would never let that happen. :)

I understand that you are very very busy now, so no rush with the e-mail. Just whenever you have free time. Another friend of my responded to the post and got me brainstorming some stories, so that's helping me work things out a little bit. So have fun with your show! and keep posting about it so I have something to read on my friends page. :) hehe.

[ashfae.livejournal.com]

Randomly, I love your icons, and squealed with delight at the Derth Nader ones. =) But did you know a lot of the misc ones aren't showing up? (I mention this because I'm dead curious to see the Storyteller ones!)

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

That's weird the misc icons aren't showing up for you, I just had a few friends go check and they were there. Geocities bandwidth is kinda crap though, so it gets used up pretty fast. How about i just post the 2 Storyteller icons for you right here? They are from "The Soldier & Death" because it's my favorite one from the DVD - if you have a request for any other bit from Storyteller, let me know, be happy to give it a shot!




All my icons are up for grabs, so feel free to use either of these, or the Derth Nader's, they need the tlc.

P.S. your icon is a riot!