The Buffy Void
Written by Mark Van Steenwyk : February 9, 2005
I confess. I am a Buffy the Vampire fan. And nothing has filled the void created by Buffy’s absense. Ignorant people have suggested "Charmed" or "Point Pleasant" to fill the void. The thing that I liked about Buffy was that it could treat darkness in a serious and silly way at the same time, all the while treating human inter-relations in a very honest and vulnerable way.
I’ve always loved the fantasy genre for being able to give us the cognitive distance necessary for us to be able to examine our own lives, and our own society. Because we are seeing an alternate reality to our own, we can analyse and judge it in ways that we couldn’t otherwise. And unlike other unrealistic shows, like the OC, or Desperate Housewives, Buffy is blatantly unrealistic. And it revels in its unrealism. It is deeply embedded in the myths that shape our own society, but it embodies these myths in dark, disturbing, and often hillarious ways. No show does that (at least not on broadcast TV). And because no show can do what Buffy does, I feel a small void.
Mark Van Steenwyk is the editor of JesusManifesto.com. He is a Mennonite pastor (Missio Dei in Minneapolis), writer, speaker, and grassroots educator. He lives in South Minneapolis with his wife (Amy), son (Jonas) and some of their friends.Print This Article
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