BE BRAVE, LIVE: REVIEWING BUFFY’S JOURNEY IN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER FROM FINAL GIRL TO HEROINE TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER

The present paper discusses the United-Statesian TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer reassessing its protagonist, Buffy Summers, in 2022, twenty-five years after its first broadcasting. As a teenage girl turned into a vampire/demon hunter, Buffy undergoes significant changes in relation to her calling as a slayer. Reluctant at first, she comes to terms with her responsibilities later in the series, in a movement that echoes Joseph Campbell’s definition of the monomyth. The authors propose to discuss Buffy’s changes throughout the series, emphasizing key narrative moments, in order to illustrate how the character evolves from what could be perceived as an archetype similar to the “final girl” to a (feminist?) heroine. Additionally, the authors comment on the abuse allegations against Buffy’s creator Joss Whedon, and how they relate to the series’ legacy twenty-five years later.

Keywords:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer; TV shows; feminism; final girl; monomyth

Authorship

Yasmim Pereira Yonekura

Universidade Federal do Pará, Cametá, PA, BrasilUniversidade Federal do ParáBrasilCametá, PA, BrasilUniversidade Federal do Pará, Cametá, PA, Brasil

* She holds a graduation degree in English Language and Literature from the Universidade do Estado do Pará (2014), where she has also worked as teaching assistant sponsored by Departmento de Lingua e Literatura (DLLT) in the Monitoria program. She researches on Literature, with emphasis on Cultural Studies. She was a post-graduate student and sponsored by a CAPES scholarship in the Programa de Pós Graduação em Inglês, at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, from 2015 to 2017. In 2017, she got her master’s title on Linguistic and Literary Studies trough the Programa de Pós Graduação em Inglês, having professor Magali Sperling Beck as her supervisor, by the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. She has become a doctor at the same Programa on UFSC, under the supervision of Professor Alessandra Brandão. Currently, the researcher is working as adjunct Professor in the Cametá campus of the Federal University of Pará. E-mail: yasmimdeschain@gmail.com. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4522-3211.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4522-3211

Vitor Henrique de Souza

Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, BrasilUniversidade Federal de Santa CatarinaBrasilFlorianópolis, SC, BrasilUniversidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil

** He has a bachelor’s degree in English by Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. In 2020, he concluded his master’s degree by the Programa de Pós-graduação em Inglês (PPGI-UFSC), where he investigated power and gender relations in the Dracula films produced by Hammer Films, under supervision of professor Dr. Daniel Serravalle de Sá. Currently, he is concluding his PhD research, also at PPGI-UFSC, where he is tackling representations of violence against queer characters in contemporary cinema, under supervision of professors Dr. Anelise Reich Corseuil and Dr. José Soares Gatti Júnior. His fields of research include cultural studies, with emphasis on representation and cinema, as well as gothic and horror studies. Email: vitor.souza_hp@hotmail.com ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6112-446X.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6112-446X

*
She holds a graduation degree in English Language and Literature from the Universidade do Estado do Pará (2014), where she has also worked as teaching assistant sponsored by Departmento de Lingua e Literatura (DLLT) in the Monitoria program. She researches on Literature, with emphasis on Cultural Studies. She was a post-graduate student and sponsored by a CAPES scholarship in the Programa de Pós Graduação em Inglês, at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, from 2015 to 2017. In 2017, she got her master’s title on Linguistic and Literary Studies trough the Programa de Pós Graduação em Inglês, having professor Magali Sperling Beck as her supervisor, by the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. She has become a doctor at the same Programa on UFSC, under the supervision of Professor Alessandra Brandão. Currently, the researcher is working as adjunct Professor in the Cametá campus of the Federal University of Pará. E-mail: yasmimdeschain@gmail.com. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4522-3211.

**
He has a bachelor’s degree in English by Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. In 2020, he concluded his master’s degree by the Programa de Pós-graduação em Inglês (PPGI-UFSC), where he investigated power and gender relations in the Dracula films produced by Hammer Films, under supervision of professor Dr. Daniel Serravalle de Sá. Currently, he is concluding his PhD research, also at PPGI-UFSC, where he is tackling representations of violence against queer characters in contemporary cinema, under supervision of professors Dr. Anelise Reich Corseuil and Dr. José Soares Gatti Júnior. His fields of research include cultural studies, with emphasis on representation and cinema, as well as gothic and horror studies. Email: vitor.souza_hp@hotmail.com ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6112-446X.

SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Universidade Federal do Pará, Cametá, PA, BrasilUniversidade Federal do ParáBrasilCametá, PA, BrasilUniversidade Federal do Pará, Cametá, PA, Brasil

Figures

Figures (13)

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Figure 1
Buffy holding “Mr. Pointy.”

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Figure 2
Buffy, the cheerleader.

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Figure 3
In a flashback in the series, a skeptical Buffy refuses her call as the slayer.

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Figure 4
Buffy sacrifices herself.

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Figure 5
Buffy, holding a crossbow, enters the Master’s church.

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Figure 6
Buffy tells her mentor Giles that she is only sixteen and she does not want to die.

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Figure 7
Buffy kills Angel/Angelus with his own sword.

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Figure 8
Buffy as Anne.

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Figure 9
Sineya and Buffy in the desert; the authors note at the stereotyped depiction black people that, for today’s standards of television and representation, may read as offensive.

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Figure 10
Buffy facing the abyss in a moment of realization.

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Figure 11
A fallen heroine, Buffy dies for the second time.

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Figure 12
Buffy crawling out of her grave at the beginning and at the end of season 6. First, into the darkness; later, into the light.

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Figure 13
Buffy contemplates the freedom her future holds in the last scene of the show.

Figure 1 Buffy holding “Mr. Pointy.”

Figure 2 Buffy, the cheerleader.

Figure 3 In a flashback in the series, a skeptical Buffy refuses her call as the slayer.

Figure 4 Buffy sacrifices herself.

Figure 5 Buffy, holding a crossbow, enters the Master’s church.

Figure 6 Buffy tells her mentor Giles that she is only sixteen and she does not want to die.

Figure 7 Buffy kills Angel/Angelus with his own sword.

Figure 8 Buffy as Anne.

Figure 9 Sineya and Buffy in the desert; the authors note at the stereotyped depiction black people that, for today’s standards of television and representation, may read as offensive.

Figure 10 Buffy facing the abyss in a moment of realization.

Figure 11 A fallen heroine, Buffy dies for the second time.

Figure 12 Buffy crawling out of her grave at the beginning and at the end of season 6. First, into the darkness; later, into the light.

Figure 13 Buffy contemplates the freedom her future holds in the last scene of the show.

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Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão, Bloco B- 405, CEP: 88040-900, Florianópolis, SC, Brasil, Tel.: (48) 37219455 / (48) 3721-9819 - Florianópolis - SC - Brazil
E-mail: ilha@cce.ufsc.br

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BE BRAVE, LIVE: REVIEWING BUFFY’S JOURNEY IN BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER FROM FINAL GIRL TO HEROINE TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER

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[1] *
She holds a graduation degree in English Language and Literature from the Universidade do Estado do Pará (2014), where she has also worked as teaching assistant sponsored by Departmento de Lingua e Literatura (DLLT) in the Monitoria program. She researches on Literature, with emphasis on Cultural Studies. She was a post-graduate student and sponsored by a CAPES scholarship in the Programa de Pós Graduação em Inglês, at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, from 2015 to 2017. In 2017, she got her master’s title on Linguistic and Literary Studies trough the Programa de Pós Graduação em Inglês, having professor Magali Sperling Beck as her supervisor, by the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. She has become a doctor at the same Programa on UFSC, under the supervision of Professor Alessandra Brandão. Currently, the researcher is working as adjunct Professor in the Cametá campus of the Federal University of Pará. E-mail: yasmimdeschain@gmail.com. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4522-3211.