Confessions of a Liberal Puritan

Kes, this is really helpful to me. I would love to chat about this anytime we get the chance.

I see whatyou mean about the series finale, living on the edge of our cognitive maps, and radical change (transforming all Potentials into Slayers and making radical alterations in the physical map of Sunnydale). And a big part of the interest for me in the early seasons of BtVS was the Slayer as catalyst: the way that Buffy, by virtue of being HERSELF and her OWN kind of Slayer, seemed to draw out the unguessed-at heroic potential of others around her (Willow, Xander, Giles, Angel, Cordelia, Joyce, the entire graduating class, Oz and Tara and Anya, and eventually even Spike). That's why when I read complaints about how "Chosen" undermined the female power message of the series by letting Angel and Spike step in and "save the day" at crucial points, I'm not troubled by that argument. The way I see it, neither Angel NOR Spike would ever have gotten into the champion business if they hadn't been inspired and transformed by Buffy's example as champion of champions. The implicit message is that ANYONE can be a hero if they choose to be, and that's some powerful medicine, indeed.

As far as the complications that set in in later seasons of the series, I think it could be argued that the UNDERLYING concept (beneath "blonde victim girl as superhero" and "monsters personifying teenaged problems") always had to do with de-familiarizing everyday life, people, and problems to make us THINK about things, question 'how things are' and 'the way things are done,' and remind us that we ALL live on the edge of the unknown. People are never just what they seem in the Buffyverse (never "just a cheerleader," "just a ditzy prom queen," "just a girl," "just a geek," "just a librarian," "just a normal boyfriend," or "just a soul-less vampire") and too-familiar problems or evils are NEVER just the way things are and too big or too much for one little girl to tackle, or one little group to take on (abusive would-be step-dad turns out to be an evil psycho robot -- but that's just to remind us that there's nothing 'normal' about men or boys who try to control women through intimidation and violence, and that something can and must be done). The fact that our heroes themselves are in the dark about so much (including, as you once pointed out to me, not knowing for certain how much worse the world would be if Buffy had never come to Sunnydale -- not being able to know for a FACT that their efforts and sufferings HAVE made a difference over the years) just emphasizes the fact that having all the answers ISN'T required in order to be a force for good in the world (Buffy doesn't understand a lot -- especially matters of life and death and why good people like Tara get shot down -- and willingly admits it). So, all of us who live with uncertainties and doubts and confusion from time to time, can take comfort in the knowledge that such uncertainty doesn't excuse us from acting in the world and trying to FIND some of those meaning-of-life type answers. In fact, BtVS reminds us that it's generally the people who think they HAVE everything figured out and everyone filed into neat little categories (the Watchers' Council, Maggie Walsh and the Initiative commandos, or Angelus at his worst) who do the most harm.

Does that make sense?

Lori