(no subject)
I was reading this excellent article about how something as well-done as Friday Night Lights could be so completely trounced in the ratings by the thematically, if not presentationally, similar Glee. The gist of the author's point is that Glee feeds into our narcissism and need to be the winner, the center of the spotlight, while the more subdued Friday Night Lights is all about real teamwork and accepting defeat. It got me thinking about the differences between the first three seasons of Buffy and the last three seasons.
The first three seasons allow for the implicit narcissism of teenagers: Buffy herself is a teenager, as are her friends, and even Angel, when I'm being kind to him, can be explained as experiencing a second youth through Buffy. Besides the thematic of fighting monsters, Buffy's main concerns are her friends, her boyfriend, and what she'll wear to school tomorrow. Especially in the third season the foibles of high school are emphasized, and the world revolves around our characters and their minuscule daily traumas: what clothes they should be wearing, having a boyfriend, and whether or not they have a good picture in the yearbook.
The last three seasons of Buffy, however, have the gritty reality of Dillon, Texas written into them. Buffy faces her first major defeat - she actually dies while saving the day. Season 6 is all about how the real world can be defeating, as everyone's worst selves are brought to the forefront. While Friday Night Lights is about accepting football defeat, season 6 is about accepting defeat in the real world. Mortgages, failed marriages (or weddings) and death replace clothes and boys as the worries on people's mind, and the characters find out life is a game you don't win, you just have to keep on playing.
So that's my little mini analysis of why the fun, fantasy early seasons of Buffy are like Glee, and the later, darker seasons are like Friday Night Lights. I'm going to go and watch Doctor Who now.
The first three seasons allow for the implicit narcissism of teenagers: Buffy herself is a teenager, as are her friends, and even Angel, when I'm being kind to him, can be explained as experiencing a second youth through Buffy. Besides the thematic of fighting monsters, Buffy's main concerns are her friends, her boyfriend, and what she'll wear to school tomorrow. Especially in the third season the foibles of high school are emphasized, and the world revolves around our characters and their minuscule daily traumas: what clothes they should be wearing, having a boyfriend, and whether or not they have a good picture in the yearbook.
The last three seasons of Buffy, however, have the gritty reality of Dillon, Texas written into them. Buffy faces her first major defeat - she actually dies while saving the day. Season 6 is all about how the real world can be defeating, as everyone's worst selves are brought to the forefront. While Friday Night Lights is about accepting football defeat, season 6 is about accepting defeat in the real world. Mortgages, failed marriages (or weddings) and death replace clothes and boys as the worries on people's mind, and the characters find out life is a game you don't win, you just have to keep on playing.
So that's my little mini analysis of why the fun, fantasy early seasons of Buffy are like Glee, and the later, darker seasons are like Friday Night Lights. I'm going to go and watch Doctor Who now.