[meta] the problem with insiders: the heroic outsider (1/5)

[kwritten]

Herein lies the newest meta series in the works - this time dealing with the Insiders vs. Outsiders Narrative that Buffy operates on through all seven series. (I am not going to touch on the comics because ugh, that's why.) Although this is all related to my larger Dawn project, there's going to be a lot less Dawn in this series than usual. Mostly

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[kwritten]

Oh yes, neat! I love getting perspectives that are non-American on this show particularly. And it wasn't a reading that I was really anticipating, but that sense of 'Individualism' is such a driving force in the American mythos - it invades most media in some form or another.

Giles and Spike are very interesting because they both participate in several layers of Othering? Generationally, job-status (Watcher/vampire), and being British. And I've never thought about them in terms of this construct but... I would almost say that of any of the characters, they both really exemplify this myth of the Individual? Because Giles is portrayed so often as being very different from the Watchers - he's not invited to their picnics and isn't kept in the loop. In fact, he becomes a Hero in his own right when he rejects the Council for his love for Buffy. That's a really important moment for him. (Especially in contrast to Wesley - the Council Poster Boy.) And, the more we learn about Giles the less he is the Council-strawman and the more he is revealed to be a Rebel that we can 'identify' with and love. Giles is written to appeal to an American audience over time as his history and character becomes more of a rebel and less affiliated with the Power Players in the Council.

Likewise, Spike - has always been a rebel. He stands out in his personal vampire family because he is too rebellious. As a human, he desperately wanted to fit in. And that was his ultimate weakness. He is 'saved' from obscurity by Drusilla. Saved from being the desperate Outsider who wants to be important. Because that is the biggest folly of all. And as a vampire - he gains notoriety and power by not adhering to the rules. He doesn't hide like Angelus wants him to. And later stands out even more in his desire to kill the Slayers - when all his fellow vampires would rather run away. He doesn't fit in to his own community. And he begins to 'belong' to the community of the Scoobies when he proves himself the Ultimate Other - the ensouled vampire. The only one who chose to curse himself with a conscience.

Angel, OTOH, seems to have been assimilated by his host society to a much greater degree, and is actually (in his own show) better at navigating it and achieving that form of acceptance.
I actually think that the reason why Angel assimilates better is because he protects the status quo? I've argued this before , that Angel and Angel are - like BtVS less interested in interrogating the problematic aspects of our society than accepting them. Now how this plays into the idea of the Heroic Outsider, I'm not sure and would have to revisit Angel to try to piece that together. There's a certain element in being an Outsider - but I think that the series operating on a different level of Heroism.

(As an example:) While Giles is given Heroism in his text through a narrative of rebellion and Othering - Wesley is much more an anti-hero when he breaks away from the group. Wesley's Otherness is a darkness - it's not something that is rewarded by the text.

And I wonder if that's because AtS is operating under a Redemption Narrative Arc, rather than a Hero's Journey? I'm not entirely sure. But I do think that AtS views Outsiders and community very differently.

ooh!!! Thank you so much for your thought-provoking comment!

[lokifan]

This was all fascinating, especially as another non-American. For all that British and American culture is similar, and for all that American stories are everywhere, it's really startling sometimes how different the nuances are.

See also: my constant bemusement at Glee's cultural markers.