Whose Power Comes From Darkness? - A discussion of Episode 1: Buffy vs. Dracula
Episode Recap
The first episode begins with Buffy unable to sleep until she gets her slaying fix for the evening. From the beginning we know that she is going through something internally. Closer to her nature as the slayer, the act of slaying becomes more and more consuming. Reconciled to her fate as the slayer, Buffy is beginning to embrace it. And by embracing her nature, she feels her power surge. But such power concerns Buffy. She's confused by the changes happening to her.
One of the consequences of her new found connection to her Slayer nature is that it attracts "The Vampire" to Sunnydale; Dracula himself.
Dracula is different from most Vampires. As Giles states, "his victims must want to be taken." Of course Dracula has some nifty mind tricks to make that happen, but it does introduce some important questions. What is attraction? Dracula apparently wants his victims wholly, not simply their blood. He wants their every desire to be for him.
Is that kind of power over another not something we all desire to some degree? To be desired, to be wanted, to enthrall somebody. What a boost to the ego, no?
Much of our time each morning is spent in making ourselves attractive to the opposite sex. Our clothes, our hair, our choices of dance music, the venues we choose to socialize in, are all related in some ways to finding a mate, to finding sex, to making ourselves available, to potentially enthrall someone. Even Dracula spends inordinate amounts of time and talent to making his victims fall for him - even if he has to trick them or control their minds just to create the illusion for himself that he is irresistable.
And is "power" alone sexy? There is plenty of evidence in the world showing people believe that notion. It would be interesting to correlate the frequency of sex to the amount of money one makes and then compare the numbers between male and female. Regardless, it is made obvious in the show that the fame and the power of Dracula have an effect on women. Dracula is considered sexy by all of the women in the Scooby gang - including Willow the lesbian. Even Tara thinks he's cool. This of course annoys all of the men in the room (That is until Xander falls under his spell also).
In terms of the genre and the series, Episode 5 starts off the whole season by discussing Vampirism explicitly in its sexual context. Throughout history the vampire has been a symbol of our "darker" natures, our lust, our departure from the pure. This is really a first for the series, and a change from the mostly good vs. evil paradigm of the previous seasons. Now we start to see the line blur as Buffy starts to notice her own darkness in her Slayer nature - so convincingly pointed out to her by Dracula. Vampirism represents more than sex, it is part of our primal nature, something that often makes people feel "out of control." Recognized as a force to be taken seriously by societies for millenia, sex has mostly been grouped with other primal qualities in humans like violence that "need to be controlled." Dracula attempts to make Buffy lose control for him, to give into her darkness. She eventually resists but only after seeing how deep her slayer nature goes. This is a glimpse into what her "potential" is, and it spooks her. She defeats Dracula, but it was close. For a time she was under his control.
Of course she has her friends, and she asks Giles to stay and help her understand all of this. This seems a good choice, because many argue that as humans, the only way to avoid succumbing to our own darkness is to understand it and manage it rather than repress it.
What do you think?
The first episode begins with Buffy unable to sleep until she gets her slaying fix for the evening. From the beginning we know that she is going through something internally. Closer to her nature as the slayer, the act of slaying becomes more and more consuming. Reconciled to her fate as the slayer, Buffy is beginning to embrace it. And by embracing her nature, she feels her power surge. But such power concerns Buffy. She's confused by the changes happening to her.
One of the consequences of her new found connection to her Slayer nature is that it attracts "The Vampire" to Sunnydale; Dracula himself.
Dracula is different from most Vampires. As Giles states, "his victims must want to be taken." Of course Dracula has some nifty mind tricks to make that happen, but it does introduce some important questions. What is attraction? Dracula apparently wants his victims wholly, not simply their blood. He wants their every desire to be for him.
Is that kind of power over another not something we all desire to some degree? To be desired, to be wanted, to enthrall somebody. What a boost to the ego, no?
Much of our time each morning is spent in making ourselves attractive to the opposite sex. Our clothes, our hair, our choices of dance music, the venues we choose to socialize in, are all related in some ways to finding a mate, to finding sex, to making ourselves available, to potentially enthrall someone. Even Dracula spends inordinate amounts of time and talent to making his victims fall for him - even if he has to trick them or control their minds just to create the illusion for himself that he is irresistable.
And is "power" alone sexy? There is plenty of evidence in the world showing people believe that notion. It would be interesting to correlate the frequency of sex to the amount of money one makes and then compare the numbers between male and female. Regardless, it is made obvious in the show that the fame and the power of Dracula have an effect on women. Dracula is considered sexy by all of the women in the Scooby gang - including Willow the lesbian. Even Tara thinks he's cool. This of course annoys all of the men in the room (That is until Xander falls under his spell also).
In terms of the genre and the series, Episode 5 starts off the whole season by discussing Vampirism explicitly in its sexual context. Throughout history the vampire has been a symbol of our "darker" natures, our lust, our departure from the pure. This is really a first for the series, and a change from the mostly good vs. evil paradigm of the previous seasons. Now we start to see the line blur as Buffy starts to notice her own darkness in her Slayer nature - so convincingly pointed out to her by Dracula. Vampirism represents more than sex, it is part of our primal nature, something that often makes people feel "out of control." Recognized as a force to be taken seriously by societies for millenia, sex has mostly been grouped with other primal qualities in humans like violence that "need to be controlled." Dracula attempts to make Buffy lose control for him, to give into her darkness. She eventually resists but only after seeing how deep her slayer nature goes. This is a glimpse into what her "potential" is, and it spooks her. She defeats Dracula, but it was close. For a time she was under his control.
Of course she has her friends, and she asks Giles to stay and help her understand all of this. This seems a good choice, because many argue that as humans, the only way to avoid succumbing to our own darkness is to understand it and manage it rather than repress it.
What do you think?