On the Buffy remake. And creating/sustaining an evolving mythology.

[prozacpark]

In case you haven't heard, there's been talk of a Buffy reboot in the form of a movie franchise that's going to keep the core idea of the 1992 movie, and go with that premise but reimagine it. As suspected, fandom is not happy

Comments

[frolicndetour]

Yaay, thank you for putting into words why I'm not upset about this. Because YES, fandom is in a way predicated on the idea of stories as public property. Like myth. <3 And if anything deserves that status it's Buffy. And both the original BSG and our version do too, and I'm really happy that remake happened, so...

On the other hand, in spite of what I just said I might feel differently if I were in the fandom, because what if I'm writing about Buffy and suddenly there's a new Buffy and now do we have to specify which one we're talking about and oh, complications. But I'm not, so I'm okay with it.

Oh, seasons 6 and 7. Just not as well written, even if you leave out the thematic shift. And season 7 made season 6 look good. :/ At least with that show I wasn't bitter about the finale because I had zero expectations. Yaay?

[prozacpark]

For all that Buffy itself was influenced by things like Xena, etc, it kind of is the first mainstream female mythic journey of its type. Like, in mythology, we have female heroines who, like the heroes, become gods in death, but their claim to fame usually comes from having been a symbol for some great war or having been sacrificed in the name of another. I liked that Buffy got to have the traditional heroic journey complete with all the usual obstacles they face. <3 We need our heroines with a thousand faces

[missrogue]

I'm all for a movie/reboot.... if it wasn't done by the person who failed at making the movie properly the first time around... and that is who wants to do it.

The articles I've all come across quote her as saying she wants to do a reboot, but without any of the characters we love.

So I'm thinking, why not choose to tell the story of a different slayer. Same mythology, different girl. The way the mythology of the show is written, opens itself up to dozens of stories that haven't been told on screen before, and only in books.

We all know and love Buffy, but why not explore other characters if you aren't going to stick to the original mold of characters that are loved?

[missrogue]

And people also have a point that the show was more or less a reboot/undoing the damage to his original vision of the movie.

I'm not saying the movie was horrible, but it was like they took a few lines and a basic storyline, and re-did the thing. It's campy and good because it's Buffy, but I wouldn't want another one.

[prozacpark]

I got the impression that the only reason people from the old movie are involved is because they hold the rights, and mostly, that's what they're being used for? Given that they're going for a different and darker feel, I don't think they'll get the some director/writer/etc to do it this time around?

I think it will depend on whether the new writer/director will be a fan of Buffy or not and possibly on how she/he views this mythology.

Of course, we don't know enough about it yet, but I think many people are freaking out at the very idea that someone would dare remake this perfect show. And yes, it was amazing, and I very much doubt the new one would be even half as good, but that doesn't mean it will be bad. So I'm going to wait it out and see how it goes.

[trempnvt]

My issue with the movie is that I heard it's supposed to be all horror, no comedy. Without comedy, Buffy is just a gruesome...well, horror story. But I'm going to reserve my judgement until later.

[prozacpark]

I love the horror genre and its potential for awesome so that's not going to turn me off, but the mix of comedy and tragedy plus creepiness made Buffy awesome, and it'd be nice if the new movie could at least follow that.

And I'm not judging it yet either, but I'm not hating it at the conception stage. It could be good, and you'll get to hear about it for months at the very least if it's bad. ;)

[acrimonyastraea]

Interesting take! I'm not sure what I think yet, and I haven't seen much about this, so I'm reserving judgment. I love the Buffy series but haven't really been involved in fandom and I really have no interest in the comics. I'm actually glad Whedon isn't involved so any fail doesn't taint the tv series and we won't have a bunch of Whedon zombies telling us that any criticism must be wrong because OMGJOSS.

Also, we have been starved lately for female action heroes. Where are they? BRING ON THE SLAYERS.

[ellestra]

I don't mind the reboot, especially since the movie was only marginally connected to the series (I want more flying vampires). It will be probably something totally different because they don't have the rights to the series characters so only Buffy will be there.The best part of the movie was Buffy discovering what she was and dealing with the fact that she can't just ignore it and be just a cheerleader anymore. Hope that stays.

I'm just tired by all the remaking, rebooting and adapting. This whole attitude of 'I can make something you all liked only faster, flashier and with bigger explosions'. I wish for something new. The best part of Push was that I didn't know the story before.