Ashtyn Britt
Writer
abritt@lc.edu

It is very rare to find a show that you can watch over and over without ever growing bored. Certain shows manage to connect us on a deep level with their philosophy, plot, and characters. While other shows will come and go that you’ll enjoy, there’s always one that you will be able to go back to, because it helped form a major part of who you are.

For me, that show is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Since I was literally an infant when my father would rock me to sleep while Buffy played in the background, this show taught me how to be a strong woman

I’ve started rewatching the show again, and while certain details didn’t age well since its original run-through, it still rings pretty true for a lot of the philosophy it presents. Buffy is a show about not shying away from emotions, but how to deal with them and even be empowered by them.

It’s always amazing to see Buffy grow into a strong woman, always fighting not only demons, but the real-life counterparts they represent. This includes the Watcher’s Council who try to control her the way they have every other slayer in history before her, always acting an entire ocean away rather than ever being directly involved.

When they show up to try to tell Buffy how to behave, she dismisses them and tells them she is the one with the power, not them. She makes it clear that despite the group of old men attempting to use her as their weapon, that she knows they need her more than she needs them.

The show emphasizes women’s power many times, using the slayer power as a representation of this, and show both the good and bad results that can come from having that power depending on how it’s used.

They also represent this through Buffy’s relationships, making a point of her more often saving her boyfriends, not the other way around. In fact, in some cases, she’s had to stand up to the men in her life to do the right thing. The characters are real, flawed, relatable, and very funny. The show also focuses a lot on inner strength and growing up, and coming to terms with making what sometimes feels like impossible choices for anyone to make.

For anyone who feels like they need a strong feminist show with a fascinating plot and has a deep love of symbolism, I can’t emphasize how much I want to introduce you to Buffy. At any point in life, this is a great show to enjoy and use to help you feel every emotion you can think of, as well as poke your brain with new philosophical ideas you may not have had before.