Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Colonial Imaginary & “Pangs”

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Recommended: Native American Stereotypes in Film

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Colonial Imaginary & “Pangs”

The cult show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been often heralded as groundbreaking and feminist; however, the show is not without its faults. Throughout the show’s seven-year run, the cast was predominantly white, with little cultural diversity represented. Various episodes depict the colonial imaginary, from a hypersexual Incan princess who comes back to life to seduce men , to the primitive and aggressive African Slayer . Perhaps the episode most engrained with colonial imaginary is the Thanksgiving episode, “Pangs”. In this episode, the spirit of a vengeful Native American is released when construction begins on a new Cultural Center. Centered around the story of Thanksgiving and Native Americans, “Pangs” epitomizes the features of colonial imaginary, with a racial hierarchy represented, a sense of Otherness, and dehistoricalization among others.

The episode “Pangs” stresses a sense of Otherness by stereotypically representing Hus, the Chumash Native American as savage and primitive. Beginning with his appearance, he is dressed in what Western culture believes is traditional Native American garb: a headdress, loincloth and war paint. To further accent his Otherness, Hus speaks in broken English and uses simple gestures to relay meaning. The writers have made Hus a vengeful spirit, intent on righting the wrongs of his past by murdering authority figures. This causes him, and the other Chumash spirits in the episode, to be depicted as savage. Further, it is assumed that because he is Native American he is savage; in a discussion about whether they should forgive Hus because of his past and what Americans did to Native Americas, Giles, Buffy’s guardian, exclaims, “No,...

... middle of paper ...

...rism:

Multiculturalism and the Media (London: Routledge, 1994) 119.

“Inca Mummy Girl,” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, WB, United States, 6 Oct. 1997.

“Pangs,” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, WB, United States, 23 Nov. 1999.

Paula Butler, “Orientalism and the Imperial Imaginary,” Wmst. 210, Trent U, 3 Feb.

2010.

“Primeval,” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, WB, United States, 16 May 2000.

Works Cited
Ella Shohat & Robert Stam, “The Imperial Imaginary” in Unthinking Eurocentrism:

Multiculturalism and the Media (London: Routledge, 1994) 119.

“Inca Mummy Girl,” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, WB, United States, 6 Oct. 1997.

“Pangs,” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, WB, United States, 23 Nov. 1999.

Paula Butler, “Orientalism and the Imperial Imaginary,” Wmst. 210, Trent U, 3 Feb.

2010.

“Primeval,” Buffy the Vampire Slayer, WB, United States, 16 May 2000.

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