The Feminist Perspective of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
In her feminist critique of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Anne Millard Daughtey described Buffy as a show which "obviously promotes female strength and power" (159). Buffy herself is a "symbol of female empowerment" (149); as feminists we can all take comfort in the fact that Buffy "kicks butt and so can we all" (164). Sherryl Vint agrees that Buffy is a "positive role model for young women, one which feminism should celebrate" (para. 3). I find this understanding of Buffy, both the character and the series, to be very problematic, and with this paper I aim to undertake a revised feminist critique of the show, and expose the Buffyverse as the product of a very traditional patriarchal world view which pays lip service to a superficial feminist fashioning. This is not to deny Daughtey and Vint's reading of the Slayer completely; a defining feature of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the liminal position it occupies, at once advocating and refuting positivist feminist readings. However, it is my contention that women in the series are all portrayed in stereotypical ways which have been generated by patriarchy throughout the ages, and all of which serve to empty femininity, leaving the women as functional (fantasy) symbols only: the bluestocking (Willow, Jenny Calendar), the dumb but pretty cheerleader (Cordelia, and to a greater extent Harmony), the witch (Willow, Tara), the sexual hysteric (Dru), the madwoman (Glory).
To return to Irigaray, in the Buffyverse there is "no such thing as woman", only artificial constructions of femininity, a theme neatly encapsulated in the character of Buffy's 'sister' Dawn. Dawn suddenly enters the show in season five in an initially bewildering ser...
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...ague Summers. London: Arrow Books, 1971.
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Vint, Sherryl. " "Killing us Softly': A Feminist Search for the 'Real'Buffy". Slayage 5. 9 Dec 2002. <http://www.slayage.tv/essays/slayage5/vint.html>
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The First World War saw a new form of warfare known as Trench warfare which involved trenches which were deep long dugouts made by the soldiers that lived in these trenches. The trenches proved useful as they protected the soldiers from artillery and bomb fire and were most likely situated in the eastern and western fronts of Europe. However the conditions of the trenches were far from exuberant but were in fact severely terrible. There was bad hygiene throughout the trenches, for example soldiers bathed probably only once a month and as such were prone to diseases such as trenches fever (which were due to the lice attracted by the bad hygiene). The weather was no exception as well, in the summer it would be too hot and in the winter it would be too cold and due to the nature of the trenches, when it rained the trenches would be filled with water, and due to such conditions welcomed the disease known as trench foot which was due to prolonged exposure to water and claimed the foots of many soldiers. There was also the constant danger of bomb fire and snipers would always be on the lookout for any movement. Latrines, which were toilets used in the trenches also sprouted fear as the enemy could see them in this area of the trenches and therefore were in constant danger of death. Soldiers also had to follow a strict code of conduct which was known as trench etiquette which ordered them to respect higher officers and they would have to be punished if the trench etiquette was ignored.
The Generals and politicians thought the war was going to end very quickly where every I gets to go home on Christmas. Generals and Politicians said “A few quick campaigns and a few decisive victories would “bring the boys home by Christmas, “perhaps even by the fall” (Overfield, James H. Sources of Twentieth-century Global History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Print.) , p74. They were definitely wrong on that note. The war lasted 4 years in the hell the soldiers called the battlefield. One of the first major battles on the western front was called the Battle of Marne. The battle that halted the Germans from entering France into a long standing stalemate. The trench warfare started here, where soldiers dug deep into the ground and settled down to fight off the enemy soldiers. It was a stalemate for man...
In 1997, a new series featuring a female lead aired, it was called Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This show became popular instantly and to this day it still remains popular, if not more. This series was named by TV Guide critics as “one of the fifty greatest TV shows of all time”, because of its feminist portrayals (Heinecken, 91). Buffy the Vampire Slayer was created by Joss Whedon due to the fact that he felt bad for women in horror films, he felt like their depictions were almost always sexist. Whedon quoted that the show he has created depicts, “the joy of female power: having it, using it, sharing it.”, which is important to show to women of newer generations (South, 35). What made Buffy so special was that there was finally a female character that was at
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Showalter, Elaine. "Tradition and the Female Talent: The Awakening as a Solitary Book." Martin 33-55.
The largest lymphatic organ in the body is the spleen. The spleen stores healthy blood cells and breaks down aging red blood cells. It also helps make lymphocytes and other types of red blood cells. Another function of the spleen is it collects pathogens from the blood and attacks the trapped pathogens. The adenoids are masses of lymph tissue found in the nose and throat. The two ...
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the main character Buffy Summers is the chosen Vampire Slayer, even though she does not want to be the chosen one, but there is always some type of danger in her town. As she is battling demons and vampires, she is struggling to live a normal life, but soon learns to embrace and accept her destiny. Buffy was a very popular show with seven seasons won two Emmy awards a Golden Satellite award and multiple Saturn awards. In every season Joss Whedon was able to incorporate something different to make each season stand out. A recurring theme throughout the episode “Hush” is that sometimes talking is not the most efficient way of communicating or showing affection.
On February 29, 1692, Tituba, Sarah Osborne, and Sarah Good were accused of The Devil’s Magic by the group of girls (Linder). Women were thought to have been more likely to be a witch, because women were considered lustful towards the Devil by nature (Blumberg). Tituba confes...
As Wolfgang Behringer describes it as, the study of European witchcraft was revolutionized by a “paradigm shift,” which involved the acceptance of anthropological and sociological practices, a greater care to archival sources, and an attention in focusing on history “from below.” One area that has remained particularly debated is the role of gender in the witch discourse and trials. The believers of the trials declared that “the fragile feminine sex….feebler in both mind and body” was particularly susceptible to witchcraft, and their disbelieving opponents used this very prevalence of “poore, sullen, superstitious” women to argue against them.
The lymphatic system is made up of organs and tissues, that defends the body against infectious diseases, while also returning tissue fluids to the body’s bloodstream. The lymphatic system prevents the body from disease and infection by producing white blood cells. The lymphatic system helps our immune
...present powerful characters, while females represent unimportant characters. Unaware of the influence of society’s perception of the importance of sexes, literature and culture go unchanged. Although fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty produce charming entertainment for children, their remains a didactic message that lays hidden beneath the surface; teaching future generations to be submissive to the inequalities of their gender. Feminist critic the works of former literature, highlighting sexual discriminations, and broadcasting their own versions of former works, that paints a composite image of women’s oppression (Feminist Theory and Criticism). Women of the twenty-first century serge forward investigating, and highlighting the inequalities of their race in effort to organize a better social life for women of the future (Feminist Theory and Criticism).
The lymphatic system is a link of tissues and organs that help clear the poisonous toxins, waste and further unwanted elements that are inside the human body. The key function of the lymphatic system is to transport lymph which is a watery fluid substance holding infection that are fighting white blood cells, all over the human body.
Lymphocytes travel through the body through blood vessels, or through lymphatic vessels that have a similar structure to veins. Cells and fluids can be exchanged between the blood and the lymphatic system to help the body find microbes. The lymphatic system transports lymph, which contains white blood cells,