itsallovernow (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
itsallovernow) wrote2003-05-21 12:32 pm
itsallovernow) wrote2003-05-21 12:32 pm
It's still daytime right?
Having gone to bed at 4:00 a.m., I'm not expecting much coherency from myself right now.
I haven't seen the Buffy finale yet, although I did check to see that it taped and couldn't make myself look away from the last minute. Even from that, I think it ended the way I would have liked and I'll watch it tonight. It made me weepy, but at 4 a.m., every did - there was much wine and many cigarettes involved.
I'm enjoying the discussions about what Buffy, and the watching of it, meant to people. It's so amazing to see the ways that art links us together, gives us things precious and unexpected that have less to do with what's onscreen than what the art stirs in us. I never thought I'd be a Television is Art advocate, but after X-Files and Farscape and Buffy, and even moments of Angel, I stand firmly behind that belief. I used to be passionate about film, and though I still enjoy movies, few recent ones have given me anything like the feelings that these TV shows invoked.
I started watching Buffy in grad school. I got three channels, couldn't afford cable, and was doing everything possible to avoid studying. I was as alone as I'd ever been, and there was this show that was absolutely unexpected - now to be fair, I also watched Dawson's Creek that year. The WB came in the best. But it was nice to have this little hour of time to look forward to every week. The X-Files was still on, but that was an old friend, comfortable and present. Buffy was new and shiny. I went to L.A. for S's wedding, and her little sister's watched it so she made fun of me. A year later, when I moved to sunny CA, she couldn't be budged on Tuesday nights, and so it became another tradition for us.
Buffy had a great run. It changed the way we looked at and thought about television, I think even more so than The X-Files because the demographic was so absolutely wild. Legitimate scholars have written about this show and it's characters and philosophies.
It's also one of the best ever representations of what it is like to be young, to feel the weight of the world on your shoulders - the literal weight in this case - and to feel so alone you can barely breathe. This show made adolescence far more real than anything else that's been on TV. It may be why, much as I loved it, I didn't crave it the way I did X-Files and Farscape. I've never wanted to be Buffy, or any of them, never wanted to go back to being 16, 18 or 21. I loved school, craved the knowledge and opportunity it gave me, and while I loved the metaphor, that was surely not my experience.
But this show completely encapsulated the ages, the intelligence and resourcefulness and social structures and negotiating required to just get through the day, let alone save the world. And then it moved beyond high school and embraced new themes but never let go of the idea that life is work, it's a struggle, but worthwhile. My favorite moment in Buffy is when she says the hardest thing about being in this world is living in it.
I'm glad they got to choose their ending, go out on their own, and however I end up feeling about the episode, I was glad to be there.
The premiere was fantastic. They staged it at a theater and ran it like a political rally and it was just kick ass. I'm so proud of the work of everyone involved. M. stood by me at the back, every nerve in his body tense, leaning into me. I don't think he drew a full breath until the lights came back on.
I haven't seen the Buffy finale yet, although I did check to see that it taped and couldn't make myself look away from the last minute. Even from that, I think it ended the way I would have liked and I'll watch it tonight. It made me weepy, but at 4 a.m., every did - there was much wine and many cigarettes involved.
I'm enjoying the discussions about what Buffy, and the watching of it, meant to people. It's so amazing to see the ways that art links us together, gives us things precious and unexpected that have less to do with what's onscreen than what the art stirs in us. I never thought I'd be a Television is Art advocate, but after X-Files and Farscape and Buffy, and even moments of Angel, I stand firmly behind that belief. I used to be passionate about film, and though I still enjoy movies, few recent ones have given me anything like the feelings that these TV shows invoked.
I started watching Buffy in grad school. I got three channels, couldn't afford cable, and was doing everything possible to avoid studying. I was as alone as I'd ever been, and there was this show that was absolutely unexpected - now to be fair, I also watched Dawson's Creek that year. The WB came in the best. But it was nice to have this little hour of time to look forward to every week. The X-Files was still on, but that was an old friend, comfortable and present. Buffy was new and shiny. I went to L.A. for S's wedding, and her little sister's watched it so she made fun of me. A year later, when I moved to sunny CA, she couldn't be budged on Tuesday nights, and so it became another tradition for us.
Buffy had a great run. It changed the way we looked at and thought about television, I think even more so than The X-Files because the demographic was so absolutely wild. Legitimate scholars have written about this show and it's characters and philosophies.
It's also one of the best ever representations of what it is like to be young, to feel the weight of the world on your shoulders - the literal weight in this case - and to feel so alone you can barely breathe. This show made adolescence far more real than anything else that's been on TV. It may be why, much as I loved it, I didn't crave it the way I did X-Files and Farscape. I've never wanted to be Buffy, or any of them, never wanted to go back to being 16, 18 or 21. I loved school, craved the knowledge and opportunity it gave me, and while I loved the metaphor, that was surely not my experience.
But this show completely encapsulated the ages, the intelligence and resourcefulness and social structures and negotiating required to just get through the day, let alone save the world. And then it moved beyond high school and embraced new themes but never let go of the idea that life is work, it's a struggle, but worthwhile. My favorite moment in Buffy is when she says the hardest thing about being in this world is living in it.
I'm glad they got to choose their ending, go out on their own, and however I end up feeling about the episode, I was glad to be there.
The premiere was fantastic. They staged it at a theater and ran it like a political rally and it was just kick ass. I'm so proud of the work of everyone involved. M. stood by me at the back, every nerve in his body tense, leaning into me. I don't think he drew a full breath until the lights came back on.
no subject
Yes, exactly! Although I don't know if I would say that I "want to be" John or Mulder (my POV characters in Farscape and the X Files), either. ;)
For me, it's a matter of having a connection with the characters. Buffy was fun, and I enjoyed the episodes of it that I've seen, but I never connected with Buffy or Willow or Xander the way I connected with John or Mulder. I never wanted to be popular in school; I never felt being in a library was weird; I never actually wanted to blow up my High School, at any point of my High School career. I enjoyed school because I loved learning new things, and if there were any attempts to tease me about it, they went so completely over my head that I wasn't even aware of them until years later. (Heh. I guess there really are some advantages to being completely oblivious to your surroundings. ;) )
But Geek!Mulder, so excited about every new theory, so absorbed in his little world that he doesn't even notice that people are making fun of him. ScienceFictionGeek!John, who can quote pretty much every Sci-Fi movie ever written and is proud of it. That I can understand. That I can feel a connection with. :)
Still, even without that one central character that I can use to form a connection, I enjoyed watching Buffy. And it really did change television the way no other show except possibly the X Files did. You've got to love it, if only for that. :)
no subject
but their POV was so absorbing, the excitment and geekiness and wonder just captivated me. I didn't have to be like them to find them fascinating, and while the same is probably true for Buffy, for me being passionate about art usually reflects a little wish fullfillment, hence the friggin' Krav Maga.
But, yes, I too loved watching Buffy, rarely missed an episode until this last year, and have so much respect for the creation as well. I do feel like TV will be something less without it.
no subject
The last six episodes or so I've seen without fail, and the last couple Angel episodes as well... I've always watched Buffy when it was on and I had nothing better to do. I never conciously changed my schedual to watch the show until the last few months... but I'm still sad to see it go... it makes me miss Farscape even more.
Buffy's kinda been my second favorite teddy bear after I lost my first one (Farscape)... it's not the same and it's not as comforting. I don't love it as much... but it's just close enough that if I squeeze my eyes shut and don't hug it too hard, I can pretend it's the same bear. Now that toy is gone too and I realize there's not really a show on television I look forward to anymore.
I'm going to miss that feeling of anticipation.