Feminism And Film Analysis: Buffy The Vampire Slayer

In the essay Civilized Vampires Versus Savage Werewolves: Race and Ethnicity in Twilight, Natalie Wilson argues for an examination of how werewolves and vampires are depicted in the hit book trilogy Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Wilson has a doctorate in women's studies and literature, and has written a great deal of books and essays upon the Twilight series and many other monster-based book through the lense of a feminist writer. (Wilson). She posted regularly on her blog while all the Twilight movies came out, and she’s recently been writing another book and editing old essays. Her very first published book was called Seduced by Twilight, and she has a blog by the same title (Wilson).

Gothic writers are fascinated by power struggles, but often shock readers by reversing conventional power differences. Examples of this include the power of rationality against religion, and the female voice and sexuality being powerful, highly controversial topics during the Victorian era. These power struggles often reflect the writer’s own experiences and views, for example Poe frequently presents power struggles between humans and the supernatural due to losing his loved ones, and mental illness. Similarly, in ‘Dracula', Stoker portrays the supernatural as powerful, but with strong sexual undertones,

Just how the forces of good organize themselves in each text reveals much about the assumptions about gender roles present in their cultures of origin. Buffy Summers, a teenage girl, is the Vampire Slayer -- "One girl, in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with the. . . the strength and skill to hunt the vampires, to stop the spread of evil" (Giles/Buffy, "Welcome to the Hellmouth") -- and her friends, the so-called Slayerettes, and her Watcher Giles only provide assistance and support. Dracula's Mina is merely a minor -- and weaker -- member of a large group of men, including her husband, who fight in order to protect her. Without doubt, the image of the petite Buffy fighting and killing vampires week after week forces the viewer to recognize her strength and power. Despite her physical passivity in the novel, "sweet-faced, dainty-looking" Mina reveals she too is strong and necessary to the fight against evil, even if in less obvious ways (226). Seward credits Mina's skill in typing and work in compiling hers, Harker's, and his diaries with providing the key without which they "could never have found the dates otherwise" (232). The information she provides while under hypnosis -- visions echoed in Buffy's prophetic dreams ("Welcome to the Hellmouth," "Prophecy Girl," "Surprise," "Innocence") -- makes

Expressing one's sexuality is often considered a taboo, especially if it concerns women’s sexuality. A woman expressing her sexuality is often looked down upon because of the notion that women must be innocent and demure. These notions were meant to repress women’s sexual gratification and constrict women into feminine roles as mothers or as wives. These stereotyped feminine roles caused women to be viewed as less of a threat to male masculinity. However, in the Victorian Era, new ideas on what it meant to be a woman challenged these feminine roles and the patriarchal order. The “new woman” wanted to be equivalent to men, financially independent, and sexually liberated. The new woman threatens the patriarchal order because equality of the sexes challenges power dynamics and gender roles. In Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula, he challenges the social constraints that limit individual and sexual desires through vampires who are capable of revealing the characters’ repressed desires. With the use of vampires as figurative representation of the new woman, the novel reveals the fear of female sexuality through the erotic acts presented by the women and the men who must confront them.

In Dracula, Stoker portrays the typical women: The new woman, the femme fatale and the damsel in distress, all common concepts in gothic literature. There are three predominant female roles within Dracula: Mina Murray, Lucy Westenra and the three vampire brides, all of which possess different attributes and play different roles within the novel. It is apparent that the feminine portrayal within this novel, especially the sexual nature, is an un-doubtable strong, reoccurring theme.

Within My Last Duchess, The Bloody Chamber and Dracula, there is evidence to suggest that women within the gothic genre as portrayed as victims of male authority, as well as evidence to disprove this argument, instead suggesting that it is the women within the Gothic genre which makes themselves victims. ‘Angela Carter is particularly interested in the portrayal of women as victims of male aggression as a limiting factor in the feminist perspective of the time’[i] Carter, with her modern twist on traditional fairytales places a

In his Literary Theory: The Basics, H. Bertens classifies stereotypes of women in literature into a number of categories; dangerous seductress, self-sacrificing angel, dissatisfied shrew, and defenseless lamb, completely incapable of self-sufficiency, or self-control, and dependent on male intervention. Bertens concludes that the primary objective of these women – or “constructions” – is to serve a “not-so-hidden purpose: the continued cultural and social domination of males”. One such novel that came under feminist scrutiny for these particular reasons was Bram Stoker’s Dracula, although this perlustration didn’t occur until 70 years after Stoker originally penned his masterpiece. However, during the mid-1960s, the rise of the feminist

Feminism and Patriarchy Feminism and Patriarchy are two opposite topics; feminism giving the power to a female and patriarchy giving the power to a male. While one can affect the other, both concepts show up in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twilight. Buffy, the vampire slayer, has superior strength over her vampire boyfriend and all other vampires too. Whereas in Twilight, Edward is seen as the controlling and powerful figure in his relationship with Bella displaying a form of patriarchy. Bella is the typical "girl in love" who alloys her boyfriend take control over her and cannot protect herself.

subject of social ostracism, and the New Woman, the advent of which was feared by the majority of the British Victorian patriarchy, was a prominent aspect of much mid-to-late Victorian era literature. Supplementary evidence to support the compelling Victorian era literary connection between the vampire and the New Woman can be extrapolated from the unique gender role standards that defined that socially complex era. As Catherine Siemann suggests in her essay, “Darkness Falls on the Endless Summer: Buffy as Gidget for the Fin de Siecle,” the Victorian New Woman’s “personal

They are portrayed as female vampires, who can reproduce themselves, hunt and murder children, and hold unusual gender roles among women. In essence, these depictions beat the biological expectations and societal beliefs that are associated with women. For illustration, Lucy Westenra before turning into a

In the story of The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter attacks the conventional gender roles of women. The conventional Gothic plot revolves around pursuit. A young heroine’s virtuous virginity, purity and innocence is sexually threatened. Thus, what Carter does in “The Bloody Chamber” is redefine female desire and sexuality which are rendered passive and repressed through traditional Gothic texts. Where the mother exemplifies the heroic woman, the “girl” is the traditional damsel in distress. Maria Makinen’s assessment of Carters feminine characters is both truthful and incorrect. Carter uses traditional female stereotypes as well as her unique women to make a contrast between these perceptions of women.

The Gothic genre is an increasingly popular area for feminist studies, showing contrasts in society at the time and the expectations of women within it. In pre industrial times, women were expected to play a subservient role to men, they were expected to marry young and bare children, they would simply care for their husbands and support the family, they were denied the right to vote or own property and were expected to be the innocently silent, supportive backbone behind patriarchal society. It is noted that female characters in Gothic novels and plays often fall into one of two categories: innocent victims, subservient to the strong and powerful

The story is of a teenage girl who is chosen to be the next Slayer, endowed with supernatural strength in order to aide her on her quest, because: “In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer”("Welcome to the Hellmouth"). In this series, the Slayer is known as Buffy Summers, and the series follows her as she faces one apocalypse after another, graduating school, dealing with boys and life and death and all the issues that one expects to arise from a coming of age series. What makes Buffy unique is that unlike the rest of the Slayers from the generations before her, she has a collection of friends who help her answer her calling, and together, they create an enthralling cast that keeps the viewers coming back to relive each episode. Feminists have hailed Buffy as being one of the most prominent series that deals with feminist issues and provides viewers with a strong female figurehead; others, however, look at the show with a more critical eye, wondering just what kind of feminism and feminist ideals are being portrayed in the series. This paper will touch upon most of these ideas, yet for now, the focus will be on the character of Buffy herself. .

“Gerald’s Game,” an adaptation of a Stephen King novel by the same title, can be analyzed from the Female Gothic lens, suggesting that the gothic literature mechanisms can also be applied to contemporary tales of female strength and

the "damsel-in-distress" character to be, but she is constantly victimized (helplessly raped twice by two different enemy demons) and is saved a countless number of times by