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Buffy
During a Bible class discussion on the programme, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I was asked, 'Is it not only entertainment?' The questioner assumed entertainment was a neutral entity, which carries no messages or agendas. An assumption which should be challenged, not only among the young, but also among older viewers of soap operas.

Buffy is part of SC-FI/fantasy TV renaissance. In the early 1970's there were programmes like Dr Who and Star Trek before there was then a lull until the mid-1980's when Star Trek - The Next Generation, Babylon 5 and The X-Files launched a resurgence. So, where does Buffy fit into this?

In 1992, a film starring Kirsty Swanson, entitled, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was released. It promptly disappeared into oblivion. Its creator, Joss Whedon then developed it into a TV series with Sarah Michelle Gellar in the lead role and was first screened in 1997. Under Whedon's supervision Buffy has developed into cult viewing.

Buffy is part of a lineage. Each generation has one girl in the world who is born with the strength and the skill to hunt and slay vampires and demons. The slayer is found, trained and guided by a Watcher. Buffy is this generation's slayer.

Buffy faces many opponents. She confronts a series of nasty and powerful witches, vampires, demons and assorted un-dead disturbers of the peace in Sunnydale. In Season 4 in an episode called, Where the Wild things Are, Buffy and company have to do battle with the spirits of children from the 1950's who have returned to avenge past abuses. In addition, in Season 4 in an episode entitled Primeval Buffy is forced to stop the possibility of a human/demon hybrid master race.

There are standard themes, including possession, murder, Buffy's struggle with her destiny as a slayer and her relationships with those around her. A key relationship is between Buffy and Angel. Angel, a vampire, who has his soul restored to him because of a gypsy curse, has been responsible for much death and carnage under his previous guise as Angelus. After beginning a sexual relationship with him, she is forced to send him to hell after he reverts to his previous incarnation as Angelus. Angel does return.

Other themes include clairvoyance and telepathy. Also, Willow, one of Buffy's friends, practises Witchcraft and studies Paganism and Wicca.

For the Christian Buffy does present problems at a number of levels. Initially, there is the glorification and acceptance of violence in the battle against evil. The affirmation of Occult practices and the promotion of Witchcraft in mainstream entertainment can lead young people to look for answers in a cul-de-sac.

The Pagan Federation's Steve Paine, talking about Buffy and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, is reported as saying,

They are taken as fantasy entertainment. But they do encourage people to think about different forms of spirituality.

In addition, the Pagan Federation deals with about 100 youngsters, mainly between 14 to 18 wanting to become witches. The challenge from the Pagan Federation is that as Christians we have failed to satisfy the demand for spirituality in the young. (See BBC News Online, 4 August 2000.)
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