Blog post #2 – Course concept 

Joss Whedon’s ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ premiered on The CW in 1997, as the Internet was first being democratised to the world. The series soon gathered a cult following and fans were prone to congregating onto online forums to discuss the series’ characters, story arcs and all things related to Joss Whedon.

Brooks discusses taste as “enabl[ing] us to view ourselves as part of a continuity, a tradition. Aesthetically, economically, socially and historically, taste gives a certain predictable consistency to our lives.” (1982, p. 9)

So whom does the Buffy fandom consist of? What are their tastes? BtVS has one of the strongest cult followings in television history, however this fan experience, like many, is often wrought with difficulties. Ross discusses that in the case of ‘Buffy’ and shows within the female centric fantasy genre such as ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’, “the texts and its fans are seen as belonging to a low cultural taste group.” (2008, p. 48)

This perspective could be as a result of the “nerd” status that any show within the fantasy genre seems to garner. Additionally it may be due the fact that the show’s central protagonist, Buffy, is a teenage girl, and while she slays vampires, she also handles the trials and tribulations of adolescence. The teen drama, especially a female centric one, is typically associated with ‘lowbrow’ culture.

However, perhaps the primary reason ‘Buffy’ fans are considered to have poor taste is because of the nature of fan engagement associated with the series. Extending beyond just a casual viewing experience, BtVS fans have been known to even take on a scholarly critique of the show. In fact, there is an online archive of essays, books and journals written about the show, named ‘The Encyclopedia of Buffy Studies’ which boasts a significant compilation of sources and discussions. Those writing these texts are ‘aca – fans’ – academics and self – described fans.

Cultural norms often prescribe that viewing experiences should remain casual. Emotional attachements to media texts may be deemed excessive. As a result, active fandoms like that of BtVS often struggle to escape negative connotations of being juvenile and obsessive. In addition, fan produced works – such as fan fiction and fan art, are often deemed to be not a legitimate hobby. The works themselves are accused of both poaching from the original text, as well as generally being of a lesser quality than mainstream texts – like the original BtVS.

As Bourdieu discusses, “the most intolerable thing for those who regard themselves as the possessors of legitimate culture is the sacrilegious reuniting of tastes which taste dictates shall be separated.” (1980, p. 253) In the case of ‘Buffy’, this can relate to the production of fan works, as well as the intensive reading of the text in general, such as the work of “aca – fans”.

The depiction of fan engagement on Buffy is interesting, as although Joss Whedon has been noted for being pro – fan fiction and modes of fan engagement, the primary villains in season six of the show are “the trio” – Warren, Jonathan and Andrew, who’s characters take a dark turn as they attempt to take over Sunnydale. Gray and Sandvoss argue that the trio “narrativises Buffy fans specifically”, noting that Tom Lenk who portrayed the character Andrew was quoted as saying “we’re playing what the truly obsessive Buffy fans would be… the writers have told us that we’re basically them personified”. Gray and Sandvoss suggest that “these representations further inhibit fandom’s discursive productivity by disarticulating fans from storytelling practise and rearticulating them to compliant consumption.” (2007, p. 297)

Consider the following clip at 0:38 to 0:58. “The trio” when not being typical super villains, are often utilised for comic relief, their nerd status being the source of this. They are also often shown in the basement – a stereotypical presentation of the unsociable nerd.

With ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’, we can not only recognise how matters of taste may dictate what constitutes high, low and middle brow culture, but additionally how specific ways of engaging with texts are considered desireable or undesirable. In the case of ‘Buffy’, intensive, emotionally driven fan engagement may be regarded by wider society and even the show’s producers as being an undesirable, potentially distasteful, mode of engagement.

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References 

Bourdieu, P (2013). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. 1st ed. Oxon: Routledge, p.49.

Brooks, W. (1982). On being tasteless. Popular Music, 2, p.9. Available from: JStor [24 October 2015]

Gray, J., Sandvoss, C. and Harrington, L. (2007). Fandom: identities and communities in a mediated world. New York: New York University Press, pp.296 – 298. [23 October 2015]

Ross, Sharon Marie 2009 ‘Beyond the Box: Television and the Internet’, ebook, Available from: EBL: Ebook library [26 October 2015]

Slayageonline.com,. ‘Encyclopedia Of Buffy Studies’. N.p., 2015. Web. [27 October 2015]