Pre-Re-Watching

My initial thought before the re-watching is that I have more respect for XWP. I think this may partly be because of the underdog status of XWP, and I will almost always root for the underdog. The fact that the XWP fandom also provides me with more intellectual debate as well as an incredibly high standard of fanwork e.g. fic, vids & graphics, also works to it’s advantage. Plus it should be mentioned that the Xena fandom is the one I’ve been most active in lately (as in the past year or so). It’s been a very long time since I actually watched any BtVS seriously.

It should be mentioned that right now I feel a certain amount of contempt for Joss Whedon. I cannot deny the man has streaks of brilliance in him, but there are certain aspects of him and his work that I’ve lately found do not mix with my perception of the world. Specifically the way in which (granted this is not all his fault) BtVS have been attributed to him alone and the following individual worship of Whedon himself. Though Whedon might be the man behind the genius that is BtVS you seldom feel the celebration and acknowledgment of the team standing with and behind him through the seven seasons. BtVS has in many ways become one big celebration of the individuals, Whedon and Sarah Michelle Gellar in particular. Whereas XWP on the other hand does have it’s stars, but has always felt like a team effort. Though some of them might shine a little brighter than the others, inside the fandom you never single one of them out and attribute the success to them individually. This feeling of team effort and praise is something that fits more comfortably with my ideology.

Furthermore at this time I also appreciate many of the XWP characters a lot more than any of the ones found in BtVS. My perceived difference between the two shows pre-re-watching is that Whedon (in general, but also in this specific case) provides interesting spins on old and well used stereotypes, whereas Xenaverse provides a larger display of truly original characters based on archetypes (yes there is a difference between stereo and archetypes).

At this point I also feel that the dialogue on XWP at times was more than a little clunky and rather cliché filled at times. "Buffyspeak" on the other hand, though heavily influenced by for example Heathers, really is original and so brilliantly funny it cannot not be worshipped. BtVS dialogue and Buffyspeak often find its ways into the most mundane of my sentences. As the grammar rapist I am, I love and adore the bending, twisting and twirling of expressions, sentences and words, the gang behind BtVS provided us with. Though there are some awesome lines on XWP (It’s all about me, and what I know!) they are not nearly as dynamic and vivid as the ones on BtVS.

To summarise, I at the moment prefer Xena over Buffy for a whole slay of reasons. The main one being the underrated nature of the show and the fact that the brilliance of the show stems from the effort we as a viewer and fan put into analysing it. My current disdain for Buffy mainly centres around the individualistic and somewhat pretentious elements of the show and its creators.

BtVS was mainstream original. XWP was independently original. One show created a female hero based on society’s perceived notions of femininity. The other show created a complex anti-hero that exists outside of contemporary gender roles. Both shows have become known as promoters of female empowerment. Then the question becomes, does either one of these shows live up to that reputation? Which show provided us with more original entertainment and messages? How much influence did they have on each other? What messages, if any, did they present? Where do these two stories fit into present day Western society?

And finally, how will my perceptions and preconceived notions have changed once I’ve watched my way through both shows?