After watching a few episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I have noticed one possible connection to a real world problem. There are plenty of examples to suggest that slaying vampires could be a reference to doing drugs.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer could be using fighting vampires as a metaphor for a person’s fight against drugs. Vampire hunting, just like drug addiction, I’m sure would not be a popular discussion topic. I’m guessing Buffy realized this and, just like most people that use drugs, decided not to inform her parents about her new hobby.
Vampire slaying would take time away from doing schoolwork, could cause her to miss class, and possibly cause her grades to fall. Also, in the third season, the show points out that Buffy has been expelled form school. A common punishment for students convicted of drug use.
Buffy’s mom eventually finds out that she has been hunting vampires, and does not approve. An argument between the two of them insures, resulting in Buffy running away from home.
Running away from home could represent going through rehab or trying to give up drugs. Buffy runs away and starts a new life, free of vampire hunting. However, she ends up getting captured by a group of vampires, and has to fight her way out of trouble. All the things she went through to give up slaying was for nothing (has a relapse).
All of these examples of what happened in the show can be related to drugs or are consequences of drug use. It is just something to keep in mind and look for if you ever watch the show.
Which episode was this?
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying and did not even think about this until you brought it up. I like how you compared vampire hunting to drug addiction and that her running from home was like going to rehab. This is a very interesting comparison and I will look for it in the episodes to come.
I've thought about this before. Vampire slaying is something that Buffy is sucked into, and definite parallels can be made between it and addiction. If you were going to explore this further, I suggest looking into the part of the series that explores Buffy's identity as a slayer. It's not just something she has to do, it's something that she often views as taking away her former identity.
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