Sep 03 2009
Buffy: The Vampire Slayer’s Gingerbread Episode–Witchcraft In Your Living Room?
Being a Joss Whedon fan, I watched some Buffy: the Vampire Slayer last night. I checked out the episode ‘Gingerbread,’ in which parents are brainwashed into hating witches due to the influence of two small children, who are found murdered in a playground at the beginning of the episode.
There was a lot of talk in the episode about ‘is your teen experimenting with witchcraft?’ The parents underestimated the power of what, in the Buffyverse, is real witchcraft. It’s not spoiling the episode to say that the parents team up with Principal Snyder to go through students’ lockers to confiscate occult-related items from students and to identify them.
While the episode was a bit campy (in true Whedon fashion), it was also pretty revolutionary. It showed that the teens practicing witchcraft weren’t necessarily different or possessed by Satan. Willow’s mother even tries to explain away Willow’s fascination with witchcraft with psychological explanations.
I would say this complements descendents in entertainment–such as the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris or Alan Ball’s True Blood series on HBO, which is based on Harris’ book series. They certainly make a point with vampires’ rights, showing how silly people can be when they are hating on someone different.
For a recap of the episode, check out The Witches’ League for Public Awareness.
What did you think of this episode?
I love BTVS. That episode illustrates the way it takes so little to get people to believe outrageous things and to behave in abominable ways, even toward those they seem/claim to love.