After finishing reading the article “High School is Hell” I was enlightened to a deeper level of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After watching the first episode I had the impression that it was a TV series geared towards teenage girls and high school drama The article brought to light several different, more complex underlying themes that are embedded in every episode. These ‘hidden metaphors’, I believe will make the show much more interesting for me to watch - because it requires more thinking and analyzing of the plots within the episodes.
One particular large underlying metaphor that I particularly liked was the dual use of “High School is Hell” as a metaphor. It is certainly true that at some point in everybody’s high school career it can feel like hell. We certainly all must face our demons throughout high school. Buffy provides viewers with a relatable character to the target audience - teenagers - that they can look up to. Even though she certainly faces terrible situations throughout her high school career, which certainly seem insurmountable, she manages to ‘face her demons’ both literally and metaphorically. Saving her high school life, as well as usually her literal life.
When watching further episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I will try to observe these double metaphors hidden throughout the episodes. I am interested to see the literal monsters they use as metaphors for the ‘monsters’ we face in our high school careers. I am especially interested to find the situations where the metaphors are “…more real than the reality.” (Tracy Little, P.6) as is explained in the article. Overall, this article provided me with insight that is going to allow me to really enjoy the episodes and respect them beyond a shallow TV drama.
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