Be Brave, live: reviewing Buffy's journey in Buffy The Vampire Slayer from Final Girl to Heroine twenty-five years later

Abstract

The present paper discusses the United-Statesian TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer reassessing its protagonist, Buffy Summers, in 2022, twenty-five years after its first broadcasting. As a teenage girl turned into a vampire/demon hunter, Buffy undergoes significant changes in relation to her calling as a slayer. Reluctant at first, she comes to terms with her responsibilities later in the series, in a movement that echoes Joseph Campbell’s definition of the monomyth. The authors propose to discuss Buffy’s changes throughout the series, emphasizing key narrative moments, in order to illustrate how the character evolves from what could be perceived as an archetype similar to the “final girl” to a (feminist?) heroine. Additionally, the authors comment on the abuse allegations against Buffy’s creator Joss Whedon, and how they relate to the series’ legacy twenty-five years later.