Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Although Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired from 1997 till 2003 (running for seven seasons), it is still a hugely popular series. Much has been written about the show, e.g., Wilcox (2002) and (2005). Language is one of its most distinctive features. It has been extensively explored in certain aspects by scholars from many disciplines, including Overbey and Preston-Matto (2002), Adams (2003), Kirchner (2006), and others in the special issue of Slayage: The Journal of the Whedon Studies Association devoted to Buffy language (Slayage 20), as well as Mandala (2007). There is still much to be said about Buffy’s language, however, especially when it comes to its chief villains: vampires.

The long running nature of the series means that the writers were able to develop an extremely wide variety of vampire types. There are background vampires and there are more prominent ones; there are conventional vampires, embracing a figure we know from the 19th century Gothic novel; more contemporary ones, as well as “good” vampires, who have a soul and do not kill. It is clear then that to construct a vampire in Buffy the Vampire Slayer one needs more than just a black Bela Lugosi cape. The vampires in the show are constructed through acting, clothes, props, but also through language.

I would explore here the relationship between masculinity and the language the vampires in Buffy the Vampire Slayer use (macho vampires vs. the Slayer). The show aimed to abolish the stereotype vampire and to propose a new incarnation of this creature, but to do that, it had to depict such a vampire first. The vampires at the beginning of the series embrace the “macho” monster and it is achieved also through the way they speak. Lorna Jowett discussed gender in Buffy in Sex and the Slayer (2005) and Jennifer K. Stuller looked at Buffy as a superheroine in Ink-Stained Amazons (2010). I”d like to look at how vampire macho attitude is reflected in language.

The Conventional Vampire

When the series starts, Buffy has to face a group of stereotypical vampires called the Order of Aurelius. Its leader, the Master, is trapped underground in a ruined church (sunk by an earthquake) and confined by a magical force field. He is dependent on his second in command, Luke, and other minions, to get food, i.e. human victims. In the very first episode two vampires, Thomas and Darla, are sent to bring some “offering” to the Master but are prevented by a new girl in town, Buffy. In order to rescue her new friend Willow, Buffy fights Darla and Thomas, whom she stakes. Then Luke appears and is surprised that such a petite girl is fighting his brethren. He dismisses Darla, saying, “I”ll see if I can handle the little girl.” He attacks Buffy and realizes she is not what she appears to be. But Luke is not intimidated. He tells her, “You’re strong” and a moment later sends her flying across the room, commenting: “I’m stronger.” The fight between Luke and Buffy continues for the last few minutes of the episode and the vampire finally gets impatient. He complains, “You’re wasting my time.” And when Buffy does not give up and hits him again and again, he smirks, “You think you can stop me? Stop us? You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”

Although in the next episode we learn that Luke realizes who Buffy is, his words express his disdain and lack of respect for this strong female fighting him. He describes her as a “little girl,” and although he acknowledges her strength, he still seems to think he is out of her league, that she is not worth his effort. But Buffy does not back off and in time Luke needs to increase his sense of authority: his self-correction (“Stop me? Stop us?”) shows he feels the need of backing himself up with others, building his identity–and strength–as a part of a group, not an individual. His last utterance is an open threat (“You have no idea what you’re dealing with”).

It is important to point out here that Luke’s chauvinist attitude comes from his leader. The Master, an ancient vampire with huge magical power, but confined physically underground, is dismissive of Buffy even when he learns she is the Slayer, the chosen one who stands alone to fight vampires. They first meet in 1.10 “Nightmares” when everyone’s nightmares come to life. In this dream reality the Master is able to temporarily leave his confines because he is the embodiment of Buffy’s nightmares. He greets her with, “So! This is the Slayer! You’re prettier than the last one.” By this short utterance the Master emphasizes his age and experience–although there is only one Slayer in every generation, he implies he has met at least one more, and possibly more than that. He points to Buffy’s prettiness to depreciate her strength. It also sounds like a threat: the Master appears to be a very strong vampire; therefore it is quite possible that his encounter with the other Slayer ended with her death. In this instance the Master succeeds, terrifying Buffy to the extent in which she cannot say a word, and buries her alive.

Luckily, this was just an alternative reality; Buffy survives and she faces the Master again in Season One’s finale. This time they both know this encounter is final–one of them is going to die. According to a prophecy Buffy is supposed to fight the Master and die. Having initial doubts she is now determined to face him, to save the world. She goes down to his lair and he greets her with “Welcome.” She is frightened but tries to keep a brave face and uses one of her weapons: a witty remark. But the Master sees right through her, “The feeble banter portion of the fight,” denying her power. When she tries to shoot him with a crossbow, he catches the bolt and dismisses her attack: “You’re not going to kill me with that thing.” Not only is he stronger and faster than she is he also constantly depreciates her verbally, not even allowing her weapon a proper name, just a “thing.” Buffy is more and more petrified but the Master taunts her, “I’m waiting for you. I want this moment to last.” Out of the context those words sound like that of a lover’s seducing his lady. But here the Master’s words are menacing: he revels in Buffy’s fear and her seemingly imminent death. He is using a seductive line and giving it a new meaning: of a threat.

Finally Buffy succumbs to her opponent; the Master drinks from her and leaves her to drown/die. He is so sure of himself he does not stop to check whether he really did kill the Slayer. He leaves his lair, freed by the power from feeding off the Slayer. Resuscitated by her friends the Slayer again faces the vampire leader but now the power shifts. She takes him by surprise: he exclaims, shocked, “You’re dead!” Buffy uses witty remarks to distract him but he still believes she cannot possibly defeat him. Even when he fails to hypnotize her, he says, “Did you really think you could best me here when you couldn’t below?” And when she laughs because she has already spotted her chance to defeat him, he asks, “You laugh when my hell is on earth?” But a moment later Buffy throws him over the skylight into the room below and onto an upturned wooden table and thus kills him.

As a conventional vampire, representing a stereotype we know thanks to Bram Stoker, the Master uses old-fashioned language and is a chauvinist when it comes to the Slayer. He knows she has the power to fight vampires, however his self-confidence never falters and he cannot even imagine being defeated by this Slayer, one in a long line. Moreover, by a petite girl. His attitude is also reflected in those of his minions, like Luke mentioned earlier.

Modern Vampires

The Master dies at the end of Season One and the second season sees a different kind of vampire, new in town. A vampire couple arrive in Sunnydale and immediately cause a stir. One of them is Spike–a punk vampire in a black leather coat and with bleached hair. He does not acknowledge any authority and makes it known when he introduces himself and his companion to the Order of Aurelius. “You”ve got Slayer problems. That’s a bad piece of luck. Do you know what I find works real good with Slayers? Killing them.” The Slayer is always a young female and Spike seems very dismissive of such girl, even though she is always powerful. He is boastful: “I did a couple of Slayers in my time. I don’t like to brag. Who am I kidding? I love to brag! There was this one Slayer during the Boxer Rebellion and…” At this point in the narrative we do not know if what Spike is saying is true or if it is just boasting. However, later the series, in Season Five (“Fool for Love, 5.7), his back story is revealed, and it is shown that Spike really did kill two Slayers, one in China during the Boxer Rebellion, and the other in New York in 1977.

I believe Spike is the most dynamic character in the series, not only among the vampires. He starts as a cruel and clever vampire (his nickname comes from his favourite torture tool) and the Slayer’s enemy, but as the series progresses he switches sides, joins the Scoobies (Buffy and her friends), becomes Buffy’s friend and lover and eventually her champion. That is why it is so interesting to observe the way he projects his “macho” persona when he first appears in town, when he boasts about killing Slayers. He does that to make himself more important, to prove he is manlier than the rest of the vampires who struggle in the fight against the Slayer. He makes a deal with the others: he will kill the Slayer and in return they will leave him and his companion in peace.

Spike and the Slayer

When Spike first meets the Slayer, he sets her up to fight a vampire weakling in a dark alley, and when she stakes him without much effort, Spike comes out of the shadows with a smirk on his face, saying, “Nice work, love.” Later on in the series he will often use pet names, but addressing the Slayer “love” is definitely depreciating here. The next time they meet he is not subtle–he wreaks havoc in her school and searches the building for her, bellowing, “slaaayer! Here, kitty, kittyyyy. I find one of your friends first, I’m gonna suck them dry. And then use their bones to bash your head in.” He diminishes her power by calling her “kitty” as if she was literally a pet.

Spike starts off as a macho, dismissing any power a “girl” can have. But at the end of the series, in Season Seven it is Spike who comforts the Slayer when she is temporarily expelled from her home. He says”

I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I’ve seen your kindness and your strength. I’ve seen the best and the worst of you. And I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You’re a hell of a woman. You’re the one, Buffy.” (“Touched” 7.20).

There is also another modern vampire around: Angel, Buffy’s romantic interest and helper, a reluctant vampire, a vampire with a soul. He appears in the very first episode of the series and follows Buffy. She feels it and leads him into a dark alley where she attacks him. He smiles as she pins him down to the ground, “Ah, heh. Is there a problem, ma’am?” With this exaggerated politeness he pretends he does not know who she is. But when she finally lets him get up, he admits, “Truth is, I thought you’d be taller, or bigger muscles and all that. You’re pretty spry though.” There can be three interpretations of his words at this point: first, because she knocked him out, he assumed she must be bigger; second, he has met other Slayers–but that implies that he knows about vampires and Slayers as well as that he is old; three, he heard about her from other vampires in Sunnydale. Whichever the interpretation Angel employs a patronizing tone, like Luke acknowledging Buffy’s physical strength, but not entirely believing in her Slayer powers. Since the story is just beginning, she does not know yet he is a vampire therefore she is not bothered by his words.

In the next few seasons Buffy and Angel have a stormy relationship. Buffy is attracted to him, but she cannot initially imagine being with a vampire, a creature she is destined to kill. However, they eventually give into their feelings and become a couple. When Spike arrives in Sunnydale, it is revealed he is acquainted with Angel. The latter pretends to be the still evil Angelus who Spike remembers (before Angelus was cursed with a soul and became Angel). Spike asks him about Buffy, and he replies, “she’s cute. Not too bright though. Gave the puppy dog “I’m all tortured’ act. Keeps her off my back when I feed.” To hide his transformation Angel reverts to a lie, playing on stereotypes that blondes are gullible and stupid.

Later on in the series it is shown how Spike was turned into a vampire and joined Angelus’s pack. In one of the flashbacks in “Fool for Love” (5.07) the pack is hiding in a coal mine in Yorkshire. Angelus is the supposed leader of the pack; Spike does not want to submit to the other. Angelus scolds Spike for his behavior: “You’ve got me and my women hiding in the luxury of a mine shaft, all because William the Bloody [Spike] likes the attention.” This is a power struggle between the two. On the one side we have Angelus, who speaks possessively of his women (Darla and Drusilla) and claims killing requires a “certain amount of finesse,” that it is “pure artistry.” On the other side we have rebellious Spike who calls Angelus “a poofter” and expresses his disagreement with “bollocks” and “sod off.” The vampires cultivate their macho image not only when facing the Slayer but also among themselves (although still in the presence of females: Darla and Drusilla).

A Vampire Up-to-date

There is another macho vampire worth mentioning here. Although the conventional vampire embodied by the Master was defeated at the end of Season One, the series comes back to this idea at the beginning of Season Five. In the Buffyverse Count Dracula is still alive and he comes to Sunnydale to meet the famous Slayer. He is presented as an elegant, civilized man rather than a dangerous vampire. He observes Buffy from the shadows when she stakes a vampire and comments, “Very impressive hunt.” By choosing to use “hunt” rather than “kill” he gives Buffy an elevated status, that of a hunter. It is curious because although “vampire slayer” and “vampire hunter” have become interchangeable in popular culture–e.g. Frost’s Night Huntress series or Laurell K.

Hamilton’s Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series–Buffy in fact is not a hunter. She patrols and usually kills vampires to prevent them from hurting humans; she does not hunt them for pleasure. Dracula in the series shows his admiration by adding, “such power.” Instead of attacking the Slayer, he is admiring her from distance. When she asks who he is, he says, “I apologize. I assumed you knew. I’m Dracula.” She does not believe but he insists, “You know who I am. As I would know without question that you are Buffy Summers.” He recognizes her power. And then he gives the reason of his visit: “I came to meet the renowned…killer.” Again, he chooses not to use the term “Slayer” and as he elevated her with “hunter” a moment earlier, now he depreciates her role by calling her a “killer”. It is notable he takes time to choose the right word, he pauses before saying “killer” and thus accentuating the word. It seems he implies Buffy is not a noble Slayer, defender of innocents, but rather a killer who preys on his kind.

Their meeting is brief and when they meet again, he gives her more words of admiration, “You’re magnificent,” “You are different. Kindred.” And here lies his true meaning: Dracula admires Buffy because in his eyes she is like him, a civilized killer, a kindred spirit, a powerful creature. Buffy is of course appalled. But he continues, “I have searched the world over for you. I have yearned for you. For a creature whose darkness rivals my own.” This is in fact an insult. Dracula claims Buffy is dark like him, evil and not human. It is also curious how Dracula’s words foreshadow what happens to Buffy at the end of this (fifth) season: she will sacrifice her life to save the world and then will be magically resurrected in the following season, but she will be different, changed.

It is also remarkable that Dracula’s words echo those of the Master. In the Season One finale, the Master uses a specific register: that of a seducer/rapist; Dracula does the same in Season Five. The Master tells Buffy, “I’m waiting for you. I want this moment to last.” Buffy replies, “I don’t,” but he dismisses it with “I understand” and still drinks from her. When Dracula visits Buffy in Sunnydale, he tells her, “You’re magnificent” and “I have searched the world over for you. I have yearned for you.” When he leans towards her neck, she feebly says, “No,” but he dismisses it with “Do not fight,” and drinks from her. Later when they meet again, Dracula asks Buffy: “Are you afraid I will bite you? Slayer, that’s why you came.”(Buffy: Last night…it’s not gonna happen again.) He replies, “Stop me. Stake me.”(Buffy: Any minute now.) “Do you know why you cannot resist? (...) Because you do not want to.” Moreover, Dracula himself makes a reference to the Master, commenting: “You have been tasted ... (Buffy: He was…) unworthy.” It is a very subtle but humorous way of mocking the monstrous Master, although the audience still know Dracula is as stereotypical.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer touches upon many issues and is linguistically rich. The show’s aim–as stated by its creator, Joss Whedon–was to show high school as a horror experience. But the series also succeeded in proposing a new kind of vampire. First the conventional vampire was portrayed to be quickly disposed of. The vampires with a “macho” attitude towards the Slayer were either killed (Luke and the Master) or changed their ways (Angel and Spike), or simply left the scene (Dracula). One of the Slayer’s weapons is language and through language the “macho” vampires tried to depreciate her. But eventually it was Buffy who can stand over them and say: “You’re strong. I’m stronger.”