Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Local church asks: What would Buffy do?

Nan Loggains, director of religious education at Murray Church in Attleboro, holds up one of the books she drew on to put together her class on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." (Staff photo by Mike George) ATTLEBORO — It’s a world filled with vampires, demons and other made-up monsters, with plot twists that rely on the supernatural and a love affair between a teenage girl with "un-human" powers and an immortal man who "unlives" a tortured (sometimes literally) existence.

The appeal and success of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which ran for seven seasons on the WB and UPN and developed a cult-like following, was in its obvious absurdities - that the characters dealt with fictional monsters that flocked to their town, which was built, naturally, on a hell mouth.

Doesn’t sound much like a basis for religious discussion, but at Murray Unitarian Universalist Church, pop culture often finds its way into God’s house.

"It’s about taking something that’s very popular and mining it for religious and philosophical ideas," said Nan Loggains, director of religious education.

Building on the success after last year’s series on "The Simpsons" - which explored religious issues raised by some truly unlikely moral characters - Loggains is running a new series titled "What Would Buffy Do?," using the vampire slayer herself as a moral guide.

The most recent class focused on a Valentine’s Day episode from early in the series called "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered."

The episode focuses on Buffy’s friend Xander and his budding romance with the ego-driven Cordelia.

Taunted by her friends, Cordelia breaks up with Xander on Valentine’s Day. Hurt and angered, he blackmails their witch friend Amy into casting a spell that will make Cordelia fall back in love with him, just so he can publicly humiliate her.

But the plan backfires, and soon every girl, and grown woman, in town is throwing herself at Xander, and their obsession boils over into danger.

All matters are resolved in the end, of course, and Xander steps up to the plate by turning down the ill-conceived advances of Buffy (with whom he is in love), and Cordelia chooses Xander, standing up to her friends.

A post-viewing discussion centered on the topics of moral ambiguity, how love happens, and whether passion is a virtue or a vice.

"I am always interested in Xander as the everyman, the one powerless guy," said Jim Loggains, Nan’s husband. "He’s at his lowest point and it’s how he deals with that."

Loggains is far from the first to touch on the moral lessons and values behind the dilemma-driven subjects that appear in Buffy episodes.

Joss Whedon, the series creator, has said he sold the script with the metaphor of "high school as hell" in mind.

Most Buffy episodes use the problems that Buffy and her friends encounter with various creatures and events as metaphors for situations teenagers and young adults might encounter, including dealing with broken hearts, duties and obligations, social ladders and sacrifice.

There are more than a few books on the subject, including "What Would Buffy Do: The Vampire Slayer as Spiritual Guide." Topics inside that book include "The Monster Inside: Taming the darkness within ourselves," and "Death is our gift: what death can teach us about living."

Loggains said that, not being a huge Buffy fan, she read about five of these books to prepare for the class. Those who signed up vary in age and gender and in their level of Buffy-devotion.

The discussion on whether people choose love or love chooses you generated a big buzz. Though the group of eight attendees seemed to agree that it’s most likely a combination, there weren’t a lot of devotees to destiny in the bunch.

Which might be taken as ironic, since the premise of "Buffy" was that she was destined to help save the world.

Somewhat unstructured, the discussion didn’t lead back to Buffy’s world too often, and turned instead to big-theory topics like the existence of free will.

But the tie-ins were there.

Jim Loggains, a self-proclaimed Buffy fan, has seen most, if not all, of the series’ episodes.

"You’re looking at life, and serially so, and every character falls by the wayside," he said. "But they’re always redeemed in one way or another. I think it teaches you that the way you are today isn’t necessarily the way you’re always going to be - the test of you is how you adapt to the changes in your life."

("What Would Buffy Do?" will meet again this Wednesday and next Wednesday at Murray Church, 505 North Main St., Attleboro. For more information call 508-222-0505.)