Buffy the Vampire Slayer

How do you think Buffy has influenced the contemporary vampire drama 'True Blood' and the 'Twilight series of novels and films? (NOT ONE OF THE DISCUSSION THREADS)

Buffy has definitely influenced films and novels nowadays that are based on similar stories of vampires or the supernatural realm. When Buffy came out in 1997 it was pretty much the first of its kind and since then 'cult TV' has become increasingly more popular and recognized within pop-culture. I personally feel that Buffy's influence on modern shows/novels is successful as there will always be an audience for this genre. The Jones Pearson establishment clause states "Cult television's imaginary universes support an inexhaustible range of narrative possibilities, inviting, supporting and rewarding close textual analysis, interpretation, and inventive reformulations." (as cited in David Lavery, 2010, p. 2-3). From this statement it explains why the genre is so timeless; because of the many storylines that can be formed which thus keeps viewers interested as they're not re-watching predictable storylines.

'True Blood' and 'Twilight' are just a few shows that have been successful that 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' has had influence on. I think that these contemporary shows show similarity to 'Buffy' as they attract young audiences and address issues that are relatable too, even if they are from the impossible (vampires). The idea of having supernatural themes appeals to viewers as we fantasize about life from a 'what if' perspective and find 'the unknown' interesting. These films feature themes like acceptance, first love, stereotypes, growing up, relationships, friendships, trust etc. Also films such as these feature characters who are normal and realistic. They go through the same things/ problems as us and sometimes we can identify ourselves with the characters. This adds to the element of believability. Joss Whedon (who wrote the script for Buffy) commented on Buffy saying " I wanted people to internalize it, and make up fantasies where they were in the story, to take it home with them, for it to exist beyond the TV show. And we've done exactly that “. (The Tenacity of the Cockroach 375). This reflects an opinion that most directors/writers want for their shows or novels, they want to successfully engage the audience.


In relation to the themes that relate to younger audience Hills suggests that fans of cult TV play a huge part in the cult TV genre. One definition of cult TV is that it can be defined by fans and their practices, as well as their activities.

Cult TV is no short of fans and these fans are key to the success of the genre. Hill (2004) addresses a view that 'cult TV can be neither made nor promoted as such by the media industry, but instead hinges vitally on audience take-up and devotion.' (p. 510) Cult TV fans play a massive part in shaping the shows and perhaps even changing TV shows into cult TV. Therefore the themes and storylines of cult TV shows have to be engaging for the fans to keep promoting and publicizing the shows through social means and media. Without the fans the genre wouldn't be as successful.


References:
- David Lavery (2010) .The Essential Cult TV reader. Retrieved 5 October, 2014 from: http://davidlavery.net/Collected_Works/Essays/How_Cult_TV.pdf
- Joss Whedon. (1993) The Tenacity of the Cockroach 375
- Hills, M. (2004). Defining Cult TV; Texts, Inter-texts and Fan Audiences, The Television Studies Reader, in R. C. Allen & A. Hill. London and New York: Routledge.