Editing Buffy the Vampire Slayer (section)

===Inspirations and metaphors===
During the first year of the series, Whedon described the show as "''[[My So-Called Life]]'' with ''[[The X-Files]]''".<ref>"[http://www.cityofangel.com/council/joss.html Joss Whedon: Executive Producer of Angel] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060527032702/http://www.cityofangel.com/council/joss.html |date=May 27, 2006 }}", ''Cityofangel.com'' (2006). Also see Flowers, vris, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20050520231142/http://www.tvshows.nu/article.php3?id_article=4984 Sixth season was last great one for Buffy – Dvd Review]", ''Tvshows.nu'' (June 16, 2004). Executive Producer [[Marti Noxon]] stated: "I'm basically trying to write ''My So-Called Life'' with vampires."</ref> Alongside these series, Whedon has cited cult film ''[[Night of the Comet]]'' as a "big influence",<ref>{{cite web |author=P., Ken |url=https://ign.com/articles/2003/06/23/an-interview-with-joss-whedon?page=6 |title=An Interview with Joss Whedon |website=IGN |date=June 23, 2003 |access-date=March 9, 2013 |archive-date=October 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002134334/http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/06/23/an-interview-with-joss-whedon?page=6 |url-status=live }}</ref> and credited the ''[[X-Men]]'' character [[Kitty Pryde]] as a significant influence on the character of Buffy.<ref>Whedon, Joss "[http://whedonesque.com/comments/3095 Kitty Pryde influenced Buffy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415232037/http://whedonesque.com/comments/3095 |date=April 15, 2016 }}" ''Whedonesque.com'' (February 27, 2004).</ref> The authors of the unofficial guidebook ''[[List of Buffyverse guidebooks#Dusted|Dusted]]'' point out that the series was often a [[pastiche]], borrowing elements from previous horror novels, movies, and short stories and from such common literary stock as folklore and mythology.<ref>Miles, Lawrence, ''[[List of Buffyverse guidebooks#"Dusted"|Dusted]]'', ''Mad Norwegian Press'' (November 2003).</ref> Nevitt and Smith describe ''Buffy'''s use of pastiche as "postmodern [[Gothic fiction|Gothic]]".<ref>Nevitt, Lucy, & Smith, Andy William, "[http://blogs.arts.unimelb.edu.au/refractory/2003/03/18/family-blood-is-always-the-sweetest-the-gothic-transgressions-of-angelangelus-lucy-nevitt-andy-william-smith/ Family Blood is always the Sweetest: The Gothic Transgressions of Angel/Angelusby] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301165951/http://blogs.arts.unimelb.edu.au/refractory/2003/03/18/family-blood-is-always-the-sweetest-the-gothic-transgressions-of-angelangelus-lucy-nevitt-andy-william-smith/ |date=March 1, 2011 }}", ''Refractory: a Journal of Entertainment Media'' Vol. II (March 2003): Nevitt and Smith bring attention to ''Buffy''{{'}}s use of pastiche: "Multiple pastiche without enabling commentary is doubtless self-canceling, yet, at the same time, each element of pastiche calls into temporary being what and why it imitates."</ref> For example, the [[Adam (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Adam]] character parallels the [[Frankenstein's monster|''Frankenstein'' monster]], the episode "[[Bad Eggs (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Bad Eggs]]" parallels ''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]'', "[[Out of Mind, Out of Sight (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Out of Mind, Out of Sight]]" parallels ''[[The Invisible Man]]'', and so on.

''Buffy'' episodes frequently include a deeper meaning or [[metaphor]]. Whedon explained, "We think very carefully about what we're trying to say emotionally, politically, and even philosophically while we're writing it... it really is, apart from being a pop-culture phenomenon, something that is deeply layered textually episode by episode."<ref>[[Ian Shuttleworth|Shuttleworth, Ian]],{{cite web |url=http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1059479741556 |title=Bite me, professor |access-date=February 2, 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040202205347/http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com%2FStoryFT%2FFullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1059479741556 |archive-date=February 2, 2004 }} ''Financial Times'', citing interview from ''The New York Times'' (September 11, 2003)</ref> Academics Wilcox and Lavery provide examples of episodes dealing with real life issues portrayed as supernatural metaphors:

{{blockquote|In the world of ''Buffy'' the problems that teenagers face become literal monsters. A mother can take over her daughter's life ("[[Witch (Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode)|Witch]]"); a strict stepfather-to-be really is a heartless machine ("[[Ted (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Ted]]"); a young lesbian fears that her nature is demonic ("[[Goodbye Iowa]]" and "[[Family (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Family]]"); a girl who has sex with even the nicest-seeming guy may discover that he afterward becomes a monster ("[[Innocence (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Innocence]]").<ref name="FtF-Intro"/>}}

The love affair between the vampire [[Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Angel]] and Buffy was fraught with metaphors. For example, their night of passion cost the vampire his [[Soul (spirit)|soul]]. Sarah Michelle Gellar said: "That's the ultimate metaphor. You sleep with a guy and he turns bad on you".<ref>"[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bye-bye-buffy/ Bye-Bye Buffy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119045507/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bye-bye-buffy/ |date=January 19, 2022 }}", ''CBS News'' (May 20, 2003). Retrieved January 18, 2022 [https://web.archive.org/web/20031018082815/https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/05/20/entertainment/main554813.shtml Archived]</ref> Marsters said that his character was part of an audience-and network-forced change for the show; themes about overcoming adolescent problems gave way to "problems that are kind of sexy", frustrating Whedon.{{r|insideofyou20210922}}

Buffy struggles throughout the series with her calling as Slayer and the loss of freedom this entails, frequently sacrificing teenage experiences for her Slayer duties. Her difficulties and eventual empowering realizations are reflections of several dichotomies faced by modern women and echo [[feminism|feminist]] issues within society.<ref>Kaveny, C. (November 7, 2003). What Women Want: 'Buffy,' the Pope, and the New Feminists. Commonweal, 18–24.</ref>

In the episode "[[Becoming (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Becoming (Part 2)]]", when Joyce learns that Buffy is the Slayer, her reaction has strong echoes of a parent discovering her child is gay, including denial, suggesting that she tries "not being a Slayer", before ultimately kicking Buffy out of the house.<ref name="stafford">{{cite book |last=Stafford |first=Nikki |title=Bite Me!: The Unofficial Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Chosen Edition |publisher=ECW Press |date=December 1, 2007 |isbn=978-1-55022-807-6 |page=182}}</ref>