Need opinions please.

[aluminumcandy]

I'm not sure if this really needs to be in a thread and I apologize if it's out of place. I fully support this thread being deleted if it must be.

But on the off chance I'm doing something right I wanted to get some opinions on something.

I have to write an essay for a class. It can be about anything I choose. Since the only thing I know extremely well is Buffy. So I was planning on doing a BtVS related topic. The topic I had in mind was "The impact BtVS has on modern culture" I know it's been used before so the things I need opinions on are A) Should I pick a more "school-ish" topic and 2) If I stick with Buffy, should I pick a different topic.


I really value your opinions and I've loved reading this forum and the things you have to say so I would really appreciate your constructive advice.

Thanks ^-^

[MawdurnBukanier]

I actually did a paper on Buffy a couple of semesters ago. It was about how the characters of the Buffyverse had changed from Buffy season 1 to Angel season 5 with a smidge of season 8 thrown in as only the first issue was out at the time. It was a lot of fun and if your prof is OK with it then I say run with it. What's better than a research paper on a topic you love?

[buffysmglover]

The thread is completely appropriate.

And any Buffy topic is a worthwhile topic.

[BuffyFanOne]

I wrote a paper about Buffy too. It was a HUGE research paper.
I wrote about how Buffy was relatable to the real world.

I say go for it. I had a really good time writing my paper. It makes it seem less like homework if you really love the topic!

[buffysmglover]

In 7th grade I did a long book review of WHY BUFFY MATTERS by Yvonne Navarro. In 8th grade (last year) I did a small article in my school's newsletter about the History of BtVS. This school year, I had to do a research paper on one world-impacting event that I had written a paragraph about in a different project and I did it on Buffy. I cheated a bunch too. The rules were don't use .net or .com and don't use wikipedia. So I used BuffyWiki and created and added to the many pages I needed in order to do the essay. She didn't notice, and she allowed BuffyWiki.It was a horrible project just because I knew so much I didn;t have to really research, and coming up with links to fit my info was difficult, but I managed, and here it is: THE FORMATTING MESSED UP SOME

In the early 1990's, 20th Century Fox turned a script from Joss Whedon into a
movie starring Kristy Swanson [Samudrala]. After many changes to the script, taking it
from a horror-like film to a corny teen movie, Buffy the Vampire Slayer suffered.

In 1997, the small number of fans of the movie were in for a nice surprise. Joss
Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired March 10th ['Season One'], picking up right
where the movie left off. Buffy had to move to Sunnydale after she was kicked out of her
previous school for burning down the gym [Jeapes]. It only takes the first episode for
viewers to be introduced to the other characters Buffy's life will revolve around.
['Season 1?]. Giles is the boring librarian who also acts as Buffy's Watcher. A Watcher
trains the Slayer ['Rupert Giles?]. Willow is the nerdy best friend. ['Willow Rosenberg?].
Xander is the funny, jealous guy ['Characters?]. Angel is the vampire with a soul, the
regretful demon, and, for a long time, the only person holding the key to Buffy's heart.
['Angel?].The 'Scooby Gang' takes on another case of evil every week, and it mostly
sprouts from the Hellmouth. The Hellmouth is basically a door to Hell that attracts the
different forms of evil. Every season, there is a new 'Big Bad'. This evil is always part of
the major plot that eventually fills with smaller plots for each year of the show [Jeapes].
The show itself lasted for seven years, but Whedon just recently brought it back in
existence with an eight season, and later a ninth season, in comic book form [Missy].

The following actors and actresses have had major roles in the show: Sarah
Michelle Gellar (Buffy), David Boreanaz (Angel), Alyson Hannigan (Willow), Nicholas
Brendon (Xander), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Anthony
Stewart Head (Giles), Seth Green (Oz), Eliza Dushku (Faith), Amber Benson (Tara),
Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn), James Marsters (Spike) ['Characters?].

Angel left the show after its third year and moved to LA, where a spin-off focused
on his new life and friends ['Angel?]. Cordelia also left Sunnydale around the same time
to pursue an acting career in LA. She and Angel saw each other in LA and she became a
pivotal part of his story ['Angel (series)?].

Spike, who was introduced in the second season, left the show at the end of his
first season and returned for guest appearances in seasons three and four, before being
added as a main character in season five. He then died in the last episode of Buffy, and
was brought back to vampire life in Angel ['Spike?].

Anya came into season three as a villain, and soon became a part of Xander's life
after losing her powers. She was added a s a main character the next year. She died in
the last episode of the show. However, Joss Whedon has announced that she will return
to the show in Season Eight ['Anya?].

Giles left the Sunnydale and headed back to England in the first episode of season
six. He then made a couple guest appearances in season six and seven, and he appears to be a regular in Season Eight ['Rupert Giles?].

Oz was Willow's love who appeared in episodes of season two, became a main
character in season three, and left the show in season four. He was also a werewolf, and
when he left it was to learn how to control the creature inside of him ['Oz?].

Faith entered the show as a Slayer in early season three. She turned rogue
however after killing a man. Buffy put her in a coma trying to save Angel at the end of
season three. She awoke from the coma and appeared in a couple episodes in season
four, still a villain. She was then taken to jail. In Angel, she was given help breaking out
of prison so she could help Angel's friends stop Angelus, what Angel becomes when his
soul is taken away. She then went onto Buffy to help stop the coming apocalypse. She is
included in Season Eight ['Faith Lehane?].

After first appearing in season four, Tara became Willow's first girlfriend. Her
shyness set her aside from everyone else in the group. She'd been a loner for so long, she couldn't tell whether she was a part of the Slayer's gang or not. She was accidentally shot and killed near the end of season six when a man was trying to kill Buffy ['Tara
Maclay?].

Buffy never had a sister, but in the first episode of season five, she has one. Her
name is Dawn and she is already grown-up to adolescence. We later find out that she is
the product of magic, and her blood is the key to a portal to a different dimension. She is
a main character, and she is in Season Eight ['Dawn Summers?].

Buffy has found it's way into other media. Academics have taken interest in the
so-called 'Buffy Studies? [Ulaby]. The thoughts about religion in the show are on the
web and in books [Jeapes]. Stories of the Slayer and her friends can be found in books
['The Literature of Buffy the Vampire Slayer?]. A group of fans have been touring the
country to reenact the musical episode, 'Once More With Feeling? ['Buffy Sing Along!?].
Fans continue to indulge in the fandom.

Buffy had some major impacts socially and culturally. There are thousands of
websites dedicated to the show. The use of females with power in the show has been
used in other shows like Veronica Mars [Anders]. Buffy was probably the first show to
have a female being able to protect herself. It took a big stand for women and for
equality. One of the biggest impacts it has had, though, is it's effect on language. One
example is the shortening of words. Rarely before the show aired did you hear people
shorten sentences like 'Do you talk much'' to 'Talk much?'. [Adams] Although Buffy's
history seems to have only changed the world a little, it still has quite a while before it
truly ends, and it stops changing our culture.

Works Cited

Adams, Michael. "Slayer Slang." PBS. MACNEIL/LEHRER PRODUCTIONS. 9 Oct 2007 <http://www.pbs.org/speak/words/sezwho/buffy/>.
"Angel." Buffy Wiki. 18 Aug 2007. MediaWiki. 9 Oct 2007 <http://www.buffywiki.org/wiki/Angel>.
"Angel (series)." Buffy Wiki. 06 Oct 2007. MediaWiki. 9 Oct 2007 <http://www.buffywiki.org/wiki/Angel_%28show%29>.
"Anya." Buffy Wiki. 06 Oct 2007. MediaWiki. 9 Oct 2007 <"<http://www.buffywiki.org/wiki/Anya>."
"Buffy Sing-A-Long!: Once More, With Feeling." Indianapolis International Film Festival. 9 Oct 2007 <http://indyfilmfest.org/buffysingalong.html>.
"Characters." Slayer's Empire. TheFanlistings. 9 Oct 2007 <"<http://black-inside.org/buffy/characters.php>."
"Dawn Summers." Buffy Wiki. 06 Oct 2007. MediaWiki. 9 Oct 2007 <http://www.buffywiki.org/wiki/Dawn_Summers>.
"Faith Lehane." Buffy Wiki. 06 Oct 2007. MediaWiki. 9 Oct 2007 <http://www.buffywiki.org/wiki/Faith_Lehane>.
Jeapes, Ben. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Facing the Challenge. Focus Radio. 9 Oct 2007 <http://www.facingthechallenge.org/buffy.php>.
"Oz." Buffy Wiki. 06 Oct 2007. MediaWiki. 9 Oct 2007 <http://www.buffywiki.org/wiki/Oz>.
"Rupert Giles." Buffy Wiki. 6 October 2007. MediaWiki. 9 Oct 2007 <http://www.buffywiki.org/wiki/Rupert_Giles>.
Samudrala, Ram. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Movie ramblings. 9 Oct 2007 <http://www.ram.org/ramblings/movies/buffy_the_vampire_slayer.html>.
"Season 1." Slayer's Empire. TheFanlistings. 9 Oct 2007 <"<http://black-inside.org/buffy/season01.php>."
"The Literature of Buffy the Vampire Slayer." SlayerLit. 9 Oct 2007 <http://www.slayerlit.us>.
"Spike." Buffy Wiki. 02 Aug 2007. MediaWiki. 9 Oct 2007 <http://www.buffywiki.org/wiki/Spike>.
"Tara Maclay." Buffy Wiki. 06 Oct 2007. MediaWiki. 9 Oct 2007 <http://www.buffywiki.org/wiki/Tara_Maclay>.
Ulaby, Neda. "Buffy Studies." NPR. 13 May 2003. NPR. 9 Oct 2007 <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php'storyId=1262180>.
"Willow Rosenberg." Buffy Wiki. 15 Aug 2007. MediaWiki. 9 Oct 2007 <http://www.buffywiki.org/wiki/Willow_Rosenberg>.

[stakey]

I just did an essay on firefly a few weeks back for university and did well in that so i say go for it.

The question I did was how firefly is better suited to the meduim of television than film...which gave me a lot of chance to compare and contrast serenity with firefly was realy fun. Only time iv ever enjoyed writing an essay and i reached the word count in no time at all without even trying!lol.

[hitnrun017]

I love writing Buffy papers for school. I think I wrote three last year. 1. How Buffy changed my life, 2. Comparing Buffy to Lord of the Flies and 3. Macbeth, but with Buffy characters instead.

[spikeluv13]

There are so many aspects and so much depth to buffy, I think it is totally appropriate to write an essay about it! There a ton of different angles you can take: the episode normal again is a few essays alone! Inner demons, growing up, so many psych aspects, etc etc.

[buffysmglover]

Turns out there was even ANOTHER whedon essay I did last year- a book report on a Joss Whedon biography where I had to speak to the class as Joss himself.

[Wyndam]

I've always felt that Buffy was a very "school related" topic, because it has had such an impact on modern popular culture over the last decade or so. So I say go for it.

[aluminumcandy]

Thanks for all the replies! It really helps to know I'm not the only one. Very motivating too. You all seem to have had great ideas on yours. I'll definatly come back here when I'm lacking.

[matthewblake]

In my Freshman English class, I would write extra credit Buffy episode reviews for my teacher. I also included a copy of the episode for her to watch! She loved it. :-)

[aluminumcandy]

Wish I could get through school doing more Buffy related stuff. That would make it go by so much faster