Lately, everything that I read seems to be a footnote to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So when I read the line, “Be joyful, although you have considered the facts,” I was forcefully reminded of the intersectionality of Buffy and Berry, particularly in Season 3 episode 20 when teenage Buffy (our protagonist) has her heart broken by her demon-with-a-soul ex boyfriend, Angel. Just moments before her last prom, she is brutally ripped away from the fantasy she takes solace in, that for just one night she may have a normal teenage experience, with awkward chaperones and cheesy music and a hot vampire to boot. Not only is she unhappily single, but she also learns that “hellhounds” will be attacking any and all students wearing formal wear, the cunning and vindictive plan of a recently rejected senior.
Be joyful, although you have considered the facts. These words seem to be the motto of Buffy Summers, our heroine. Even though she faces apocalypse after apocalypse, not even the end of the world can stop her and her crew from enjoying a little “prom-y fun.”
This being said, Buffy does not send her friends to prom without considering the evil hellhounds. Rather, she understands the threat posed, and looks to a way in which she and her friends can still find joy. She may arrive late to prom, without a date, with hellhound saliva covering her face, but she arrives. She greets her friends, drinks some punch, and is joyful.
We too, should consider the facts. When we look to Berry’s apocalypses in the more mundane but not less tragic deaths of the family farm and the encroachments of unsustainable agricultural practices, we must not forget to also find joy. We must eat and be merry, and attend our metaphorical proms, but not without also taking action to prevent the hellhounds of destruction. Let us move forward with purpose, shedding our ignorance as we embrace the future, whether that involve canning our own food, planting our heirloom seeds, or battling the Big Bad.
Hey Emily!
Love how you applied this quote to Buffy. I definitely did not understand where you were going for the first few sentences, but you explained it so well and it’s a nice real life (ok, TV) example of combining joy and purpose. Thankfully we don’t have to battle the evil hellhounds, but maybe we can learn from Buffy and battle agribusiness and its impacts with similar consideration and optimism.
I really like that you’ve used Buffy to respond to this prompt, not only because I think Buffy is great, but also because I think your post gets as something kind of nice–the importance of the little things! We need those small things like prom or just hanging out with friends or even sometimes binge-watching TV (buffy?) because we need to allow ourselves small joys. Life is not so serious! It can be easy to forget that fact at such a serious, no-funny-business place like Middlebury College, but every once in a while we have to allow ourselves to let go of the facts.
moral of this comment: CHILL OUT. watch some buffy the vampire slayer!