JamieBLT

 “Every girl who could have the power, will have the power. Can stand up, will stand up. Slayers, every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?” 

-Buffy.

            The iconic television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer made it’s debut 20 years ago this month, and this realization has got me feeling totally nostalgic. The fashion, witty dialogue, feminist themes, and cultural influence were revolutionary and had a profound impact on television and pop culture, as well as on my adolescence. It seems like only yesterday teenage me and my best friends were “patrolling” our little neighborhood with our makeshift stakes to ensure that no “Big Bads” were afoot.

         This influence lasted well into my college years when I wrote my Undergraduate History Dissertation on “Buffy Summers: An Icon of Third Wave Feminism.” A good friend of mine put my love (obsession) for this show into these words, “Some people quote the Bible to give people advice, Jamie quotes Buffy The Vampire Slayer.”

           On one of our random day trips to L.A. my favorite travel partner was not surprised or resistant (bless him) when I strongly suggested we make some detours and visit a couple Buffy filming locations. We visited two of them: The house used for exterior shots of Buffy’s Revello Drive home, and Torrance High School, which was used as the high school on a Hellmouth: Sunnydale High.

If not for the horrendous, and ever present L.A. traffic, we probably would have visited a few more!

Over the years, I have also been lucky enough to brush elbows with a few of the amazing actors who portrayed some of Buffy’s most beloved characters. I did my best not to freak them out by fan-girling.

 Buffy serves as an influential cultural phenomenon with themes that delve into and interpret issues faced by teens even today. Buffy Summers was one of many badass female characters that graced 90s television, but in my opinion she was the most coolest.  I would bet my lucky stake that Buffy The Vampire Slayer will be hailed as one of the best and most iconic shows for years to come. Happy 20th Anniversary Buffy Fans!