What Is The Context Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Hush, the tenth episode of the fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, first aired in December 1999. At the time of the show’s fourth season it had grown a large and devoted following; about 7% of all households watching television tuned in to the episode’s debut (Ray, 2001). Its original context addresses at its surface the layered nature of communication; “So this is what it is,” the introductory lines to the episode tell the audience, “Talking about communication. Talking about language; not the same thing.” This text lends itself to a discussion of the ways in which people communicate when they are not speaking, and the many means by which people share meaning. A deeper reading of the original context might explore the show’s representation
of the complex interplay between the necessity of communication and the barriers imposed by communication on relationships. In order to discover alternate readings of this text, however, it is useful to position it in an entirely new context – one which the show’s writers may or may not have intended. This text might be considered in a more abstract sense.
Rather than focusing on the obvious phenomenon addressed in the original context, a viewer might instead explore a metaphorical reading of the episode. In this new context, the viewer might be interested in discerning concepts represented by the show’s characters; eschewing the focus on romantic dyads, as the surface reading lends itself, and instead looking toward classes of characters. Additionally, this construction relies on a particular interpretation of the Gentlemen’s plan. Most importantly, the reading suggested by this work is concerned with the primary plot motive of the episode: control over
voice. In this spirit, the Gentlemen should be considered as one such class. They are unique to this episode and distinct from every other group of characters in the text. Their physical features are ghastly: they have wrinkled, knotty, blotchy skin and hideous, unflinching grins set with metallic teeth. Their eyes are perpetually wide open, cloudy and bloodshot. Their gruesome appearance however, stands in marked contrast to their affect.
The Gentlemen are very tall, fair-skinned, and move with an elegant grace. They are dressed in fine, well-fitting suits and they carry leather briefcases similar to those of physicians of the past. Their every action appears effortless; so much so that they do not walk, but float. They are very polite to one another, and the appearance of gentility seems very important to them; they knock on their victim’s door rather than invade it by force, and gesture to one another “Please, after you!” or “No, I insist!”. In fact, the Gentlemen rarely exert physical force, instead relying on their thralls for labor. The Gentlemen do not actually appear to work toward their desired end. They instead control their masked subordinates who directly act on the people to realize the Gentlemen’s goals. Even their names suggest a civil nature, though it is shown to be a façade which masks the brutality of their plans and actions.
Similar to the Gentlemen, but considered a distinct class in this reading, are their outlandish assistants: bizarre human-like beings outfitted in straight-jackets with heavily bandaged heads. They flail wildly while fighting the Gentlemen’s enemies or securing their victims in support of the Gentlemen’s plans; their dirty appearance and eccentric behavior stands in stark contrast to the refinement and courteous reservation displayed by the Gentlemen.
The people of Sunnydale represent another class in this interpretation. The otherwise normal town of Sunnydale begins to struggle under the influence of the Gentlemen: sirens are heard throughout town on the first morning after the voice of its citizens is stolen, regular people in the street begin fighting one another, and no one helps the young man who drops his glass in the common room at the dorm. It seems that the barrier to communication imposed by the Gentlemen has overwhelmed their sense of community; they are shown in conflict and many are unable to comfort one another or be comforted.
The final class in this reading is comprised of the heroes: primarily Buffy, Riley, Willow, and Tara.
These characters overcome the limitations imposed on them by the Gentlemen and ultimately triumph over them. By cooperating with one another, the heroes are able to wrest control from the Gentlemen and consequently thwart their plan.
The choice of the term “class” is purposeful in this interpretation; these classes may be understood as representations of the classic socioeconomic hierarchy – the aristocracy, represented by the Gentlemen; the bourgeoisie, represented by the Gentlemen’s thralls; and the proletariat, represented by the citizens of Sunnydale and the heroes of the text – or as representations of dominate/subordinate class interactions along any other determination; racial, sexual, etc.
The plan of the Gentlemen, then, may be understood as a manifestation of class domination. The Gentlemen desire to obtain something vital to the survival of the townspeople, their hearts. In order for them to be capable of accomplishing this objective they must exert control over the people, and they do so through means particularly relevant to contemporary world events and critical studies – they steal the voice of the people they wish to subjugate. This is a powerful tool for the suppression of dissent, and has long been used by governments and other dominant classes to control their
subjects.
They are only dismayed in their designs when the heroes work together to restore and exercise their voice. Both elements of this winning strategy are of importance in this reading: collaboration and refusing to be silenced.
The Gentlemen are a metaphor for the wedge driven between people by lack of cooperation. They are only shown pursuing people who are alone when the Gentlemen strike: the young man alone in his dorm room; the newspaper headline indicated that a 15 year old girl was found stabbed with a missing heart; the Gentlemen have three hearts after the first night, but Sunnydale only knows of two (the third victim likely was not found by the next day). Each of the people resisting the Gentlemen struggle and look as if they will be defeated until they receive help from others. The message these phenomena deliver is that people can only resist oppression by standing together against their oppressors.
More pointedly, the Gentlemen represent the power of the dominant class in any culture to silence the voices of oppressed populations. Control over the information people can share or hear is a potent exercise of power, and in important historical and pressing contemporary contexts, freedom to be heard has been a rallying cry behind revolution. The fight against “taxation without representation” in the American Revolution, the gradual triumph of minority groups over symbolic annihilation in popular media, and the social media and communication campaigns of the Arab Spring events of the early ‘10s all have at least one major component in common: a focus on exercising the voices of the downtrodden. In this text, this concept is the driving force behind the heroes’ victory over the Gentlemen.
This reading offers a meaning which may be understood by many or most viewers, though it is not an obvious interpretation. It requires a particular position to be inhabited by its subject; the subject must be empathetic to the plight of the common person. The subject must also recognize and understand class oppression, and be willing to vilify a representation of the dominant or ruling party as responsible.
Given this reading, this text may be understood on terms beyond those of its surface; angsty young love complicated by communication. Under the interpretation proposed by this work, this program is a manual for revolution. By seizing and applying their voice Buffy and the other revolutionaries have asserted not only a physical victory, but a philosophical victory as well.