I'm not sure how I missed Buffy when it first came out in '92. After watching half an episode of the TV show (not even) I was even less interested in making up for lost time, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was goofy, and clever, and didn't take itself too seriously. In other words, it was the perfect break from The Chocolate War (which I love, but which is not the sunniest of movies) and Heathers (which I think takes itself WAY too seriously and ends up the worse for it).
Yesterday when I was reading Milner I found an interesting quote which made me think a little deeper about the whole Buffy phenomenon:
In addition to their close association with what is sacred [the team/school "spirit"], cheerleaders are ritual specialists who have mastered the ceremonial techniques of the community and can lead others in carrying these out.Interesting thoughts for a movie about the head cheerleader moonlighting as "the chosen" vampire hunter.
Milner's book is full of unexpected insights like that one, though it is on the whole more practical and realistic than that quote might suggest. But for another taste of the more offbeat perceptions of high school: Milner suggests that students in "alternative" social groups (like punks, freaks, goths, etc.) are analogous to monks or ascetics in "pre-modern" societies. They openly reject the standards established by their peers and thus operate largely outside of the established social structure.
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