The Sunnydale High School Class of 1999 celebrated their 25th anniversary this graduation season. The occasion was celebrated by a dance on campus, held by Fandom Charities Inc. Sunnydale High School, the fictional school from the 1997 television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, borrowed the campus of historic Torrance High School for its exterior shots, though it was set somewhere near Santa Barbara.
In some ways, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has not aged well, in other ways, it’s still very much relevant. Trend cycles have returned us to the early 2000’s, with a resurgence of butterfly clips, tiny handbags, low-rise jeans, and blown-out hair. But beyond the surface, the messages and themes are still very relevant. Though I read the books as a child, I recently watched the series for the first time, and as a post-college twenty-something woman, the series resonated with me. At one point in the series, a flashback is shown of Buffy before she was called upon to slay the forces of evil: she was a bubbly, blonde teenager, just looking forward to chatting with her friends after school. Throughout the show, Buffy is laden down with a host of different responsibilities: slaying evil, rescuing her friends from danger, caring for family, losing people who are important to her, and facing opposition and criticism. Buffy feels the weight of the world on her shoulders, and despite her plans to be a normal girl, the universe has other plans for her.
The creators of the series have stated that the vampires that Buffy slays are a metaphor for the demons and other struggles high schoolers have to face. In high school, Buffy is stalked by and ends up dating a nearly 250-year-old vampire named Angel. After high school, Buffy ends up in a toxic situationship with another vampire, Spike. Sometimes the demons from childhood continue to haunt us, and while we can usually defeat most of them, some of them stick around. Buffy’s growing responsibilities are something so many of us can relate to, as many of us struggle with family health crises and financial burdens. Also widely relatable is Buffy’s struggle to come to terms with the disconnect between the plans that she had for her life, versus what has actually come to pass.
Buffy presents several topics that are widely talked about in Gen Z discourse today, but were less visible when the show aired. Issues like Buffy’s mental health struggles after a major traumatic event, sexuality (the show featured the first recurring lesbian couple on primetime TV), and families that didn’t look like the 2.5 kids dual parent 1950s nuclear family, and overcoming toxic relationships. Buffy’s friends’ families include a constantly arguing, alcoholic couple, critical of their son and largely absent in his life, only appearing in one episode of the 144 episode series, and a mother who also appears only once, attempting to burn her daughter at the stake for witchcraft, a metaphor for children who are persecuted by their parents for not conforming to their expectations.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer presents the theme of chosen family again and again, with two of Buffy’s friends even moving into her house later in the series, and serving in an in loco parentis role for a vulnerable family member. Today, the show still retains a large fanbase, with annual conventions, including Fandom Charities Inc’s HellmouthCon on the Hellmouth event. Content continues to be produced. Series actress Juliet Landau announced her new podcast for the show in June, and a new makeup collection inspired by the show was just launched by Vampyre Cosmetics. An Audible series starring original series actors premiered in 2023, but has since been discontinued after the first season. Dolly Parton has recently discussed a potential reboot of the series. Parton was a backer of the series in its infancy. Buffy the Vampire Slayer had an impressive seven season run, available to stream as of the publishing of this article on Hulu by subscription.
