Entry 1:
In the show Buffy the vampire slayer, the main character and protagonist is Buffy Summers. She is first introduced to us in the first episode of the T.V series, where she has recently moved into the town of Sunnydale and started going to a new school. This episode sets up our first impressions of the character, along with the friends she is gaining and enemies she is making. This is important, as it gives us hints of the character that we will see progress and change throughout the series.
The director Joss Whedon uses many narrative features to establish the character of Buffy, many of which are consistent with the horror genre. One such feature is the mise en scene, which includes lighting, costumes, props/setting, etc. The lighting in the first episode, beyond the setting of the school, is generally rather dark. This is a convention of horror films and T.V shows, as darkness is tied in with fear and makes the audience feel scared and tense. This is a convention that is timeless. It will not change much in the future as being afraid of the dark is human nature and to change this convention would make no sense, and nothing else would have as much of an impact on the audience as this does. The brighter lighting found in the school scenes show that it is a more "normal" environment for teenagers, such as Buffy, to be found in, and also shows that it is a place viewed as being slightly more safe. This is a convention found in many media texts, and one that is also unlikely to change. The school is also shown as an American school, which means that it is a very bright and pastel coloured school, as American schools are shown in the media. On top of that the environment around the school is also shown as Californian, with bright green trees and nature all around them, all covered in sunlight to show the bright happy image of California that is found in the media. The only time this is broken is during the night scene, where we see an unknown male killed by a vampire. The reason it is darker here is to show the danger that is lurking in the environment. We also see that the school becomes much brighter during the day time, this not only establishes a time reference, but also shows the higher protection from the vampires, who thrive in the dark and despise the light.
Another aspect of the narrative features found within the mise en scene is the costumes. In this episode we see Buffy wearing general mufti clothes, typical for someone of her age. She also is found worrying about whether her clothes are up to date with fashion trends, which once again emphasizes her age group and shows that underneath all her other duties she is still just a teenage girl. The normality of the clothes she is wearing also shows that she is attempting to return to the normal world, and fit in with the use of her clothing choice. This feature may have implications as time passes however, as in the future fashion may change so much that the audience will not recognize these clothes as mufti wear, but to fit the target audience watching at the time it works perfectly. This is also a strong feature as all the audience at the time would understand the fashion around them to a degree that this mufti wear makes sense to them, and portrays to them the image of Buffy trying to be a normal teenage girl. Setting is also important, especially the settings of the school and the graveyard. The school is a typical setting for teenage focused drama, which is on of the genres the show encompasses. This, as mentioned, also fits Buffy's age group. Then there is the graveyard, which is a very typical setting for horror texts and vampire films.
Overall, the first episode establishes Buffy as the main character and gives hints to possible plot direction in her future, as well as showing what aspects of her personality are suited to her age group and what parts were part of her job. As the series progresses, we may also see some of these features adapt to her change in character, perhaps the lighting will change depending on her views on the world, or her clothing will change to more practical attire as she adapts to her life as a vampire slayer.
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(Above)-Buffy stands in the graveyard, which is the primary setting I spoke of involving darkness
(Right)-This is Sunnydale High School, the bright American school setting. A place of normality and relative safety.
Entry two:
Just as in the first episode, many narrative features are used in the season finale to show who Buffy is as a character, but unlike the first episode these features also show how she has changed over the course of the season. Although all of the narrative features in the show display this change, the mise en scene, namely the costumes and settings, within it are two of the significant features that symbolize Buffy's change of character as well as many other things.
Firstly, the costumes. These were a large part of the first episode, and as I predicted her clothes did become more practical for her vampire slaying job. The vampires themselves always wore leather, which made them distinguishable in a crowd as leather was not in style at the time, and so their different clothes made them stick out. This shows that the vampires are unable to change from their old ways, which is why they are still trying to take back control of the world However at the start of this episode we also see Buffy wearing leather. This is practical as its dark colour lets her blend into the night, the camouflage giving her an advantage while fighting. It also shows that she is closer to the vampire world than the humans around her are, as she is still involved with all of the demonic forces and the battle that is going on, but the fact that she can switch back to normal everyday clothes also shows that she is more human than the vampires ever are. The clothes also represent that she has become slightly more adjusted to her job of slaying vampires. Another major costume in this episode is Buffy's white prom dress. This has deep symbolism, as it is a symbol of her being a "virgin bride", or a sacrifice. And of course she is a sacrifice, she is the one that the humans have to send to fight the master, she does not have much choice in the matter and she ends up dying, even if she gets resurrected. She is a sacrifice both to the master (who absorbs some of her power), and for the human races continued existence. This is why she fights wearing the dress, to symbolize her innocence.
Next is the setting, and for this example I will use the library. This setting is used throughout the series, and its slightly darkened lighting represents the secrets that the group holds about the demons. It shows that they are keeping their outside friends away from these dark secrets. However they also are constantly returning to this place, it is like their headquarters This shows it as a relatively safe place, somewhere where they can all protect one another. As well as being a place of safety, it is also like the groups armory. Not for physical weapons but for the weapon of knowledge. Whenever they need to know how to kill a certain demon, or if there is a question that needs answering, they return to the library and consult the books for advice. This weapon allows them to fight back, and by using such a common facility as a library as a metaphorical armory it shows thew public that this "weapon" of knowledge is available to anyone in the audience to use in order to get an advantage in real life. It shows the public the importance of information. However the earthquake, caused by the start of the hell mouth opening, cracks and damages this safe house. It shows that the demonic forces are about the enter all of their lives to a deeper extent than they ever have before, and that all their safe spots ans security is about to be ruined. This setting gets even more destroyed when the monster comes out of the hell mouth and devastates the room, destroying their sanctuary. They are not safe now, yet even though they know this the gang still fights back. It turns into a typical last stand scene, like an old western movie where the Indians surround the carriage or saloon in an attempt to break in and kill everyone inside.Just like in a western film we see the characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer board up the doors and entries and blockade every possible breaching place to the room, fighting back with everything they have got against the force that they have been trying to defeat over the whole series, the Master and his vampires. This last stand is not only a common convention, but it also shows the groups new found will to resist the evil outside their doors and to fight for what they believe in. This destruction of a safe house is a convention that is also timeless, as all people know what it is like to have a home where you feel safe.
Then Buffy, who is reluctantly fighting against the master despite her fear (which she fights through in order to protect her friends), breaks in through the roof and kills the master in their home. This shows that the library, the groups safe spot, is also where they are strongest. It symbolizes the groups togetherness, and although it took a while for Buffy to join back up with the group and in doing so risk her friends lives by bringing the bad guy near, she finally decides to trust in their abilities to stay alive and fight back. By bringing the master back to their safe spot, Buffy has finally accepted that she is not alone in her duties as a vampire slayer and now has people who will help and protect her no matter what. Buffy has realized she does not have to fight alone, nor hide, and this gives her strength. This strength is what kills the master.
Over the course of the series we have seen Buffy progress, with the help of her friends and experiences from a typical teenage girl reluctant to accept her responsibilities to a more mature character who is willing to fight through her discomforts in order to protect those around her. This represents a coming of age, an entry into maturity, something we all must face in real life. The use of manipulation of time at the start of the episode also shows her change, she has become more adept and skilled at her job, and is now too fast for us to see moving unless the camera is slowed down, which is why we have the slow motion fighting scene at the start of the episode. This also shows how focused she is.
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(Left)- This is the library, the safe spot for the "Scooby gang" of Buffy's friends, which later gets heavily damaged.