Summary:
The numbers indicate that there was fairly strong agreement that cheerfulness is a modestly represented value. Many noted that this value fluctuated in prominence over time, especially citing season 6.
Not this moment, though. The other 20 hours.[screencap credit: buffyworld.com]
Several stated that expressing emotions, rather than a particular emotion, was more prominent. Others dealt with their perception of optimism as being a subtext of the question. Myself, I consider the comic to be a core value of the series, with the Wishverse revealing its importance by eliminating humor, wit and playfulness.
Your Comments:
There seems to be a lot of pressure on Buffy to be cheerful, even in very trying times.
What was actually important IMO was that people expressed themselves whether they were joyful, depressed, sad, overwrought, angry, spiteful, wrestling with fear and/or misgivings. The Scoobies often argued, cried, made up. Having to be cheerful was not something I ever noticed.
Admittedly, this was an almost required standard on the show. However, in the later seasons a darker tone was introduced, and the different moods of a human was researched more thoroughly. Other emotions became as important, if not entire driving elements in the show. Think of Willow's fury at Tara's death.
Most of the characters are generally happy, and when they become depressed the rest of the gang does their best to turn that around.
Glass half full
Xander was the heart of the Scoobies and he very rarely let negativity seep through
No - I think it's about being open about how you feel, even if that is that you're feeling shit.
Towards the later seasons, (particularly season 6) the show takes a much darker turn and it makes the show very interesting and different, not the cheeriest, but with Buffy's friends by her side, she becomes a much happier person; happier with her life, and herself.
I don't think the series ever really expressed that everything needed to be rosy. In fact, thinking of, for instance, the episode "Lie to Me," the idea seemed to be, "Life is sometimes hard. If you pretend that's not so, you do yourself a disservice." I think everybody wanted to be happy, but to be cheerful almost seems like pretending to be something in the face of all the reasons indicating that you shouldn't be, and that's not what the show was about.
I think Buffy is about being honest about your feelings
I think the show says ... you get the good with the bad... so why not make the good so much better by actually celebrating it
Being able to see the bright side in different situations is one of the things that Buffy does best. Watching her and the scoobies laugh while in the face of mortal danger makes you feel like you can deal with any problems that you may be having in your own life easily.
As long as it doesn't go towards denial which it can, and then that's not good. It's important to use humor more I think,
Puns. Quips. Too many to count. "If I had my powers, I'd be punning right now."
The series started out more light hearted, and then continued to have bits in between, but as the years went on the show quickly became quite dark.
I would have said, gay in the old-fashioned sense of the word. Buffy usually had a pun or a quip when facing an adversary, but I seldom saw her joyful.
After Season Five, I felt the series took lighthearted breaks, but the overall tone and weight of life remained. It may be important to balance the lighthearted with the grim, but I felt "Buffy" didn't make this a priority.
Yes - but when appropriate is stressed, as well. There's a time and a place for levity is also a value on value.
Certainly in the earlier seasons I would agree, and would probably rate Buffy a 3 or even 4 for this question. However, in the later seasons this wasn't really represented on the series with arguably many of the characters suffering from some form of depression and despair.
The show was about coming-of-age so the lightheartedness waned as the years progressed, but I think the characters' abilities to crack wise helped them face an endless series of apocalyptic challenges.
It's not often addressed, but I think a lot of the time the characters' feelings get in the way of what they need to do.
Even when faced with adversity, there'd be humor at some stage - even if by a small joke.
They try...but they do live on the hellmouth...
I actually think that the moral of "Once More with Feeling" was that it's ok to be sad, that life isn't all about being happy….Buffy: "Still my friends, don't know why I ignore/The million things or more/I should be dancing for"…Buffy wonders why she's not more happy with her life and sees her lack of cheerfulness and appreciation as the cause of her depression, until Spike tells her life isn't all about being happy…."Life isn't bliss, life is just this, it's living."…I wouldn't say that BtVS doesn't value the importance of optimism in the face of danger, I would just say that it also mentions the importance of realizing that a smile and a song can't get you through everything.
One of my favorite things about Buffy is their ability to be lighthearted in even the darkest situations. They got away from that idea for awhile, but Season 7 brought it back.
It was important to Buffy to be fake cheerful.
XANDER!
Nope, it's better to have whatever mood you are in except when Buffy turned mean. Meanness gets interrupted quickly and you get sent home.
Then again, the show does criticize faking cheerfulness as well.
This is one of the key lessons of Buffy - resilience and good humor are the key to surviving darkness. When you give into the moping, you end up with seasons 4 & 6 (which are actually NOT the terrible seasons so many people seem to think they were, but that's another story).
I think they strived for a positive theme overall but weren't afraid to be realistic and show that there is pain and hurt and that it's not realistic to always be sunshine.
Cheerleaders were shown as witches with a "b" so....not so much? Though our Cordy did transform herself in later seasons.
I would say no on this, as many of the characters are often quite the opposite, but whenever they get too depressed, there seems to be crazy consequences for it. And then everyone else in the group gives them a hard time for not being happy.
half the time people in the show are trying to be joy full but to the end of the series its made very clear that for Buffy to do her job effectively she becomes cold. so sometimes it said that that’s what she needs to do but also that she has to be filled with love to do it.
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