... on the topic of vampire repellents ... Have you ever seen "The Fearless Vampire Killers?" It's an obscure, mildly amusing comedy from the mid-1960s perhaps best known for the fact that Roman Polanski cast his wife, Sharon Tate, as a vampire in it, not too terribly long before she was murdered by the Manson gang. The best scene, very brief, is when a vampire-hunter holds up a cross to the vampire character who is Tate's character's father, and he simply chuckles ... it has no effect against him whatsoever, as he was Jewish when human (as was, presumably, Tate's character) ...
"What would a viewer who was not raised Christian make of all this? I'm really not sure."
Well, I'll take a crack at that, having been born and raised Jewish and still practicing a fairly liberal form.
I see a great difference between the shows, and I attribute that to the concept that a show named after the title character is, to a great extent, presented as seen through that character's eyes. Buffy is what I would call "vaguely Protestant," and I see much less religiosity in her show. Angel, on the other hand, is Irish Catholic to his core, and I view his show -- especially the concept of redemption through works (rather than belief as in many Protestant traditions)-- as firmly in this tradition. Moreover, I view Season Two -- especially episodes such as The Trial -- as being the most Christian thing I have ever seen on television, giving me an appreciation of Christianity that I never had before. I finally emotionally "got" the enormous appeal of someone virtuous (Jesus/Angel) being willing to die for someone who is not (Darla/all the rest of us).
Ultimately, because of the continual concept of fighting evil and promoting good without fear of Hell nor hope of Heaven, I see both shows as presenting more of an existential and/or stoic philosophy than anything strictly religious. And that works for me personally as someone who has been Jewish since birth but (also) agnostic since the age of 11.
"What would a viewer who was not raised Christian make of all this? I'm really not sure."
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thoughts
Date: 2005-01-03 02:12 pm (UTC)"What would a viewer who was not raised Christian make of all this? I'm really not sure."
Well, I'll take a crack at that, having been born and raised Jewish and still practicing a fairly liberal form.
I see a great difference between the shows, and I attribute that to the concept that a show named after the title character is, to a great extent, presented as seen through that character's eyes. Buffy is what I would call "vaguely Protestant," and I see much less religiosity in her show. Angel, on the other hand, is Irish Catholic to his core, and I view his show -- especially the concept of redemption through works (rather than belief as in many Protestant traditions)-- as firmly in this tradition. Moreover, I view Season Two -- especially episodes such as The Trial -- as being the most Christian thing I have ever seen on television, giving me an appreciation of Christianity that I never had before. I finally emotionally "got" the enormous appeal of someone virtuous (Jesus/Angel) being willing to die for someone who is not (Darla/all the rest of us).
Ultimately, because of the continual concept of fighting evil and promoting good without fear of Hell nor hope of Heaven, I see both shows as presenting more of an existential and/or stoic philosophy than anything strictly religious. And that works for me personally as someone who has been Jewish since birth but (also) agnostic since the age of 11.
"What would a viewer who was not raised Christian make of all this? I'm really not sure."