Parental Advisory: Witchcraft Involved
By Samara Osburn
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| 'I didn't realize joining the cheer squad would lead to a witch hunt but no it's fine whatever.' |
No stranger to tackling social issues, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode The Witch discusses parental pressure on children and what parents will do to ensure their child's success. The third episode of the premier season follows our beloved main character as she tries to regain some sense of normalcy in her life. Deciding to join the cheer leading squad, despite Giles' protests, Buffy learns that nothing is ever normal for a Slayer. When certain members of the squad have freak accidents, such as spontaneous combustion, it's up to Buffy to find out the true culprit.
The gang quickly discovers that a witch is roaming Sunnydale High, set on destroying anyone who gets in the way of her spot on the squad. During tryouts, Buffy meets Amy, a nervous, slightly klutzy girl obsessed with making the team. We learn that Amy aspires to be like her mom, a former cheerleader who single handedly won her team a tri-county championship. When Amy fails to make the team two cheerleaders are conveniently injured, arising suspicion from Buffy. When Buffy gets the chance to confront Amy's mom, under the belief that she drove her daughter to witchcraft, the truth is discovered: Amy's mom stole her daughter's body!
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| I'm sure that does wonders for your self confidence by the way. |
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| Taking 'Living Vicariously' to a whole new level |
Although Catherine does severely injure at least three cheerleaders what makes her scary? What makes her a monster? Why should we fear her? In my opinion, it's less about her looks and more about her actions. She was willing to use curses to achieve her goal, not caring who was hurt or how. Her lack of emotion is by far the scariest thing about her. Catherine is a monster because of her lack of empathy. She's incredibly abusive towards her daughter, degrading her and calling her worthless, yet she feels no guilt. Catherine sees nothing wrong with her actions and will continue doing them until she gets what she wants, even if it hurts her own flesh and blood.
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| Ahh, motherly love. |
The actions of her mother greatly affects Amy and in the beginning of the episode she is shown to be extremely anxious about her mother's perception of her. Amy devotes her high school career to making the cheer leading time. Amy's fear and nervousness towards her mother represents the feelings of other teenagers under their parent's extreme pressure. However, it seems that the only reason Amy wants to join the team is because of her mom. The entirety of the episode focuses on Amy's relationship with her mother and the constant pressure she's under. The topic of this episode discusses the pressures we place on our children and on high school students to be great achievers or to have the same experiences as us. In high school, students are expected to start deciding their place in the world; what college will they go to, where will they live, what will they do for living? Every parents wants their child to succeed but how much pressure will we put on them to achieve our idea of greatness?
During the episode Catherine repeatedly implies that her daughter is a disappointment or isn't good enough, forcing Amy to find any way she can to make her mother proud. Catherine's obsession with her daughter's life and success drives the two apart. Not only is she trying to relive her glory days, Catherine is trying to ensure that her daughter is the exact person she wants her to be. She only interacts with her daughter in a negative way and controls what her daughter does with her high school career instead of taking the time to explore Amy's actual interests. Catherine is a classic helicopter mom towards Amy, dictating every aspect of her life.
The idea that Amy's own mother is the monster of the episode offers new insight on what makes a monster and although she does not have the classic characteristics of a witch; green skin, big nose, Catherine's actions more than make up for it. The true monster in this episode psychologically abuses her daughter and physically abuses others in the attempt to achieve her goal. Her lack of empathy, lack of guilt and lack of self-condemnation drive her actions. It's not Catherine's looks or powers that make her monstrous, rather her lack of remorse and apology about what she'd done. This episode also shows that monsters may not look like our perceived notion of a monster but one's actions do.
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| Because attempting to kill your daughter's friends is totally just another trait of a protective mother. |
During the episode Catherine repeatedly implies that her daughter is a disappointment or isn't good enough, forcing Amy to find any way she can to make her mother proud. Catherine's obsession with her daughter's life and success drives the two apart. Not only is she trying to relive her glory days, Catherine is trying to ensure that her daughter is the exact person she wants her to be. She only interacts with her daughter in a negative way and controls what her daughter does with her high school career instead of taking the time to explore Amy's actual interests. Catherine is a classic helicopter mom towards Amy, dictating every aspect of her life.
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| I'm sure it's totally normal for mother's to wield axes at their children. |
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