The Power of Speech
In the fourth season, episode ten of Buffy the Vampire slayer, Buffy is faced with an almost impossible situation not only for her but for everyone present when they loose their ability to speak. The beginning of the episode starts off like any other school day for Buffy and her friends at their school. However one night a group of monsters both float and walk into town. These monstrous creatures are later found out to be a group called "The Gentlemen" who are very human like, except for their skin which is pale white and have a permanent smile with rotted teeth whose purpose is to kill seven people and take their hearts and can only be killed by a human's voice. They also have helpers who are hunchback, have deformed faces, and wear straitjackets and help the Gentlemen kill their victims. The only way to then defeat these monsters is to oddly enough, is to scream at them. However, during most of the episode, all of the characters have lost their ability to speak and have to communicate in other ways to each other and it has caused a great deal of confusion, not only to them but the town as well. This causes a great deal of stress on the group, but it also helps them somewhat, since speech has been their method of communicating with each other and is taken for granted, and these monsters bring that fact to life.
At first when the town looses its ability to speak Buffy and Willow are walking through town and see how everyone is fairing and notices that many are using white boards to write down what they want to say in order to talk with each other, besides that, all appears to be fine even with the loss of speech. Then later on in the episode there are many situations, sometimes fatal ones, that transpired that were mainly caused by the loss of everyone's ability to speak. One of these instances is when Riley and his friend were in a military elevator and almost died because it was set to take lethal measures if it wasn't given a voice authentication. Another instance of confusion happens right after the Gentlemen take their first victim, most of the students are scared and are fearful because they feel helpless without the ability to call for help.
While most of the situations in the episode helped to hinder Buffy and her friends, there were a few that also helped to strengthen their bonds, an example of this is when Xander is worried about Anya and kisses her to show that he deeply cares for her, when earlier in the episode he was having trouble saying how he felt about her. another scene where the characters bond is strengthened is when willow and Tara are trapped by the helpers of the Gentlemen, Willow tries to move a soda machine but is to inexperienced but with the help of Tara, they were able to secure the room they were in, along with showing both willow and Tara that they can accomplish what neither can alone. Both these instances show that some things can be said without words.
The main driving force of the episode comes from the silence of the characters and how they, and society almost fell apart due to an ability being lost, that everyone in the episode took for granted. The Gentlemen showed that Monsters can be scary through other means and not from sharp teeth or claws, but that they can instill a fear of being unheard, which for some, is more terrifying. Communication is essential for everyday life and interactions with others. This episode shows a scenario where the main method of communication is taken and how it can symbolize how powerful a person's voice is and how important good communication, vocal or not, is needed in order for society, and the individuals within them, to function properly.
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