BtVS- " I Was Made to Love You" 5.15

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Throughout the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the main character Buffy Summer's (played by actress Sarah Michelle Gellar) is always looked at as this young female who embodies the ideas of female empowerment. The show itself has the topic of gender flowing throughout it as well, leaving it to be one of the more popular shows of its time for young adults. But in season five, episode fifteen, all these thoughts are seemingly changed around.

April the Robot
About a female robot who comes to town looking for her "boyfriend" Warren, this episode gave a different outlook on Buffy and her strong female independence (for most of the episode that is). Showing Buffy's more sensitive side when it comes to having a man in her life, the episode follows April the robot (played by Shonda Farr) and how far she will go for the one she loves, while somehow giving Buffy the exact advice she needed. 

The ideas of what a "perfect female" should be are brought up in this episode; but except it is the perfect female to a mans standard. Made by a man, for a man, the stereotypical ideas of how a female should act and look to please their significant other are one of the main topics. In the episode you see April constantly looking for Warren, and once she finds him you see how he has programmed her; adding everything he wants and leaving out what he dislikes, Warren even adds in a command that hurts April if she doesn't answer him. These thoughts go hand-in-hand with gender and the stereotypes that come from it. Females are often looked at as having to be a certain way to please men, while the men can act and treat them however they see fit. One point that stood out was when April told Buffy, "good girlfriends don't cry". This sentence was a defining point in the ideas of how gender was coming into play with this episode- that you have to be a certain way as a female to make your counterpart want to "keep" you around. Having April be hurt by Warren for not answering is another way of showing mental abuse that can occur in relationships like that. This is also shown when Warren (played by Adam Busch) doesn't hesitate to disrespect his current girlfriend when trying to speak to Buffy. You see how Warren has made April to be everything he wants, but yet is quick to not care enough about her to tell her how he really feels when he wants nothing to do with her anymore. It's too often that you see the ideas of how women are below men, and are only around to please them. 

Buffy & April 

Because of all of this, Buffy comes to the realization with the help of April that she doesn't need someone right away, and that it's ok to be alone. I think this was one of the most important take aways from the episode; showing that you don't need someone to be the stereotypical boyfriend or girlfriend to be happy, or anyone at all to be happy in Buffy's case. That its ok to just be by yourself, to find out who you are and not let the ideas that people put into our society define us or tell us how to act in a relationship. 

Comments

  1. Jose GamboaMarch 8, 2020 at 12:21 PM

    I concur with how Buffy is represented in this episode: not needing a significant other to be significant. April is solely constructed by a man; Buffy is made from a woman and a man. April is shown wearing stereotypical women clothes; Buffy is shown in her classic a$$-kicking clothes. These two women are on opposite ends of the spectrum. However, Buffy is perfectly fine the way she is. She has been fine, she is still alive through all her fights with vampires. April reinforces Buffy's methods and lifestyle. She proves to Buffy that she 'don't need no man'! She really doesn't. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Damian AndriulliMarch 10, 2020 at 1:02 PM

    I believe this episode showed a lot when dealing with relationships and being a female. The ending was powerful when Buffy accepted or found out that she doesn't need a significant other to be happy and that she doesn't have to change herself to get someone.

    ReplyDelete

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