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BUFFY: THE EVOLUTION OF A VALLEY GIRL – JANELLE TASSONEMARCH 6, 2003 BY ANGELAN

)he stereoty/ical 1alley irl 2ould ha1e to be one of my lonstandin fa1ourite characters

in both tele1ision and film3 0ith the 1alley irl 4no2n for often bein the 5uintessential /o/ularity 5ueen6 it

may not seem so ob1ious to include the Buffy 2e 4no2 today as /art of the 1alley irl hall of fame3 But one

only has to o bac4 to the &77$ film6 Buffy the Vam/ire Slayer to obser1e the full e8tent of Buffy*s bleach

blonde 1alley irl roots3 )o /lace Buffy 2ithin the larer cateory of the 1alley irl6 first one must ha1e an

understandin of 2hat e8actly this means3 9ndoubtedly6 the 1alley irl is a /roduct of the eihties6 or at least

a character that 2as crystallised and labelled durin this /eriod6 and she has been a sinificant /resence in

teen films and tele1ision e1er since3 It has come to my attention that there has been a definite chane6 or

e1olution o1er the last t2o decades6 of the li1in6 breathin barbie doll other2ise 4no2n as the 1alley irl3

And6 it seems6 this e1olution of the 1alley irl 2ithin teen film and tele1ision can be traced throuh the

character of Buffy Summers6 startin from her first a//earance on the bi screen in &77$3

,or my /ur/oses6 the term :1alley irl; is useful in reference to a limited s/ectrum of /o/ular teen irls in

film and tele1ision6 2ho6 des/ite oriinatin in name from the location of the San ,ernando Valley in Los

Aneles6 <&= are not strictly limited or restricted to bein nati1es of this /articular site3 >ften alarminly

obli1ious to many basic conce/ts of social eti5uette6 the 1alley irl is the ultra?feminine6 t2o?dimensionalcharacter identified by an abundance of material /ossessions and surface features that are hihly /ri@ed by

herself and her /eers3 Some of the basic6 essential sinifiers of the 1alley irl can be e8tracted from

e8amination of 1alley irls o1er time 2ho ha1e mani/ulated the follo2in(

Series creator +oss 0hedon has said that the idea for Buffy came from all the horror mo1ies he had

seen featurin a hel/less youn blonde 2ho 2ould almost al2ays be the f irst to die3 He felt she

needed a better imae3* +anelle )assone arues that that imae can be found in the status of Buffy as

a Valley Girl - startin from her first a//earance on the bi screen in &77$ 2hen audiences 2ere first

e8/osed to Buffy*s bleach blonde Valley Girl roots3 By combinin this /ersona 2ith the traditional

female hero of horror films6 Buffy has e1ol1ed into a transformed Valley Girl( a stron and im/ro1ed

1alley irl3 But ust ho2 does Buffy re/resent the Valley Girl and the heroine if she does not /ossess

one of the most sinificant indicators of teen inde/endence and comin?of?ae( the dri1er*s license

&' P>P9LA"I)D( 2hich is often directly lin4ed to the 1alley irl also bein a cheerleader #often team

ca/tain6 of course' andor /rom 5ueen3 Althouh6 sometimes basic /o/ularity is /ure and sim/le

enouh3

$' CASH S9PPLD( enerous funds6 namely daddy*s credit card6 often hel/ 2ith ainin or retainin

/o/ular status6 and is es/ecially im/ortant for it*s contribution to the follo2in6

F' )HE 0A".">BE( often filled 2ith the latest fashion trends and desiner labels3 )he 1alley irl

must be 2ell?1ersed in 4no2in 2hat is no26 retro6 and the dreaded @one of :fi1e minutes ao3; <$=

She is the 2al4in6 tal4in bible of fashion do*s and don*ts3 As such6 she is reularly found at

' )HE ALL( one location that she is most familiar 2ith and often fre5uents 2ith her sho/aholic

a +ournal of Entertainment edia #ISS(&?7%J' HOMEABOUTEDITORIAL BOARDSUBMISSIONSSTATE OF PLAY

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fy: the Evolution of a Valley Girl – Janelle Tassone | Refractory http://refractory.unimelb.edu.au/2003/03/06/buffy-the-evolution-of-a-va...

6 31/01/2014 15:56



Buffy defies cultural e8/ectations 2ithin the society she li1es in6 alon 2ith defyin the traditions of the

2atcher*s council6 toether 2ith e8/ressin her se8uality freely6 alin her 2ith the slauhtered irls of the

aforementioned horror films6 rather than fully alinin her 2ith their heroines3

Perha/s the easiest 2ay to com/rehend the 1alley irl is to understand her in relation

to 2hat I li4e to refer to as chic4 maa@ines3 In terms of imaes of femininity in fashion maa@ines6

es/ecially those tareted at teen mar4ets6 the 1alley irl embodies and i1es life and a 1oice to the imaes on

the /aes3 )hat is6 imaes of the latest must?ha1es in the beauty industry3 And the imaes of today*s chic4

maa@ines include Sarah ichelle Gellar in cosmetic ad1ertisements3 Susan .oulas has called the lossy6

/olitics?free 93S3 maa@ine6 +ane6 :the trium/h of 1alley irl feminism6; much to her disust6 and a site for

the commercial culture?lo1in youn feminist6 <= /erha/s an idea that doesn*t stray far from the S/ice Girls

and their :Girl Po2er; imae3 It is in the /aes of lossy maa@ines that the :ideal; teen irl consumer is

created6 or at least enforced6 and tools for teen irls to create their o2n imae are /ro1ided3 And6 essentially

the 1alley irl is often not much more substantial than a fashionable imae3 0hat could be more a//ealin to

readers of lossy mas6 than the u/dated imae of a 1alley irl 2ho can defend herself and beat the bad uys

2hile 2earin the latest fashions6 all 2ithout e1en brea4in a nail3

Buffy6 it seems6 is the ultimate 1alley irl6 2ho has sur1i1ed the e1olutionary /rocess to emere stroner6

2iser6 and more li4eable than those before her6 2hile still remainin fashionable and 2itty3 Li4e many of the

best 1alley irls6 Buffy has maintained her fashion conscious style6 1alley?s/ea4 lanuae and6 of course6 2ill

al2ays be a former cheerleader3 0hile Clueless /resented us 2ith Cher6 the 1alley irl 2ith a heart of old6mar4in a chane in the 1alley irl6 Cher still remains some2hat too clueless to be in the same leaue as

Buffy in terms of the ne2 and im/ro1ed 1alley irl3 )he traditional 1alley irl has not been made redundant

by Buffy3 So6 is Buffy still ust another 1alley irl 0hile the library and maic sho/ may ha1e re/laced the

mall as social sites6 and her enemies in the schoolyard may ha1e often had demonic tendencies6 not to

mention the early demise of her cheerleadin career6 Buffy is a 1alley irl at heart3 Buffy loo4s li4e a 1alley

irl6 sounds li4e a 1alley irl6 and fihts 2ith a 1alley irl*s attitude6 and for a true 1alley irl6 imae is

e1erythin3

Bi!i"#$%&'(

Bernstein6 +onathan6 Pretty in Pin4( the Golden Ae of )eenae !o1ies 6 e2 Dor46 St artin*s Griffin6 &773

Clo1er6 Carol +36 !en6 0omen and Chainsa2s( Gender in the !odern Horror ,ilm 6 e2 +ersey6 Princeton

9ni1ersity Press6 &77$3

Cusic46 "ichie )an4ersley6 Buffy the Vam/ire Slayer #based on the screen/lay by +oss 0hedon'6 e2 Dor46

Arch2ay6 &77$3

.i4a6 Vera6 :)he Stal4er ,ilm6 &7M?M&6; in 0aller6 Greory A36 American Horrors( Essays on the !odern

American Horror ,ilm 6 9SA6 9ni1ersity of Illinois Press6 &7M3

.i4a6 Vera6 Games of )error( Hallo2een6 ,riday the &Fth and the films of the Stal4er Cycle 6 )oronto6

Associated 9ni1ersity Press6 &77%3

.oulas6 Susan6 :Valley Girl feminism #e2 ,eminist aa@ine +ane does not com/are to s3 aa@ine'6;

)he Proressi1e 6 o1 &776 1ol3 &6 no3 &&6 /3 &3 #do2nloaded from E8/anded Academic ASAP6 $%M%$'

Le2is6 +on6 )he "oad to "omance and "uin( )een ,ilms and Douth Culture 6 e2 Dor46 "outlede6 &77$3

)emsah6 Samia6 :0hen you li1e in the Valley6 you*1e otta et creati1e6; 2223layouth3com3

)o//in6 Keith6 Slayer( an e8/anded and u/dated unofficial and unauthorised uide to Buffy the Vam/ire

Slayer 6 London6 Virin6 $%%$3

Fi!)"#$%&'(

Brin It >n #$%%%'

Buffy the Vam/ire Slayer #&77$'

Clueless #&77J'

,ast )imes at "idemont Hih #&7M$'

Grease #&7M'


6 31/01/2014 15:56



← Is Buffy a Lacanian >r6 0hat Is Enlihtenment -

atthe2 Shar/e

:Dou cannot run from your dar4ness3* 0ho says

I*m runnin*( Buffy and the >2nershi/ of E1il; -

Erma Petro1a→

REFRACTORY »

REFRACTORY

VOLUME 2, 2003

COMMENTS

A9G9S) &M6 $%% A) $($% P

<333= Buffy( the E1olution of a Valley Girl by +anelle )assone <333=

&3

0

Hallo2een #&7M'

Heathers #&7M7'

I Kno2 0hat Dou .id Last Summer #&77'

+a2brea4er #&777'

Leally Blonde #$%%&'

"omy and ichele*s Hih School "eunion #&77'

Scream #&77'

Scream $ #&77'

Scream F #$%%%'

She*s All )hat #&777'

Suar O S/ice #$%%&'

T*!*+ii"-

Anel #&777?'

Buffy the Vam/ire Slayer #&77?'

S2eet Valley Hih #&77'

N".*

<&= Bernstein6 +36 Pretty in Pin4 6 /3 &%3

<$= Buffy the Vam/ire Slayer #&77$'

<F= Cusic46 "3)36 Buffy the Vam/ire Slayer 3

<= )emsah6 S36 :0hen you li1e in the Valley6 you*1e otta et creati1e3;

<J= .i4a6 V36 :)he Stal4er ,ilm6 &7M?M&3;

<= Le2is6 +36 )he "oad to "omance and "uin3

<= .oulas6 S36 :Valley Girl feminism3;

VOLUME 02 0 COMMENTS

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