Sunday, March 23, 2014

Summers versus Chase—Who is the Better Grown Up Cheerleader?

**Due to recent misinterpretations of some one post from this blog, a disclaimer is now apparently necessary.  If this is your first visit to The Scratched Camera, please read the introductory post and discover, for yourself, that every typed word that follows is unabashedly my opinion and mine alone.  In said introductory post, which, shockingly, I did not simply type up for my own good health, I state that we all read events and characters with our own baggage in mind; no one observes with a perfectly clear lens—hence the name The Scratched Camera.  Therefore, it is completely your will to disagree with any material that follows, just as it is my will to agree and advocate for what is mine.**  ~End, irritating obligatory disclaimer~

Summers versus Chase—Who is the Better Grown Up Cheerleader?

            In terms of the arc of their characters, both Cordelia and Buffy have a lot of commonalities.  They each come from humble beginnings—in character, not necessarily in monetary or influential terms, as both girls came from moderate to vastly successful families and were at the height of popularity in their perspective schools—as a character carved from an archetype of the popular cheerleader variety.  However, despite these disconcerting origins, both characters rose above their circumstances to become a vastly more powerful and relatable character than the audience could’ve ever anticipated from their introduction. 

            When we first meet the characters in the television show, Buffy has already made some progress in the issue of maturity, whereas Cordelia is approximately in the same place as Buffy was during the film set earlier in the same school year.  As a result, Cordelia serves as a constant reminder of the life Buffy left behind in order to fulfill her destiny as a Slayer.  Chase, in her ignorance of all things supernatural, is able to be popular, run for prom queen, date and, in general, have a normal social life. 

            Buffy, at the start of the series, has been forced to sacrifice quite a bit already.  In the flashbacks provided by Becoming, as well as first hand experiences seen in the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the audience glimpses that Summers was almost as tactless as Cordy at one time.  She was once cruel, as she speculates manipulating others into asking her to the dance and releases verbal lashings to her supposed best friends.  In Los Angelus, she could say whatever she wanted and people would bow at her feet, just begging to know her, be close to her.  At the time, this made her feel as if she were on top of the world. 

            Cordelia, who expresses in Out of Mind, Out of Sight that she would rather have fake friends than none at all, understands this feeling of superiority.  The conversation is difficult for Buffy to navigate, as she can appreciate that her life has improved since her days of popularity have to come a close; yet, she still yearns for that sense of normality that Cordelia so illusively represents to her.  In short, Buffy envies Cordy, something I doubt she’d ever fully admit. 

            When Cordelia learns that Buffy was once possibly even more popular than her, any chance of a potential friendship between the two is eliminated.  Instead, Cordelia, in her authority as the Queen Bee—or, C, as she would undoubtedly prefer—of Sunnydale High School, declares Buffy a social outcast, as Summers turns towards the true friendship offered by the likes of Willow and Xander as an alternative to the merely motivationally driven companionship that Cordelia extends.  High school Cordy, in all her power and authority, represents, as the authors of Praising Cordelia state, “the archetypal feminine type,” a woman who embodies the “stereotypes of femininity”—endowing her with an ability to simultaneously dominate all the females of the school and command the attention of every male.  In short, Buffy has a supernatural power that makes her nearly unbeatable on a battlefield.  Cordelia, on the other hand, has an applicable sway and charisma (get it?) that allows her to reign supreme in the structure of the public school society. 

            From this downgrade of Summers’s social status, the two will forever serve as mutual foils and rivals.  They compete over titles of popularity, friendships and, of course Angel.  In their time spent at Sunnydale High, Buffy is clearly the better role model.  Cordelia’s blunt honesty does have several merits, but, beyond that, her character lacks a level of vulnerability that would be required to redeem the negatives of this trait, making her appear to be little other than cruel.  The audience does get a peak of a true potential for emotional exposure from within Cordy at her discovery of Xander’s betrayal in Lover’s Walk.  Unfortunately, she quickly closes all emotions down and regresses towards her vindictive and popularity driven ways. 

            Cordy, in a somewhat Fronting Feisty Female fashion, enjoys berating others while being utterly incapable of standing on her own without need of a savior.  Buffy, on the other hand, requires very little rescuing in the first three years of the show.  She is often the one doing the saving, with the damsel in question frequently being Cordelia herself.  With this earned selflessness, Summers has learned to filter what she says since her days in L.A.  However, this does not mean she’s completely changed personalities; she does managed to remain true to herself in this time.  With the change in her priorities, Buffy simply accepted that a change in her personality came with the job.  The change is brought about in a more begrudging manner from Chase, who suffers endlessly between a desire to be popular and what her true instincts tell her she should do. 

            Ironically, while it took moving away from L.A. to round-out Buffy’s character, Chase’s relocation to the City of Angels achieves similar ends.  While Cordelia will always have desires driven by popularity and superficial values, she does start to take some impressively large steps in the right direction here.  She hasn’t changed some much as to avoid telling the occasional superficial lie to draw in the attention of a significant other, particularly in one who is of both rich and attractive.  However, she finds that she now has further standards than money and physical appearance; should that person begin to question her or ask her to compromise her part of the Angel, Investigations mission, she will quickly remove them from her life.  Repeatedly, over the course of season one of Angel, we see attractive men come and go, as they begin to bore her in comparison to the sense of purpose she now feels the need to fulfill.

            Alternatively, Buffy, seen in season four as a freshman in college, struggles to continue to hold true to the strength she had displayed in her relationship with Angel.  Her submissiveness at the lack of sustainability in her relationship with Parker is borderline disturbing, as all of her friends attempt to repeatedly convince her that Abrams is nothing worthy of her time or energy.  While it may be more realistic to show a character who isn’t always at the top of her game in terms of relationships with significant others, it does her no favors to show her as desperate as she is here. 

            Likewise, Summers consistently second guesses herself in regards to her relationship with Riley Finn.  I do respect the struggle she adamantly conveys to him before the relationship begins—her bond with Angel was turbulent at best and it is, therefore, only realistic that she be rather gun shy to become invested once again.  However the dependability developed after they become settled into the situation isn’t necessarily healthy.  Finn’s strength—admirable, yet inferior to Buffy’s—also adds a complexity to the relationship, as Buffy admits to Willow several times that she holds herself back to prevent from hurting his feelings.  While this may be the compassionate thing to do, no female should ever feel the need to coddle the insecurities of another at her own expense. 

            I have no doubt that the very thought of holding herself back for the sake of sparing someone’s feelings would be enough to make Cordelia laugh.  While she may not have the strength of Buffy, she refuses to compromise on the characteristics she thinks of as her best assets.  Regularly, characters ask her to bite her tongue in an attempt to become more socially appropriate.  If anything, this only causes her to become more crass as she refuses to do what she’s told. 

            There is also the issue of the near rape towards the end of season six.  I discussed this briefly in my post centered on Spikealthough, I will be the first to admit I skirted around the issue, as the actual action and the resulting consequences, or lack thereof, truly bother me.  While I understand what facts allow Buffy to forgive Spike of his misdeeds—namely, the acquisition of his soul—I strongly believe Cordelia’s reaction would’ve been significantly different and would’ve served to set a sturdier model. 

Fortunately, Buffy is endowed with supernatural strength and was able to prevent the assault before it was fully realized.  Cordelia, on the other hand, has been violated several times over the course of her adventures with Team Angel.  In Expecting, she wakes up the morning after a date nearly nine months pregnant with very little comprehension of the course of the previous evening.  In Epiphany, she is once again impregnated, this time by a three-eyed demon that is, at the very least, able to evidently do so without actually sleeping with her.  In the season two two-part ending, Cordy is told that she will be forced to sleep with Gru to rid herself of her visions.  While Chase was initially attracted to Gru, she refuses to sleep with him if it means she will lose her visions in the process.  This repeated sense of sexual violation, albeit in varying levels of seriousness, would most likely have forced a very different reaction from Cordelia, had her place been switched with Buffy’s.  Summers vaguely struggles to redevelop her trust towards the vampire.  While Cordelia manages to forgive a lot of actions Angelus subjects her to, I believe a rape—successful or not—would’ve distinctly placed them in an unforgivable territory. 

While she will never be endowed with the supernatural strength that allows Buffy to defend herself so readily, Cordelia, over the next two years of her life, will become more immersed in the elements of the supernatural, via visions that are incredibly painful gifts from the Powers That Be.  At first, she views these premonitions as a curse, as they induce painful migraines that have the potential to be very dangerous.  However, as time carries on, and she experiences more strangers in the height of their pain, she is fundamentally changed.

            In season three, she is offered an opportunity to return her visions in trade for the life of the stardom she had originally sought.  As Skip informs her that retaining the visions will mean her death, she takes the deal, albeit tentatively.  In the events to follow, Chase, without any recollection of her previous life and mission in Los Angelus, manages to find her own way back to the path she chose several years prior.  She kisses Angel, and receives the visions all over again.  Her obstinate demeanor results in another offer from Skip—he can change her physicality to make her part-demon, thereby allowing her to retain her visions without their implicit fatality. 

            Chase’s agreement to change her very nature in order to preserve her part to play in the mission of Angel, Investigations rings along the same lines of Spike seeking out his soul.  Buffy and Angel each had changes forced upon them.  Summers’ character developed because she was called as the Slayer and, therefore, had to learn to grow up rather quickly, as the weight of the world was dumped on her shoulders overnight.  Angel was cursed with his soul and, therefore, much like Buffy, joined the good fight due to an external uncontrollable factor. 

            Spike and Cordelia, on the other hand, each sought out their own way to join the cause.  After the aforementioned attempt at rape, Spike went looking for a way to acquire his soul.  Chase could’ve very easily contentedly settled into a life of fame and fortune when presented with Skip’s opportunity.  Even after the first deployment failed, she could’ve insisted Skip give her one last attempt at finding normality amongst the rampant supernatural saturation that has occurred to her in the last year.  However, she simply can’t do that.  She’s seen a bigger purpose in this world—something that can make her life worth living and dying for.  As such, she goes so far as to voluntarily change her very being to preserve her chance to make a difference in this world. 

To draw attention to this, at the very same time that Cordy is sacrificing her humanity to serve a larger purpose, Buffy is complaining that her responsibilities as a Slayer make it very difficult for her to get a job somewhere other than the local burger joint.  As Cordelia progressively climbs up the selfless ladder in season three of Angel, Buffy struggles to keep her head above water in season six of BtVS.  She engages in a relationship that’s unhealthy and unsatisfying to both her and Spike.  She hides her true afterlife experiences from her friends, despite knowing that they could help her deal with the aftermath of being ripped from Heaven.  In general, she develops a pattern of making poor decisions, as she selfishly puts her own needs ahead of the helplessness of those who surround her. 

            In a sense, I cannot blame her for this.  Buffy has selflessly served as the world’s protector and savior for the last five years.  Her reward has been to lose everything she’s ever cared for.  While her mistakes here are understandable, I still can’t help but be bothered by the uncharacteristic nature of the character in this season. 

            Thankfully, Buffy resumes her usual disposition in season seven.  Roles reverse here once more, as Summers becomes the leader of the greatest army BtVS has ever seen and Chase, possessed and atypical in behavior, becomes Angel’s Big Bag for the fourth season.  The Cordelia here, however, is not, in any shape or form, the actual Cordelia.  Therefore, she cannot be held accountable for any of the horrible deeds she completes throughout the season.  Her resulting comatose state, however, reminds me once again that, while Buffy has her ups and her downs, she is, at her very core, able to take care of herself just a bit better than Cordy has ever been able to. 

From Bella to Katniss:  Are Buffy and Cordelia good role models?  I have rated both of these characters individually in the past.  However, for their evaluations here, I will be comparing them to their foil alone, as opposed to their previous ratings, which resulted from a comparison in regards to the general population of other strong female characters.  Buffy’s sense of sacrifice is rarely surpassed, as she repeatedly places her own happiness on the line in order to save the lives of others she cares about.  However, this isn’t to say she can’t be selfish.  She spends almost the entire sixth season perpetually whining about money and dead-end jobs.  While I understand her displeasure at the degrading social standing brought on by her supernatural capabilities, to be fair her friends all offered a variety of alternatives that would be more suitable to her Slaying schedule; it was her own depression that forced her to believe she deserved nothing better.  This depression, though uncharacteristic for perky Buffy, does provide a certain model, as depression is rarely shown in media.  In addition to this struggle, she manages to bring herself back around to become an even better role model than ever in the show’s seventh season.  Once the others take it upon themselves to remove her as leader, she and Spike alone remain free off treason in my eyes.  The fact that she is able to rise above their betrayal and return to command their army shows an incredible ability to forgive that is admirable.  On the other hand, her ability to forgive sins enacted by significant others—in varying levels of severity—is a less than exceptional example to be set that results in a hindering of her rating in comparison to the brunette to follow. 
Role Model Rating:  8/10

Cordelia has a sense of sacrifice, but it is not nearly as honed as Buffy’s.  As the Slayer, a certain level of surrendering for the safety of the world is to be expected.  Alternatively, Cordy, as a civilian playing a game she isn’t fully equipped for, doesn’t have the demands placed upon her as Buffy does and, therefore, is presented with fewer opportunities to follow in those footsteps.  However, when such a chance arises, she consistently chooses her dedication towards her newfound higher purpose above all else—particular examples of this can be seen in her willingness to become part-demon to continue her visions and her eventual acceptance of forfeiting her human life altogether to become a higher being.  Her compassion doesn’t lessen her edge, however, as she continues to contain a certain sense of tactlessness and rudeness.  While some may think Buffy’s more conventionally socially acceptable compassion is the better example to set, I, personally, believe we all could use to follow Cordy’s brutally honest model a bit more often.  Buffy, herself, could certainly use a dose of this medicine in regards to significant others, an area in which the brunette out exemplifies the blonde in nearly every regard. 
Role Model Rating:  9/10

From Lorelai to Wonder Woman:  Are Buffy and Cordelia relatable?  While Buffy is in need of far less saving than Cordelia typically is, this is due to the blessing of her Slayer abilities—had roles been reversed, and Cordelia called as the next Slayer, perhaps it would be the brunette constantly saving the blonde.  This uncontrollable endowment of strengths makes Buffy slightly more difficult to relate to.  While she may have risen from common origins to become a strong female, she wouldn’t have been able to do so without her role as a Slayer forcing her to see the bigger purpose in life.  However, with this realization comes a perpetual state of struggle, as she constantly lays everything on the line and receives very little in return.  This loss appeals to the audience, as no one has traveled through life sans suffering.  Where her previous pitfalls in the realm of relationships hindered her ability to serve as an excellent role model, her mistakes also help the audience to relate to her far easier; I’ve seen many younger girls obsess over significant others in the way Buffy does over Angel or her brief interaction with Parker.  Buffy makes mistakes; she puts her faith in the wrong people and suffers the consequences frequently.  No one is perfect, and Buffy, in her exceptional strength and power as the Slayer, proves just that. 
Relatability Rating:  9/10

Where Buffy was blessed with supernatural powers to jump-start her conversion from vapid Valley Girl to a more compassionate and rounded-out character, Cordelia had no such igniting device.  While the visions she acquired in the first season of Angel would eventually cement the changes she had started to experience, she alone advocates for her own change in personality starting in the second season of BtVS.  As soon as she chooses Xander, and, by association, the Scoobies, over Harmony and the other mindless drones that make up the population of the popular students at Sunnydale High, she took her own first step towards improvement, with no supernatural assistance necessary.  This sends an even stronger message to the audience than Buffy’s previous off-screen renovations to her personality.  Two messages are received as Cordelia progresses.  First, as we watch her grow and develop, the audience is shown that we are in control of what we feel most passionate about.  When she first moves to L.A., she focuses on acting, as that is something that interests her.  Over time, however, she begins to see a deeper, more meaningful potential purpose; a purpose that starts to set in prior to her acquiring her visions, might I add.  Second, you are able to alter your personality without losing sight of all that it means to be you.  Cordelia manages to soften her personality without losing the distinct edge of honesty that just makes Cordelia Cordy.  For those of us who consider themselves on a perpetual track towards attempted self-improvement, this revelation about Cordelia serves to not only make her a decent role model, but works toward making her a more down-to-earth character than her brash and pushy demeanor can sometimes allow for.  It also aids the audience in finding some relatability in an overly beautiful and popular character.  Previous to the loss of her family’s money, life was almost too good for Cordelia for us to realistically understand any struggles she could go through.  With the loss of her confidence and a steady stream of funds comes a propensity to voice the true concerns of the every man; where Buffy is inherently too good to really ask others for money just for saving them, Cordy demands clients pay their bills in full, even if she has to personally put herself in danger to receive the funds.  Cordy, much like us, has bills to pay and a mouth to feed. 
Relatability Rating:  9/10 

No comments:

Post a Comment