Buffy

As a frequent viewer of the critically acclaimed series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I have come to notice some definite religious themes and undertones. Sunnydale, the location of this highly entertaining drama, despite its name, contains a seedy underbelly. Creatures of the night roam and do their best to take over this town that is located on the Hellmouth. Meanwhile it is Buffy’s job to attempt to keep these evil forces in check while remaining hip, stylish and in school. The use of crosses and holy water as symbols to repel evil vampires shows the power of religious paraphernalia to repel fiendish beings.

At the end of the fifth season Buffy dies - for the second time. This happens when Buffy catapults herself into a dimensional portal that is releasing hell on earth. When she does this the portal closes saving the world for a sixth time from apocalypse. Her friends, fearing that she is living in a demon dimension, bring her back from the dead. In doing so, they end up ripping her out of heaven. After they bring her back, they expect to be thanked for “saving her”, but they find that she has great difficulty in adjusting. They violated the laws of nature when they brought her back and now she is forced to suffer the pain that comes with living on earth after knowing what it feels like to be in heaven. Heaven is a place, which she describes as free from pain - where one knows that everyone they care about is safe, and they are able to just be. Despite the use of religious paraphernalia and a place called heaven the show never reveals if there is a higher power. Maybe the creator of Buffy has yet to make up his mind.