Wesleyan remembers ‘Buffy’ creator by Hannah Inberg Contributing writer Joss Whedon ’87, the creator, writer, director and executive producer of the cult television series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” has procured tremendous success since his Eclectic days. Whedon’s former teacher and faculty advisor Jeanine Basinger, Chair of the Film Studies program and the Corwin-Fuller Professor of Film Studies and American Studies, remembers Whedon affectionately. She said that they not only continue to visit each other, but also talk on the phone constantly. Furthermore, Basinger believes that fame has not changed the University alum. “The very funny, realistic guy I knew shuffling around in sneakers here at Wesleyan is the exact same guy you meet when you step into his office at Mutant Enemy,” Basinger said. After graduation, Whedon began his career writing for the television series “Roseanne,” making full use of his film major. It was only a year before he sold the script for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” movie. Since his initial success he has since written for “Speed,” “Waterworld,” “Toy Story” and “Alien Resurrection.” Whedon’s success is far from surprising. “Joss was one of the all-time best film majors I ever had,” Basinger said. “He was born with the narrative instincts and the intelligence that makes him who he is. We gave him a place to grow.” Born on June 23, 1964, Whedon spent his pre-Wesleyan years under the inspiration of a creative and successful family. Not only did his father write for “The Golden Girls,” “The Dick Cavett Show” and “Alice,” but his grandfather also worked on “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “The Donna Reed Show” and “Leave it to Beaver.” Whedon’s brother Zach, a senior at Wesleyan, remembers Joss being invested in film from a young age. “He directed all our home movies. They were ridiculous, but pretty good,” Zach said, who is also a film major. Though he believes his father’s influence would have led him into pursuing a career in film anyway, Zach acknowledges the motivation his brother has given him. “He inspires me. He has had incredibly quick success on a pretty large scale,” said the younger Whedon. Initially, Zach did not have much faith in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” “When he [Joss] told me they were going to make ‘Buffy’ into a TV show I thought it would be a total bomb. I couldn’t imagine how it could be good at all,” Zach said. But his doubts subsided when he began to watch the series. Though he is still not a member of one of his brother’s numerous Internet fan clubs, Zach said that he quickly began to love the show. The strange part about “Buffy” is not that it is set in a high school with lots of well-dressed pretty girls, or that there are blood-sucking vampires who die in one episode just to return in the next. It’s not even that weird that it was a University alum who gave birth to this hit series. The strange part is that “Buffy’s” immense audience is as diverse as it is loyal. This reporter’s stepfather has a B.A., an M.A., and a J.D., yet he cancels appointments and leaves work early in order to not miss a single episode. “Buffy” captures something in each of its dedicated, if not fanatical, fans. Joss Whedon created a hero [Sarah Michelle Gellar] who is not only cute and curvaceous, but also a teenage demon slayer dealing with the normal life issues of friends, lovers, responsibilities and identity questions. She is forced to find the balance between being beautiful and being intelligent. She splits her weekends between party hopping with her friends (frequently at places which are direct allusions to Wesleyan) and facing off evils from another world. Zach Whedon attributes part of the success of his brother’s show to its science-fiction element. He said that on series like “Beverly Hills, 90210” it is unrealistic for the same characters to face horrendous difficulties, like pregnancy, diseases or drugs, each week. “Even though there are vampires,” Zach said, “it [‘Buffy’] is more believable because her role is to be the slayer.” Within Weldon’s world of demons, monsters and the evils of life, issues such as drugs and pregnancy suddenly become game for discussion. This type of life could only have been captured by the creative mind of a University alum.

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