An amusing thread on rec.arts.comics.strips that telynor suggested I share here.
Someone was commenting on the comic strip Broom Hilda not mentioning Halloween, and finding that odd. This led to the following exchange between me and another poster:
Him: “This was covered in the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Actual witches, vampires, demons, etc. tend to distance themselves from the tasteless, commercial mess that mortals have made of Halloween.”
Me: “Most of my Wiccan friends delight in the spectacle of Halloween, while still observing Samhain as a religious holiday, in much the same way that many Christians enjoy the festivities of Christmas without forgetting the spiritual reason for the holiday.”
Him: “That was covered on Buffy as well. Willow refers to Wiccans as “wanna-blessed-be’s”. In the Buffyverse, real witches create time rifts, do battle with gods, flay their enemies alive, try to destroy the world, etc. And that’s just one of the “good” witches, mind you. You don’t want to meet one of the nastier ones.”
Me: “Yes, of course. I keep forgetting how Buffy is a documentary”
wheezinggirl
That might be one of the funniest things I have read in a long time. It might also be the saddest thing….
stevieannie
But… but… You mean it’s NOT?!!!!
Augh!
bikergeek
absolutely brilliant. *applauds*
madfilkentist
Well, yes, in the Buffyverse, those are the “real witches.” In our universe, they’re fictional witches. Kind of like Earth-1 and Earth-2 and all those. Maybe in her spare time, Buffy reads fiction about bizarre beings called “science fiction fen,” and laughs at the idea that such people could exist.
batyatoon
They exist in her world too! She’s met some!
Now filkers, on the other hand….
tattercoats
Yeah but… I buck the trend, I’m afraid, and have a very quiet homely Samhain with candles and pumpkins. And memories.
osewalrus
Well, in fairness, “Broom Hilda” is also fictional. No reason why one fictional universe can’t have the same rules as another fictional universe.
mdlbear
That’s a sad commentary on something, but I’m not sure what. Inability to distinguish fact from fiction seems to be at the root of many of society’s problems right now.
phoenixgeisha
This put a smile on my face. 🙂
andpuff
Hee! That last line was the most dryly delivered line of text I’ve ever read.
Ah yes, Joss Whedon — the Ken Burns of the weird and wonderful.
harmonyheifer
I just want to point out that practicing witchcraft on a hellmouth is probably a bad idea. Of course using the Buffyverse as a guide to Wicca is also a bad idea. I love your response, but it was probably casting pearls before a swine.
wheezinggirl
yes, but they were such lovely pearls and they were cast before such a very willing swine. And, heck, even if the pig doesn’t get it, it is funny for the rest of us.
xforge
Yeah, everybody knows the Charmedverse is a far more accurate representation of real WiccaGUFFAW sorry couldn’t keep a straight face…
jeriendhal
Metaquoted!