"Into every generation a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with the strength and skill to fight the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil" For the first season we were reminded of this at the very start of the show, just as the opening chords of that music resounded in our heads. Originally set in a 'typical' Californian high school, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a brave new show highlighting a young girls struggles to cope with day to day life, on top of that, she has a secret life, one which will ultimately lead to a premature death.
Although Buffy is a ficticious show in as much as we don't have vampires and demons attacking us at every turn, the messages and issues the characters face are very real and there are very few people who can say they've never had to go through some of the things the characters do.

While some of the more 'controversial' issues are dealt with in a metaphorcal state, Buffy has tackled them head on and come out on top.

Love and Heartbreak:
Everyone remembers their first love and the pain of losing them. Although Buffy's first love was a vampire whom she later had to kill, the emotion and intensity were still the same.
An unrequited love can be both good and bad, as Willow's character proves for many seasons. the inner turmoil of revealing your feelings and the terror of rejection are both played out spectacularly by Hannigan.
Having your partner cheat on you is also quite a common occurance, the initial reaction is the same for most people: anger and revenge. While Buffy used magic as the means of revenge, the reaction would be the same if it happened to you or I.
What do you do when your lover leaves you? If you're Buffy, you put on the front, try to act strong and not to fall apart even though you feel your world has ended. If you're Xander, you try everything and anything to get them back, foresaking your pride to win back your lover's heart. If you're Willow, you wear your heart on your sleeve be it broken or not, trying whatever you can to stop the pain, reminding yourself every day that if you can just get up and remember to breath that tomorrow might make it just that little easier.

Death:
Death is all around us, every day but it never really touches our lives, until someone close to you dies. Then you are transported into a world where everything is too small, where you have no room to breath and you know that if only you'd been there, you could have made a difference, maybe even prevented it. Reactions to death differ, some people fixate on the most insignificant things, outfits for the funeral for example, others get angry, some people totally break down, and others question everything. In an episode titled 'The Body all these reactions, and more, are dealt with, and not one among us can say we don't react in one of the above ways.

Surprises:
When you're alone and no-one understands or can help, the most unlikely people step up to give you a hand, you may not know or even like them, but just so often, it happens. How you deal with this is an interesting question that is hard to answer until it happens.
Betrayal is never pleasant but its an unfortunate reality. When those around you let you down in dramatic fashions, your grasp on reality becomes just that little bit weaker and the people you love become that little bit colder, the important thing is to deal with and resolve the issues behind a betrayal.

The 'controversy':
One Night stands: Not for everyone but fine if both parties are aware that it is just one night. When you strike up a conversation, and have a laugh with someone, one thing can lead to another and you end up sleeping together. If no one specifies that its not going to ba a meaningful, long lasting relationship, how do you deal with it when the call you are expecting never comes? When you see that lover flirting with other people, what do you do? Such personal and probing questions but issues that often need to be addressed.
Homosexuality: When people go off to college, they sometimes experiment with same sex relationships, but what happens when you fall in love with someone of the same sex? The emotional rollercoaster is huge, some people don't understand and some don't want to. How do you tell your friends/family? Tensions are high and your world becomes a whole lot scarier and suddenly, much smaller.
Rape: When someone who claims to love you tries to rape you, how do you come to terms with it? There's no justification and it often seems like there's no hope. On the flip side, what happens if you are trying to revive the passion of a rapidly dying relationship and things go too far? If the intention was not to harm someone, how did things get so bad, so quickly? How do you live with yourself and is forgiveness even something you should consider asking for or giving?
Addiction: If you can't stop when you want to, its an addiction. Buffy again used magic as a metaphor but when the people you love are getting hurt or leaving you, maybe it's time to take a look at your life?! The thing with addiction is you never realise until you get caught in the spiral, but which time it's so hard to stop. Be it magic, smoking, alcohol or drugs, ask youself this; Could you give up?

So, here we are, fast approacing the end of the entry and the question you may be asking yourself is; 'What do any of these things have to do with a ficticious show?'. Buffy the Vampire Slayer has tackled each of these issues in a mature and responsible way, highlighting the heartbreak, the laughter, the tears and the dangers of getting through each day. They may have done much of it using vampires, demons and black magick but the underlying message is the same, life's isn't easy and things happen that you won't always like. These are all issues that all of us will have to face at one time or another, it doesn't matter how old you are, where you live, your class, sex, colour or creed. This is life, it doesn't discriminate. So the question I pose is this: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.... Fact or Fiction??