In 2001’s “The Body” (written and directed by Joss Whedon), the Slayer is faced with something she cannot fight.  Buffy’s discovery of her mother’s body is shocking to her and the viewer alike.  The revelation of this death strikes each of the Scoobies in ways relating to their personalities.  The construction of the cinematic space and narrative codes within this episode drives the story in an unusual manner.   The visual depiction of these first hours following Joyce’s death is made sublime by the atypical manifestation of these design elements.

Such things as camera movement, composition, lighting, depth of field and variations in editing styles create an expansive inner space in the act of viewing.  The viewer’s heightened experience is one of empathy and grief for the loss of a matriarch.  This episode is made weighty by its lack.  There is no beloved “Previously on Buffy,” no ambient sound, and an almost complete lack of demon fighting. The enemy here is intangible, and the formal elements in “The Body” are magnificently crafted to press the narrative into a higher plane. 

A VCR and perhaps a slide projector are the AV materials I anticipate using in my discussion.