Aahana Swrup
‘I Saw the TV Glow,’ Jane Schoenbrun’s charmingly enigmatic horror thriller film, follows the stories of two teenagers and their cryptic connection to a TV show. In a small suburban town, Owen and Maddy—two woefully lonely kids—find an escape in the show “The Pink Opaque.” Consequently, things take a turn when the show gets canceled, coincidentally in the same month that Maddy disappears from the town. Years later, as the duo reunites, Owen learns that his friend is convinced that The Pink Opaque is more than just a show—it is actually their true reality. Once the idea takes hold, the young man becomes unable to shake the feeling that he’s trapped in his own reality. However, breaking free from a lifetime of confines proves to be much more terrifying than not.
Even in the film, the Pink Opaque remains a source of intrigue, drawing characters to wonder about the legitimacy of its fictionality. Naturally, given the show’s fleshed-out plotlines and nostalgic production, the same confusion is bound to bleed out on the other side of the screen and to the viewers.
The Influence of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on The Pink Opaque
Although The Pink Opaque’s fictionality may be contestable within the narrative of ‘I Saw the TV Glow,’ it firmly remains a fictional show outside of the film’s premises. The Pink Opaque plays a crucial role in Owen and Maddy’s storylines and, subsequently, becomes confined as a fictionalized element created by Jane Schoenbrun specifically for the film. However, even though the show may not exist in real life, it certainly holds some real-life inspirations behind its genesis. ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ Joss Whedon’s supernatural fantasy show that first aired in 1997, is one of the most prominent of these inspirations.
In their adolescence, Schoenbrun retained a profound connection with ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ which is evidently mirrored in Owen and Maddy’s relationship with The Pink Opaque throughout the story. Naturally, in crafting the latter show—a central impetus within the film—the filmmaker was inclined to use the real-life show as a fundamental point of reference. Although the show doesn’t directly spoof Whedon’s cult classic show, it holds enough similarities to pay homage to the same. From striking a balance between cheesy and earnest to expansive in-universe lore, and impact on queer culture, The Pink Opaque parallels ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ in several notable ways. Therefore, the real-life show remains a central inspiration behind the similarly female-led supernatural horror show in ‘I Saw the TV Glow.’
The Pink Opaque Perfects the Nostalgia of 90s Tween Dramas
The Pink Opaque’s connection to ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ is personal to filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun and their own childhood. However, the fictional show also possesses an overarching sense of nostalgia that even viewers less well-versed in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ will pick up on. The same results from the production efforts that went into creating the perfect on-screen show for Owen and Maddy’s narratives. The magnitude of these efforts became evident in production designer Brandon Tonner-Connolly’s conversation with Indie Wire, wherein he shared his experience in the creation of ‘The Pink Opaque.’
Notably, Tonner-Connolly studied the episode guides of various 90s shows, including ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ to understand the intricacies of such shows. Thus, as the production designer created an episode guide for The Pink Opaque, his research remained inherently entangled with it. “(But) The Pink Opaque episode guide was my opportunity to help to flesh out that world,” he said. “So we came up with episode names, plot lines, stills taken from the episode, quotes, trivia, all this stuff. We had sections there that were supposed to be from the costume designer of the show, that was costume sketches. I really wanted it to be a totally legit episode guide that Bridget or anybody could flip through and see something that was real and felt kind of compelling to them.” Thus, even though ‘The Pink Opaque’ ultimately only exists to serve Owen and Maddy’s narratives, the fictionalized show’s creation ensures it feels like a real production.
Read More: I Saw the TV Glow: Is the Movie Inspired by True Events?
