Not a "Charmed" life

   As I was reading the article for this weeks class, Kent A. Ono's "To Be a Vampire on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I couldn't help but think of the television series Charmed.  For those of you who have not heard of this show it has many similarities to Buffy.  Three sisters find out they are witches and not just any witches but powerful witches because they possess the "power of three" which makes them Charmed.  In the show they fight demons, warlocks, misquided individuals and even face the ultimate evil, "The Source."  Just as in Buffy the three sisters are white and come from a middle class family (all the girls in the family are witches).  The sisters were raised by their grandmother (a witch) because their father had left them at an early age and their mother had been killed by a demon.  However, they were raised without their powers (grandma put a binding spell on them) and only gained them when she died.  They did not seem to be denied any luxuries as they were growing up but yet feel like they have nmissed out on things.  So, just as in Buffy, they are still learning about who they are and what they are to become.
     Also, as in Buffy, the demons they face come from the underground, and when I think back on the show, are generally of a different race.  The Sorceress, who works for the dark side, is of African-American descent and much of the other demons and never-do-wells are of other minority groups.  Most of the "innocents" the sisters save appear to be Caucasian.  The evil characters are all classified as being "dark" just as in Buffy, they have black eyes and wear dark clothing and live underground or in dark alleys and woods, etc.  Another similarity to Buffy is the addition of the character Cole, which is very similar to the character Angel in Buffy.  Cole is a demon who wishes to shed his powers and work with the sisters.  He becomes romantically involved with one of the sisters, Pheobe.  He is also white and middle class.  Yet, another similarity is how the sisters are always complaining about wanting a "normal life" and being able to date, get married and have children.  They sometimes lament their charmed witch status and wish that they could give it up in order to lead a safe, normal, secure life.  But in the end they always accept their fate and continue to fight the demons and other bad creatures. 
     I had never thought of all these implications before reading the article but now can see that even though the Charmed ones are ass-kicking good doers, there are flaws with the way culture, gender and society is repesented in the show.