A seemingly invisible force is attacking students.
At first, Buffy and her friends assume it is a ghost.
They come to realize that it is a student, who was literally erased due to the fact that she was ignored by her peers for years.
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The Message…
Throughout the episode, our invisible girl, Marcie, leaves three very clear messages for students.
LOOK
LISTEN
LEARN
We realize that these messages are significant because nobody looked at her, listened to her or learned anything about how to treat people nicely.
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Total Disregard
Even Willow and Xander realize that, although they had four classes with Marcie, they did not even know her name, who she was or what she looked like.
The idea behind the story is, reality can be shaped by perception.
Marcie was perceived as invisible, and so she literally became invisible.
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Are Popular Girls Lonely Too?
Marcie seems very intent on destroying Cordelia, who is perceived as very liked and popular.
While Buffy watches over Cordelia, she learns Cordelia feels alone too.
Cordelia says she is lonely too, but being popular "beats being lonely by yourself".
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Is There Truth to That?
Analyze Cordelia’s words on the previous slide.
Is there truth in the fact that it is better to surround yourself with fanfare than to deal with your feelings of loneliness?
Can you make your lonely feelings go away by keeping yourself busy?
Why or why not?
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Wise Words from Cordelia
“ I can be surrounded by people and be completely alone. It’s not like any of them really know me. I don’t even know if they like me half the time…sometimes when I talk people are so busy agreeing with me, they don’t even hear what I am saying.”
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A Thought to Ponder
“Oh, my God. 'Have a nice summer'. 'Have a nice summer'. This girl had no friends at all.”
“Have a nice summer is what you write when you have nothing to say…it’s the kiss of death.”
How can seemingly bland and innocuous words really hurt others?