Amusing that the "Mirror Universe" show to BUFFY (in terms of being on in the same relative era) was probably XENA; i.e. a super-throwbacky fantasy/action show that was 100% unapologetically "pin-ups in boob-armor" male gazey and created by (then) Republicans (the Raimis)...

...today that series (problematic stuff and all) is continuously rediscovered as both unintended AND sincere queer/feminist text vs BUFFY; which was outwardly "90s woke" as hell and effectively burnished Whedon's "bro who gets it" credentials for decades.

I don't know that the comparison is otherwise representative of anything in terms of trends of types: Whatever his own views Raimi is a rare filmmaker where IMO you'd REALLY struggle to find a coherent ideological throughline in his work, while Whedon seems to buy his own hype...

...but it's an interesting note on perception re: what's noticed and what's dismissed in it's day. Both things were HUGELY popular, but one was "the way forward" and now it looks like step back - and it's creator's highest achievement was also highly producer-driven ("Avengers")

...meanwhile, it's a near certainty that Jackson's LOTR simply doesn't HAPPEN without the gigantic existing infrastructure of stuntpeople and semi-pro crew cultivated over a decade-plus of the Raimi Bros and Tapert shooting HERC/XENA in NZ...

...and it's Raimi who sets the stage for the entire 21st Century Marvel tonal aesthetic in SPIDER-MAN.