Fighting the Forces: What's at Stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a 2002 academic publication relating to the fictional Buffyverse established by TV series, Buffy and Angel.

Fighting The Forces
EditorRhonda V. Wilcox
David Lavery
AuthorVarious
SubjectBuffyverse
Genreacademic publication, Media Study
PublisherRowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date
April 2002
Pages320
ISBN0-7425-1681-4
OCLC47443883
791.45/72 21
LC ClassPN1992.77.B84 F54 2002

Book description

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The book looks at the struggle to examine meaning in the television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series is examined from a variety of viewpoints, and especially the social and cultural issues dealt with by the series and their place in a wider literary context.

Contents

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The chapters are grouped as follows:

  • Part 1: Forces of Society and Culture: Gender, Generations, Violence, Class, Race and Religion (Chapters 1–10).
  • Part 2: Forces of Art and Imagination (Past): Vampires, Magic, and Monsters (Chapters 11–16).
  • Part 3: Forces of Art and Imagination (Present): Fan Relationships, Metaphoric and Real (Chapters 17–20).
Chapter Title Author
Foreword The Color of Dark in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Camille Bacon-Smith
Intro Introduction Rhonda V. Wilcox and David Lavery
01 "Who Died and Made Her the Boss?" Patterns of Mortality in Buffy Rhonda V. Wilcox
02 "My Emotions Give Me Power": The Containment of Girls' Anger in Buffy Elyce Rae Helford
03 "I'm Buffy and You're ... History": The Postmodern Politics of Buffy Patricia Pender
04 Surpassing the Love of Vampires; or, Why (and How) a Queer Reading of the Buffy/Willow Relationship is Denied Farah Mendlesohn
05 Choosing Your Own Mother: Mother-Daughter Conflicts in Buffy J. P. Williams
06 Staking in Tongues: Speech Act as Weapon in Buffy Karen Eileen Overbey and Lahney Preston-Matto
07 Slaying in Black and White: Kendra as Tragic Mulatta in Buffy Lynne Edwards
08 The Undemonization of Supporting Characters in Buffy Mary Alice Money
09 "Sometimes You Need a Story": American Christianity, Vampures, and Buffy Gregory Erickson
10 Darkness Falls on the Endless Summer: Buffy as Gidget for the Fin de Siècle Catherine Siemann
11 Of Creatures and Creators: Buffy Does Frankenstein Anita Rose
12 Sex and the Single Vampire: The Evolution of the Vampire Lothario and Its Representation in Buffy Diane DeKelb-Rittenhouse
13 "Digging the Undead": Death and Desire in Buffy Elisabeth Krimmer and Shilpa Raval
14 Spirit Guides and Shadow Selves: From the Dream Life of Buffy (and Faith) Donald Keller
15 Hubble-Bubble, Herbs and Grimoires: Magic, Manichaeanism, and Witchcraft in Buffy Tanya Krzywinska
16 Whose Side Are You on, Anyway? Children, Adults, and the Use of Fairy Tales in Buffy Sarah E. Skwire
17 Crossing the Final Taboo: Family, Sexuality, and Incest in Buffyverse Fan Fiction Kristina Busse
18 "My Boyfriend's in the Band!" Buffy and the Rhetoric of Music S. Renee Dechert
19 Buffy’s Mary Sue is Jonathan: Buffy Acknowledges the Fans Justine Larbalestier
20 www.buffy.com: Cliques, Boundaries, and Hierarchies in an Internet Community Amanda Zweerink and Sarah N. Gatson
Afterword The Genius of Joss Whedon David Lavery

Critical reception

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The book was reviewed by Dorothy Kuykendal in Extrapolation,[1] Sabrina P. Ramet in The Journal of Popular Culture,[2] Shannon Rupp in Ottawa Citizen,[3] Nicholas Birns in Science Fiction Studies,[4] Fiona Kelleghan in the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts,[5] and Deborah Netburn in The New York Observer.[6]

References

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