Author: J. Michael Richardson
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786455306
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 205
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Book Description
This study examines the major works of contemporary American television and film screenwriter Joss Whedon. The authors argue that these works are part of an existentialist tradition that stretches back from the French atheistic existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, through the Danish Christian existentialist Soren Kierkegaard, to the Russian novelist and existentialist Fyodor Dostoevsky. Whedon and Dostoevsky, for example, seem preoccupied with the problem of evil and human freedom. Both argue that in each and every one of us "a demon lies hidden." Whedon personifies these demons and has them wandering about and causing havoc. Dostoevsky treats the subject only slightly more seriously. Chapters cover such topics as Russian existentialism and vampire slayage; moral choices; ethics; Faith and bad faith; constructing reality through existential choice; some limitations of science and technology; love and self-sacrifice; love, witchcraft, and vengeance; soul mates and moral responsibility; love and moral choice; forms of freedom; and Whedon as moral philosopher.
Author: Dean A. Kowalski
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 081313997X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 248
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Book Description
Every generation produces a counterculture icon. Joss Whedon, creator of the long-running television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is famed for his subversive wit, rich characters, and extraordinary plotlines. His renown has only grown with subsequent creations, including Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, and the innovative online series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Through premises as unusual as a supernatural detective agency run by a vampire and a Western set in outer space, Whedon weaves stories about characters forced to make commonplace moral decisions under the most bizarre of circumstances. The Philosophy of Joss Whedon examines Whedon's plots and characterizations to reveal their philosophical takes on the limits of personal freedom, sexual morality, radical evil, and Daoism.
Author: Joy Davidson
Publisher: BenBella Books
ISBN: 1933771259
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 223
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Book Description
First there was “Buffy the Vampire Slayer"; then its spin-off “Angel"; then the cult hit “Firefly"; and its follow-up film, “Serenity." They all had two things in common: their creator, Joss Whedon … and their surprising psychological depth. Revisit the worlds of Joss Whedon … with trained psychologists at your side. What are the psychological effects of constantly fighting for your life? Why is neuroscience the Whedonverse's most terrifying villain? How can watching Joss's shows help you take on your own psychological issues? It's all the best parts of Psych 101—without Professor Walsh. * Robert Kurzban explains how Mal's morals are a form of evolutionary pornography, and why we like to watch * Thomas Flamson explores free will in the Whedonverse—with prophecies, sacred duties and the long arm of the Alliance, does anyone actually have any? * Carole Poole demonstrates how Buffy and Spike's season six relationship could be considered metaphor for narcissistic personality disorder—and concludes that Buffy may have been better off continuing it * Bradley J. Daniels looks at River's Alliance-altered brain, and the real effects of “stripping" the amygdala * Mikhail Lyubansky shows why, psychologically, death really is Buffy's gift * And editor Joy Davidson takes on Angel's mommy issues—how the course of his whole extraordinary existence can be traced back to the woman who made him a vampire
Author: Rhonda V. Wilcox
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
ISBN: 0815652836
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 482
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Book Description
In an age when geek chic has come to define mainstream pop culture, few writers and producers inspire more admiration and response than Joss Whedon. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Much Ado About Nothing, from Dr. Horrible’s Sing–Along Blog to The Avengers, the works of Whedon have been the focus of increasing academic attention. This collection of articles represents some of the best work covering a wide array of topics that clarify Whedon’s importance, including considerations of narrative and visual techniques, myth construction, symbolism, gender, heroism, and the business side of television. The editors argue that Whedon’s work is of both social and aesthetic significance; that he creates “canonical television.” He is a master of his artistic medium and has managed this success on broadcast networks rather than on cable. From the focus on a single episode to the exploration of an entire season, from the discussion of a particular narrative technique to a recounting of the history of Whedon studies, this collection will both entertain and educate those exploring Whedon scholarship for the first time and those planning to teach a course on his works.
Author: Dean Kowalski
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 0739196669
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 279
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Book Description
In this book, Dean Kowalski argues that filmmakers can “do” philosophy when creating a fictional narrative film, and utilizes a careful and extensive analysis of Joss Whedon’s fictive creations—Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, and The Cabin in the Woods (among others)—to establish this thesis. This book appeals to many different readers. For the many admirers of Whedon’s fictive creations, it offers one of the most comprehensive analyses of his corpus. It reprises many examples and dialogue passages from the far corners of the so-called “Whedonverse.” You’ll get a chance to re-experience your favorite dramatic moments, and think about them in novel ways. For popular culture scholars, it offers illustrations of various philosophical theories, explains how those theories pertain to relevant data points in Whedon’s oeuvre, and assesses whether, or to what extent, they have real-world application. For philosophers of film, it explicates crucial issues germane to the film-as-philosophy debate, but also expands them to television—all in the attempt to demonstrate why it is that Whedon ought to be included among those rare filmmakers who engage the philosophical process via their artistry.
Author: J. Douglas Rabb
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786474408
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 224
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Book Description
Drawing on the works of Shakespeare and American screenwriter Joss Whedon, this study in narrative ethics contends that Whedon is the Shakespeare of our time. The Bard wrote before the influence of the modern moral philosophers, while Whedon is writing in the postmodern period. It is argued that Whedon's work is more in harmony with the early modern values of Shakespeare than with modern ethics, which trace their origin to 17th and 18th century moral philosophy. This study includes a detailed discussion of representative works of Shakespeare and Whedon, showing how they can and should be read as forms of narrative ethics.
Author: Don Macnaughtan
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476670595
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 282
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Book Description
Director, producer and screenwriter Joss Whedon is a creative force in film, television, comic books and a host of other media. This book provides an authoritative survey of all of Whedon's work, ranging from his earliest scriptwriting on Roseanne, through his many movie and TV undertakings--Toy Story, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly/Serenity, Dr. Horrible, The Cabin in the Woods, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.--to his forays into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The book covers both the original texts of the Whedonverse and the many secondary works focusing on Whedon's projects, including about 2000 books, essays, articles, documentaries and dissertations.
Author: Lewis Call
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476675066
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 252
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Book Description
Joss Whedon's works, across all media including television, film, musicals, and comic books, are known for their commitment to gender and sexual equality. They have always encouraged their audiences to love whomever, and however, they wish. This book is a history of the sexualities represented in the works of Joss Whedon and it covers all of Whedon's genres, including fantasy, horror, science fiction, westerns, superhero stories, and Shakespearean comedy. Unique for its consideration of the entire arc of Whedon's two-decade career, from the beginning of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's first season in 1997 through the conclusion of its twelfth (comic book) season in 2018, this book examines in detail both better-known queer sexualities of the LGBTQ+ spectrum, and lesser-known non-normative sexualities. The book includes chapters on Whedon's sexually dominant women and submissive men, sexual pluralism on Firefly, disabled sexualities in Whedon's superhero narratives, zoophilia in Buffy, queer and heteronormative sexualities in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, the subversion of the sexual tropes of slasher films in The Cabin in Woods, and dominance and submission in Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing.
Author: Don Macnaughtan
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786487879
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 964
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Book Description
This bibliographic guide covers the “Buffyverse”—the fictional worlds of the acclaimed television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) and its spinoff Angel (1999–2004), as well as the original Buffy feature film of 1992. It is the largest and most inclusive work of its kind. The author organizes and describes both the original texts of the Buffyverse (episodes, DVDs, novels, comic books, games, and more) and the secondary materials created about the shows, including books, essays, articles, documentaries, dissertations, fan production and websites. This vast and diverse collection of information about these two seminal shows and their feature-film forebear provides an accessible, authoritative and comprehensive survey of the subject.
Author: Valerie Estelle Frankel
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786498854
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 257
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Book Description
A great deal of scholarship has focused on Joss Whedon's television and film work, which includes Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, The Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers. But Whedon's work in the world of comics has largely been ignored. He created his own dystopian heroine, Fray, assembled the goofy fannish heroes of Sugarshock, and wrote arcs for Marvel's Astonishing X-Men and Runaways. Along with The Avengers, Whedon's contributions to the cinematic Universe include: script doctoring the first X-Men film, writing a ground-shaking Wonder Woman screenplay, and co-creating ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Today, Whedon continues the Buffy and Firefly stories with innovative comics that shatter the rules of storytelling and force his characters to grow through life-altering conflicts. This collection of new essays focuses on Whedon's comics work and its tie-ins with his film and television productions, emphasizing his auteurism in crossing over from panel to screen to panel. Essays focus on the comic inspirations and subversive tropes of the Whedonverse, as well as character changes and new interpretations.
