Fighting the Forces

Fighting the Forces explores the struggle to create meaning in an impressive example of popular culture, the television series phenomenon 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.' In the essays collected here, contributors examine the series using a variety of techniques and viewpoints. They analyze the social and cultural issues implicit in the series and place it in its literary context, not only by examining its literary influences (from German liebestod to Huckleberry Finn) but also by exploring the series' purposeful literary allusions.

For every television series, the original vision grows within a press of forces-both social and artistic expectations, conventions of the business, as well as conventions of the art. Bad television—predictable, commercial, exploitative—simply yields to the forces. Good television, like the character of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, fights them. Fighting the Forces explores the struggle to create meaning in an impressive example of popular culture, the television series phenomenon Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In the essays collected here, contributors examine the series using a variety of techniques and viewpoints. They analyze the social and cultural issues implicit in the series and place it in its literary context, not only by examining its literary influences (from German liebestod to Huckleberry Finn) but also by exploring the series' purposeful literary allusions. Furthermore, the book explores the extratextual, such as fanfiction and online discussion groups. The book is additionally supplemented by an online journal Slayage (slayage.tv), created by the book editors in acknowledgement of the ongoing nature of television art. Rhonda V. Wilcox and David Lavery have written and edited several books and articles exploring the social, literary, and artistic merit of quality television. In addition to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, their work has covered a variety of programs including Twin Peaks, Northern Exposure, The X-Files, and The Sopranos.

Chapter 1 Foreword: The Color of the Dark in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Chapter 2 Introduction
Chapter 3 Forces of Society and Culture: Gender, Generations, Violence, Class, Race, and Religion
Chapter 4 Who Died and Made Her the Boss? Patterns of Mortality in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Chapter 5 My Emotions Give Me Power: The Containment of Girl's Anger in Buffy
Chapter 6 I'm Buffy and You're . . . History: The Postmodern Politics of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Chapter 7 Surpassing the Love of Vampires; or Why (and How) a Queer Reading of Buffy/Willow is Denied
Chapter 8 Choosing Your Own Mother: Mother-Daughter Conflicts in Buffy
Chapter 9 Staking in Tongues: Speech Act as Weapon in Buffy
Chapter 10 Slaying in Black and White: Kendra as Tragic Mulatto in Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Chapter 11 The Undemonization of Supporting Characters in Buffy
Chapter 12 Sometimes You Need a Story: American Christianity, Vampires, and Buffy
Chapter 13 Darkness Falls on the Endless Summer: Buffy as Gidget for the Fin de Siècle
Chapter 14 Forces of Art and Imagination (Past): Vampires, Magic, and Monsters
Chapter 15 Of Creatures and Creators: Buffy Does Frankenstein
Chapter 16 Sex and the Single Vampire: The Evolution of the Vampire Lothario and Its Representation in Buffy
Chapter 17 Digging the Undead: Death and Desire in Buffy
Chapter 18 Spirit Guides and Shadow Selves: From the Dream Life of Buffy (and Faith)
Chapter 19 Hubble-Bubble, Herbs and Grimoires: Magic, Manichaeanism, and Witchcraft in Buffy
Chapter 20 Whose Side Are You On, Anyway? Children, Adults, and the Use of Fairy Tales in Buffy
Chapter 21
Chapter III. Forces of Art and Imagination (Present): Fan Relationships, Metaphoric and Real
Chapter 22 Crossing the Final Taboo: Family, Sexuality, and Incest in Buffyverse Fan Fiction
Chapter 23 My Boyfriend's in the Band: Buffy and the Rhetoric of Music
Chapter 24 Buffy's Mary Sue is Jonathan: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Acknowledges the Fans 25 buffy.com: Cliques, Boundaries, and Hierarchies in an Internet Community
Chapter 26 Afterword: The Genius of Joss Whedon
Chapter 27 Episode Guide for Seasons 1 to 5
Chapter 28 Bibliography
Chapter 29 Index