Reading Joss Whedon

Contents

vii Contents Contents by Topic 덇 xi Acknowledgments 덇 xv Introduction Much Ado about Whedon R H O N D A V . W I L C O X 덇 1 Part One: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Buffy the Vampire Slayer An Introduction R H O N D A V . W I L C O X 덇 17 From Beneath You, It Foreshadows Why Buffy’s First Season Matters D A V I D K O C I E M B A 덇 22 Hero’s Journey, Heroine’s Return? Buffy, Eurydice, and the Orpheus Myth J A N E T K . H A L F Y A R D 덇 40 “It’s Like Some Primal, Some Animal Force . . . That Used to Be Us” Animality, Humanity, and Moral Careers in the Buffyverse A N A N Y A M U K H E R J E A 덇 53 “Can I Spend the Night / Alone?” Segments and Connections in “Conversations with Dead People” R H O N D A V . W I L C O X 덇 70 “Hey, Respect the Narrative Flow Much?” Problematic Storytelling in Buffy the Vampire Slayer R I C H A R D S . A L B R I G H T 덇 84 All Those Apocalypses Disaster Studies and Community in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel L I N D A J . J E N C S O N 덇 99 Part Two: Angel Angel An Introduction C Y N T H E A M A S S O N 덇 115 “Enough of the Action, Let’s Get Back to Dancing” Joss Whedon Directs Angel S T A C E Y A B B O T T 덇 119 What the Hell? Angel’s “The Girl in Question” C Y N T H E A M A S S O N 덇 134 viii ✴ Contents Part Three: Firefly and Serenity Firefly and Serenity An Introduction T A N Y A R . C O C H R A N 덇 149 Firefly Of Formats, Franchises, and Fox M A T T H E W P A T E M A N 덇 153 “Wheel Never Stops Turning” Space and Time in Firefly and Serenity A L Y S O N R . B U C K M A N 덇 169 Metaphoric Unity and Ending Sending and Receiving Firefly’s Last “Message” E L I Z A B E T H L . R A M B O 덇 185 Part Four: Dollhouse Dollhouse An Introduction D A V I D L A V E R Y 덇 201 Reflections in the Pool Echo, Narcissus, and the Male Gaze in Dollhouse K . D A L E K O O N T Z 덇 205 “There Is No Me; I’m Just a Container” Law and the Loss of Personhood in Dollhouse S H A R O N S U T H E R L A N D A N D S A R A H S W A N 덇 221 Part Five: Beyond the Box Joining the Evil League of Evil The Rhetoric of Posthuman Negotiation in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog V I C T O R I A W I L L I S 덇 237 Buffy’s Season 8, Image and Text Superhero Self-Fashioning M A R N I S T A N L E Y 덇 250 Watchers in the Woods Meta-Horror, Genre Hybridity, and Reality TV Critique in The Cabin in the Woods K R I S T O P H E R K A R L W O O F T E R 덇 268 Joss Whedon Throws His Mighty Shield Marvel’s The Avengers as War Movie E N S L E Y F . G U F F E Y 덇 280 Part Six: Overarching Topics Stuffing a Rabbit in It Character, Narrative, and Time in the Whedonverses L O R N A J O W E T T 덇 297 Adventures in the Moral Imagination Memory and Identity in Whedon’s Narrative Ethics J . D O U G L A S R A B B A N D J . M I C H A E L R I C H A R D S O N 덇 312 Technology and Magic Joss Whedon’s Explorations of the Mind J E F F R E Y B U S S O L I N I 덇 325 Contents ✴ ix From Old Heresies to Future Paradigms Joss Whedon on Body and Soul G R E G O R Y E...