Buffy studies - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Buffy Studies is a term applied to the collection of written works about, and the university courses that discuss aspects of, the television program Buffy the Vampire Slayer and, to a lesser extent, its spin-off program Angel
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...

. It explores issues related to gender and other philosophical issues as expressed through the content of these shows. Such work is concerned with the scholarly study and exploration of Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon

Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...

's popular television series that take place in the fictional Buffyverse

Buffyverse

The Buffyverse, also known as the Whedonverse or Slayerverse , is the shared fictional universe in which the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel are set. This term, originally coined by fans of the TV series, has since been used in the titles of published works, and adopted by Joss...

.

Neda Ulaby of NPR

NPR

NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...

describes Buffy as having a "special following among academics, some of whom have staked a claim in what they call "Buffy Studies." Though not widely recognized as a distinct discipline, the term "Buffy studies" is commonly used amongst the academic Buffy-related writings. Such studies are also sometimes referred to as 'Buffyology'.

Development as academic field

The debut of Buffy (1997–2003) eventually led to the publication of a number of books and hundreds of articles examining the themes of the show from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives including sociology

Sociology

Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

, psychology

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

, philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

and women's studies

Women's studies

Women's studies, also known as feminist studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional, multicultural women's perspective...

. Since January 2001 Slayage: The Online Journal of Buffy Studies has published essays on the topic quarterly, and it continues to do so. Fighting the Forces: What's at Stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer was published in 2002, and since then many more Buffy books have been published by academic book publishers with more books planned for release before the end of 2006. There have also been a number of international conferences on the topic. "College courses across the globe are devoted to the show, and secondary schools in Australia and New Zealand also provide Buffy classes." The topic can even be undertaken as part of a Master's degree

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

in Cult Film & TV at Brunel University, London. Increasingly Angel is being analyzed alongside its predecessor, e.g. in the recent 2005 publication, Reading Angel

Reading Angel: The TV Spin-off With a Soul

Reading Angel: The TV Spin-off With a Soul is an academic publication relating to the fictional Buffyverse established by TV series, Buffy and Angel.-Book description and contents:...

.

The creator of Buffy, Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon

, has responded to the scholarly reaction to his series: "I think it's great that the academic community has taken an interest in the show. I think it's always important for academics to study popular culture, even if the thing they are studying is idiotic. If it's successful or made a dent in culture, then it is worthy of study to find out why. Buffy, on the other hand is, I hope, not idiotic. We think very carefully about what we're trying to say emotionally, politically, and even philosophically while we're writing it... it really is, apart from being a pop-culture phenomenon, something that is deeply layered textually episode by episode."

The Third International Slayage Conference on the Whedonverses was held June 5–8, 2008 at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

The response to this scholarly attention has had its critics. The English lecturer Mary Graber is unimpressed with the growing presence of Buffy in universities: she wrote in an article "most parents who send their children off to college have no idea of what is being taught in the humanities classes: pornography appreciation, analysis of the clothing of transvestites, Native American scalp dances, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Jes Battis who authored Blood Relations in Buffy and Angel admits that study of the Buffyverse "invokes an uneasy combination of enthusiasm and ire", and meets "a certain amount of disdain from within the halls of the academy".

Gender studies

Lorna Jowett, 2005: Sex and The Slayer: A Gender Studies Primer for the Buffy Fan.

In this paper, published by Wesleyan University Press, Jowlett, senior lecturer in American Studies at The University of Northampton and Buffy fan, states that ‘Buffy may be “Barbie with a kung-fu grip”, but she is still Barbie’ (p. 197). Jowlett identifies the show as being “post-feminist”, while arguing that it fails to challenge gender stereotypes in meaningful ways. Jowletts book’s first 3 chapters are entitled: Girl Power, Good Girls and Bad Girls, in which Jowlett dissects the stereotypes within the female characters that, she argues, are reinforced by the show. The next three chapters are broken into the male stereotypes: Tough men, New Men and Dead Boys. Jowlett states that reinforcement of stereotypes exists within the show for male characters as well.

Pop culture studies

Dee Amy-Chinn and Milly Williamson, 2005: The Vampire Spike in text and fandom: Unsettling oppositions in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Amy-Chinn, senior lecturer at Oxford Brookes University and Williamson, of Brunel University, focus on a specific character in this paper, Spike, who as argued by the authors, embodies “the simultaneous expression of erotic repulsion and attraction” and a “fear of and desire for the ‘other’”. The authors compare and contrast the character of Spike to the show’s general treatment of sexuality and self.

Media studies

Rhonda Wilcox, 2005: Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Why does Buffy Matter? In this paper Wilcox makes the attempt to bring this television show into perspective for us. Wilcox says, “It matters because it shows that television can be art, and deserves to be so studied…the depth of the characters, the truth of the stories, the profundity of the themes, and their precise incarnation in language, sound and image – all of these matter.” (Wilcox 419). While giving in depth details of all of these elements and also drawing on other academic articles about Buffy, Wilcox helps to bring this television series to the same page for all fans interested in Buffy; from those who are a bit unsure about the series all the way to those die hard fans.
Wilcox, Rhonda & Lavery, David, 2002. “Fighting the Forces: What’s at Stake for Buffy The Vampire Slayer.”

"Fighting the Forces” explores the struggle to create meaning in an impressive example of popular culture, the television series phenomenon “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. These essays analyze the social and cultural issues implicit in the series and place it in its literary context. Editors Wilcox and Lavery have opened an intriguing doorway to fans of this show, “Issues of gender, generations, race, class, and violence are treated seriously, through an in-depth analysis of both main characters and sidekicks. Class and race are discussed through a study of Buffy’s and her friends’ relationship with the two "other" slayers, American white trash Faith and Jamaican Kendra.” Wilcox and Lavery analyze these many concepts while critiquing other scholarly essays such as “God, New Religious Movements, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Everything Philosophical About Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Family studies

Burr, Vivien., and Jarvis, C. Sept. 2007. “Imagining the Family Representations of Alternative Lifestyles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

This paper offers studies of the family and how media families affect the views of young people. Through the television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Burr explores the dangers and advantages of non-normative family forms, especially the non-genetic or ‘chosen’ families. (Burr) There is also a focus that Buffy “endorses a non-hierarchical, ‘democratic vision’ of the family. (Giddens, 1992) Also, Buffy can generate ‘interactive social worlds’ that are a main focus of the spreading of new social, familial practices (Plummer, 1995). Family is viewed in a new and different way through Buffy that leads to such innovations as well in practice and research on the subject.

Aesthetics

Kociemba, David, 2006: “Actually, it explains a lot": Reading the Opening Title Sequences in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

This paper examines the opening title sequences of the television series in detail, looking at the use of imagery, color, editing, logo, credits, title, and scoring. The opening title sequences of Buffy the Vampire Slayer function as a microcosm of the series itself. They reveal the influence of the creators’ perception of their audience and their own work, the medium’s narrative and artistic conventions, and the media industry’s own practices. They construct the series’ past, shape the viewer’s present experience of the episode, and prepare the way for future narratives. This article won the "Short Mr. Pointy" award for excellence in scholarship in Buffy Studies from the Whedon Studies Association.

Additional works

The full title "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is shortened to BtVS in the following table.

Book title	Released	Description
Buffy and Angel Conquer the Internet	2009	A multidisciplinary examination of the two series' fandom.
Buffy Goes Dark	2009	A look at the final two season of BtVS, aired on UPN.
Faith and Choice in the Works of Joss Whedon	April 2008	Exploration of the spiritual and ethical choices made in the Buffyverse by K. Dale Koontz.
The Existential Joss Whedon: Evil and Human Freedom in BtVS, Angel, Firefly and Serenity	April 2006	This book examines Joss Whedon Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures... 's work in an existential light, focusing on ethics, good vs evil, choice, and free will.
Aesthetics of Culture in BtVS	January 2006	Matthew Pateman's examination of the cultural commentary contained in Buffy.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BFI TV Classics)	December 2005	Extended overview of the history of Buffy.
Why Buffy Matters Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an academic publication relating to the fictional Buffyverse established by TV series, Buffy and Angel.-Book description:...	October 2005	Rhonda Wilcox, presents an argument for Buffy as an art form as worthy of respect and acknowledgment as film or literature.
Reading Angel Reading Angel: The TV Spin-off With a Soul Reading Angel: The TV Spin-off With a Soul is an academic publication relating to the fictional Buffyverse established by TV series, Buffy and Angel.-Book description and contents:...	September 2005	Collection covering many topics including the cinematic aesthetics Aesthetics Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste... of Angel, its music, shifting portrayals of masculinity, the noir Los Angeles setting, and the superhero.
Blood Relations	June 2005	Explores conceptions of family explored in Buffy and Angel.
Sex and the Slayer	April 2005	Sex and the Slayer provides an introduction to feminism through Buffy.
Five Seasons of Angel	October 2004	A science-fiction novelist and other writers contribute a collection of essays on Angel.
Televised Morality: The Case of BtVS	April 2004	Book arguing that TV helps shapes society's moral values, and in this case specifically Buffy.
What Would Buffy Do: BtVS as Spiritual Guide What Would Buffy Do?: The Vampire Slayer as Spiritual Guide What Would Buffy Do?: The Vampire Slayer as Spiritual Guide is an academic publication relating to the fictional Buffyverse established by TV series, Buffy and Angel.-Book description:...	April 2004	Look at the spiritual guidelines on display in Buffy despite the atheism of the show's creator.
Reading the Vampire Slayer Reading the Vampire Slayer Reading the Vampire Slayer is an academic publication relating to the fictional Buffyverse established by TV series, Buffy and Angel.-Book description and contents:...	March 2004	The book gives in-depth analysis highlighting the many hidden metaphors held within Buffy and Angel.
Seven Seasons of Buffy Seven Seasons of Buffy Seven Seasons of Buffy is an academic publication relating to the fictional Buffyverse established by the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.-Book description and contents:...	September 2003	A science-fiction novelist and other writers contribute a collection of essays on Buffy.
Slayer Slang Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon is an academic publication relating to the fictional Buffyverse established by TV series, Buffy and Angel.-Book description:...	July 2003	An in depth study on the post-modern youth language used in Buffy.
Bite Me: Narrative Structures in BtVS	May 2003	Relating narrative structures with: audience pleasure, mise en scène, and the use of symbolism and metaphor.
Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy is an academic publication relating to the fictional Buffyverse established by TV series, Buffy and Angel.-Book description and contents:...	May 2003	Short biography of the creator of Buffy, featuring interviews with various casts and crews he has worked with, and an analysis of his creative processes.
BtVS and Philosophy	March 2003	Links classical philosophy to the ethics in Buffy.
Fighting the Forces	April 2002	Looks at the struggle to examine meaning in Buffy.