Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
by Rhonda V. Wilcox
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Book Summary Information
Author: Rhonda V. WilcoxEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-11-05
ISBN: 1845110293
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: I. B. Tauris
Book Reviews of Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Book Review: An important set of essays on a seminal television series
Summary: 5 Stars
To this day, when discussing aesthetic matters with my more intellectual friends, if I mention BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, the initial reaction is usually a snicker, as if bringing BUFFY into a serious discussion was indistinguishable from doing the same with BARNEY or HEE HAW. Once they realize that I'm not making a joke but being serious, there is a somewhat stunned reaction, then amazement upon realizing that this television show with the inconceivably silly name might be taken seriously by anyone. Then there is further amazement when I inform them that BUFFY is probably the most popular show of all time among academics, who often tend to write about it not merely as detached spectators, but fans. In fact, nearly three years after the end of the series, Buffy Studies remains a vital and even expanding field. As television studies moves more and more towards the textual discussion of individual shows, a canon of the great shows is gradually forming. Though the list of canonical shows is rather small and still very much in flux, there is no question that BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is one of those few shows. Rhonda Wilcox, author of this fine collection of essays, has done as much as anyone within academia to further the serious discussion of the show.
Why does Wilcox's book matter? I can best illustrate this by referring to a proposal that C. S. Lewis makes in AN EXPERIMENT IN CRITICISM. Most critics, Lewis points out, primarily focus on what works are good or bad, a practice Lewis laments because what is regarded as great in one generation is frowned upon in another, while a reviled book in one era is considered a classic in another. Instead, Lewis suggests, we should focus instead on what works promote good reading and which preclude it. John Donne, for instance, in any age can be read in a good fashion, while a romance novel cannot. What is good reading? It incorporates such things as rereading, constant reflection over certain passages, ongoing discussion about it, and perhaps memorization of some passages. These are merely a few of the activities that works that promote good reading can generate. I believe Lewis's proposal applies equally to film and television viewing. And BUFFY can be read in a "good" fashion. If anyone doubts me on this, I would point to Wilcox's book as concrete proof that my contention is true. I believe Wilcox proves beyond doubt that BUFFY generates good viewing. She does this in a host of ways. For instance, she frequently teases out various themes in the series, such as the use of light imagery in the show or the role that names plays. She explains the logic of the series, many of the major narrative devices, the role and use of music in the series, and the way language is employed. She furthermore takes up in the second half of the book a number of individual episodes and amplifies many of the explicit or latent themes contained within. I will not say that everyone will like BUFFY after reading Wilcox's boo, but I will state that it will quiet any snickers and they will at least admit that it is a show to be taken seriously.
Although Wilcox is an academic, I believe the book will appeal to less academically inclined fans of the show. Her writing is very clear and always accessible. Certainly fans of the show will find the going at least as easy as those academics that are unfamiliar with the show but more accustomed to academic writing. I found the book to be very smooth sailing. I not only have a strong academic background but am one of those fans of the show who can name most of the show's 144 episodes in order and by title. My point is that I think the book will have broad appeal.
I do have two bones to pick with the book. First, Wilcox doesn't quite make good on the title. There is never a point at which she either states that BUFFY should matter or why the show does. There is an odd disjunct between the book's title and the content of the book. The subtitle really should have been the title of the book. Second, Joseph Campbell. For my tastes Campbell is mentioned way, way too much. My academic background is in the study of religion and in philosophy (the former earlier in my career and the latter later). Joseph Campbell is strongly reviled among academic students of religion and is widely considered something of an intellectual mountebank. Significantly, few in comparative religion or theology take any of Campbell's work seriously at all. Virtually all of Campbell's fans within academia are in Literature and outside academia New Age religionists or fans of Carl Jung. I don't have the space here to explain all the problems serious students of religion have with Campbell (let me opaquely state that Campbell makes a vast number of unargued for assumptions that if questioned-and they ought to be-undermine virtually everything he says). I think it perhaps significant to acknowledge that Joss Whedon was familiar with Joseph Campbell's work, but I found every use of Campbell to illumine BUFFY an unwarranted distraction.
Those two complaints aside, this is clearly a book of the first importance for fans of BUFFY. But it is also an important book for those who find the expanding textual discussion (i.e., treating TV shows as texts in their own right, and not merely studying them for their wider cultural or sociological significance) to be one of the most stimulating alterations in Television Studies in recent years. Hopefully we will see more studies like this not merely on BUFFY but on some of the other shows that are candidates for television's emerging canon.
Summary of Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Rhonda Wilcox is the world's foremost authority on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, its characters, and its themes. Wilcox argues that Buffy is enduring as art by exploring its excellence in both long-term story arc construction and in producing individual episodes that are powerful on their own. She examines the larger patterns that extend through all seven seasons: the hero myth, imagery of light, naming symbolism, Buffy's relationship with Spike, sex, and redemption. Wilcox also focuses on acclaimed and noteworthy episodes, including the musical "Once More, with Feeling," the largely silent and wordless "Hush," and the dream episode "Restless." She examines Buffy's literary narrative, symbolism, visual imagery, and sound. Combining great intelligence and wit, written for fans, this is the worthy companion to the show that has claimed and kept the minds and hearts of watchers worldwide.
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