Monday, March 21, 2011

Thinking With Buffy: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy coverI liked Buffy the Vampire Slayer shows because they are fun, goofy, and play with words and ideas without usually taking themselves too seriously.  And that's how I like my literary analysis of Buffy as well.  James B South edited the Buffy book in the Modern Culture and Philosophy series, calling it Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale (Popular Culture and Philosophy, Vol. 4).  I suspect Buffy would tremble more about the philosophy part than the vampire part.

Most of the essays followed my preferred route -- have something to say about philosophy, whether it's a look at Plato's ethics, feminism and violence, or rationalizations for punishment, and then examine it through a specific lens.  In this book, that lens is the Buffy series.  Add in fun quotes for each section (section 4, Religion and Politics in the Buffyverse, is titled "That's the kind of wooly-headed thinking that leads to being eaten") and I had a pleasant trip through real concerns.  I think I'll look for the other books in this series.  B+

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