Reading the Vampire Slayer: The New, Updated, Unofficial Guide to Buffy and Angel (Reading Contemporary Television)

Cet ouvrage est l'ouvrage de référence pour aller plus loin dans la lecture du Buffyverse. Car le chef-d'oeuvre de Whedon regorge de secrets et de niveaux de lectures. Un must-have pour les fans.

Roz Kaveney has edited together an interesting book that critically explores various facets of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series, Angel. This will be of great interest to fans, though may not hold the same attraction to non-Buffy types (apparently these people exist!). I also think that it gives a great idea of how someone can approach a work- anyone thinking about going to University (college in the U.S) could do worse than to read this and get an idea of how one can independently read a text and apply various ideas (though predictable names like Foucault occur here, the application of his theory or Derrida or Baudrillard to something that hasn't had it applied to impresses me less with the passing years).The other problem is you can take or leave (frequently the latter) what is being said here, though it's just a reading by the able writers here. I thought Ian Shuttleworth was stretching the Mamet connection to Maggie Walsh a bit- he's alone if he thinks Mamet's rhythms are being ironised in Series 4- would he think this if Lindsey Crouse hadn't been married to Mamet? Also quite interesting are the predictions, as this only goes up to Series 5, which in the light of Seasons 6 and 7 (just around the corner) show that Joss Whedon is several steps ahead of his admirers. Pity about that Buffy's physique is read here as an antithesis to the atypical Hollywood figure- has anyone seen either Gellar or Caulfield's toned, rakey frames of late? (just contrast them to the gorgeous Amber Benson, who is closer to "normal" in terms of figure). I also found it to be more fan-based writing (rather than academic) in parts- such as "My friend said this"- this lacks the intellectual a bit (my friend said so...)Still, the majority of the essays are well-written and interesting, Kaveney's opening chapter is an excellent start, Tonkin's Entropy as Demon was possibly the most interesting approach here and Wilson's Laugh, spawn of Hell, laugh the most entertaining (as the great Chris Roberts has pointed out in Uncut magazine- where would Buffy be without the comedy?). Pity about the two vague feminist chapters, especially Playden's which appears to discount Germaine Greer's approach to feminism (which you may not always agree with, but is at least fluid and formulated by an open and knowing mind). Dave West's chapter has made me realise that my knowledge of East Asian cinema is fairly poor and I really must do some viewing- would be interesting to see a book on this subject from this writer.This is an enjoyable volume, anything has flaws and you may not agree with all/any of what is said here- which is a good thing. Fingers crossed for a second volume, as Buffy/Angel have more than enough scope in them (and if they're looking for a Nietszhean reading or detail of modern mutations of the vampire myth in film/Tv, contact me!). Finally, it's nice to have some evidence that Buffy/Angel is more than American teen entertainment and silly fantasy- along with Keith Topping's guide to Buffy/Angel, this is the best book written on these classic Tv programmes...

I really enjoyed reading this collection of critical essays. They are well-written, interesting (well, interesting if one is a fan of "Buffy" and "Angel") and insightful. For me, the best aspect of reading this book was that I wanted to watch many of the episodes of the first five seasons of "Buffy" again.

Fun to read

I should start this review by admitting that I am an unrepantant fan of "Buffy -- The Vampire Slayer" so reading this volume was hardly a chore.Reading The Vampire Slayer, subtitled "An Unofficial Critical Companion to Buffy and Angel", is definitely one for the more literate Buffy fan. Edited by Roz Kaveney we have a number of essays on various aspects of the Buffy-verse ranging from Kaveney's own piece, a well written but simple essay on the themes and structures of the TV series, through to more academic subjects such as "Vampire Dialectics - knowledge, institutions and labour".All the essays are well written, though some might be a little too academic in tone for some. Not all, however, are excellent criticisms of Buffy, becoming more academic erudtion using Buffy as an excuse to peddle a line.Taken as a whole this volume is worth the money, while not excellent it deserves a place as a collection of essays devoted to an interesting TV series and a part of modern culture.