The Philosophy of Joss Whedon (Philosophy Of Popular Culture)

Every generation produces a counterculture icon. Joss Whedon, creator of the long-running television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer , is famed for his subversive wit, rich characters, and extraordinary plotlines. His renown has only grown with subsequent creations, including Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, and the innovative online series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog . Through premises as unusual as a supernatural detective agency run by a vampire and a Western set in outer space, Whedon weaves stories about characters forced to make commonplace moral decisions under the most bizarre of circumstances. The Philosophy of Joss Whedon examines Whedon's plots and characterizations to reveal their philosophical takes on the limits of personal freedom, sexual morality, radical evil, and Daoism. Firefly And Freedom / David Baggett -- Just Get Us A Little Further: Liberty And The Frontier In Firefly And Serenity / Amy H. Sturgis -- The State Of Nature And Social Contracts On Spaceship Serenity / Joseph J. Foy -- Dollhouse And Consensual Slavery / S. Evan Kreider -- Plato, Aristotle, And Joss On Being Horrible / Dean A. Kowalski -- Aristotle, Kant, Spike, And Jayne: Ethics And Character In The Whedonverse / Jason D. Grinnell -- Companions, Dolls, And Whores: Joss Whedon On Sex And Prostitution / Tait Szabo -- Fashioning Feminism: Whedon, Women, And Wardrobe / Patricia Brace -- Heroes And Villains: Morality, The Will To Power, And The Overman In The Work Of Joss Whedon / Gary Heba With Robin Murphy -- Seeking Authenticity In The Whedonverse / Joseph J. Foy And Dean A. Kowalski -- Look What Free Will Has Gotten You: Isolation, Individuality, And Choice In Angel / Susanne E. Foster And James B. South -- Aiming To Misbehave At The Boundary Between The Human And The Machine: The Queer Steampunk Ecology Of Joss Whedon's Firefly And Serenity / Lisa Hager -- Shepherd Book, Malcolm Reynolds, And The Dao Of Firefly / Roger P. Ebertz. Edited By Dean A. Kowalski And S. Evan Kreider. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Every generation produces a counterculture icon. Joss Whedon, creater of the long-running television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is famed for his subversive wit, rich characters, and extraordinary plotlines. His renown has only grown with subsequent creations, including Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, and the innovative online series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Through premises as unusual as a supernatural detective agency run by a vampire and a Western set in outer space, Whedon weaves stories about characters forced to make commonplace moral decisions under the most bizarre of circumstances. The Philosophy of Joss Whedon examines Whedon's plots and characterizations to reveal their philosophical takes on the limits of personal freedom, sexual morality, radical evil, and Daoism.