The Philosophy of Joss Whedon

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Edited by Dean A. Kowalski and S. Evan Kreider

Type

Studies

Subject

Director > Joss Whedon

Keywords

Joss Whedon, director, philosophy

Publishing date

2011

Publisher

University Press of Kentucky

Collection

Philosophy of Popular Culture

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Hardcover • 248 pages
6 ¼ x 9 ½ inches (16 x 24 cm)

ISBN

978-0-8131-3419-2

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Book Presentation:
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.

About the authors:
Dean A. Kowalski, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha, is editor of The Philosophy of The X-Files and Steven Spielberg and Philosophy: We're Gonna Need a Bigger Book. He lives in Waukesha, Wisconsin. S. Evan Kreider, assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley, is a contributor to The Philosophy of The X-Files. He lives in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Press Reviews:
"Joss Whedon's work isn't merely a useful vehicle for teaching philosophy; it is philosophy. The authors in this collection exploit this fact by both using Whedon's work to explicate major philosophical themes, while also delving into the Whedonverse to find new answers to perennial questions."—Jacob M. Held, editor of Dr. Seuss and Philosophy: Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! -Jacob Held

"A significant contribution to the popular culture and philosophy genre in focusing, not on a single show or movie, but on the mastermind behind a number of creative works."—Sharon Kaye, editor of Lost and Philosophy: Think Together, Die Alone

Focused on the philosophical musings evoked by Whedon and company's rich televisual, filmic, web, and comic book texts, the collection proves simultaneously accessible and substantive, while also confirming and extending a substantial body of work by the community of Whedon scholars. Most commendably, the authors' manage to teach readers-students, professors, and fans-just as much about Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Sartre, and Nietzsche as about Malcolm Reynolds, the spaceship Serenity, Cordelia Chase, Billy/Dr. Horrible, and Caroline Farrell/Echo.—Tanya R. Cochran, coeditor of Investigating Firefly and Serenity: Science Fiction on the Frontier

"The Philosophy of Joss Whedon is a necessity for any Whedonite's nerdy library."—Examiner.com

"Whedon has also been a hot topic in the movie world lately, having written The Cabin in the Woods... as well as Marvel Comics' much-anticipated The Avengers, which he also directed."—On Milwaukee

See the publisher website: University Press of Kentucky

See the complete filmography of Joss Whedon on the website: IMDB ...