The Psychology of Joss Whedon: An Unauthorized Exploration of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly
First there was “Buffy the Vampire Slayer"; then its spin-off “Angel"; then the cult hit “Firefly"; and its follow-up film, “Serenity." They all had two things in common: their creator, Joss Whedon … and their surprising psychological depth.

Revisit the worlds of Joss Whedon … with trained psychologists at your side. What are the psychological effects of constantly fighting for your life? Why is neuroscience the Whedonverse's most terrifying villain? How can watching Joss's shows help you take on your own psychological issues?

It's all the best parts of Psych 101—without Professor Walsh.

* Robert Kurzban explains how Mal's morals are a form of evolutionary pornography, and why we like to watch
* Thomas Flamson explores free will in the Whedonverse—with prophecies, sacred duties and the long arm of the Alliance, does anyone actually have any?
* Carole Poole demonstrates how Buffy and Spike's season six relationship could be considered metaphor for narcissistic personality disorder—and concludes that Buffy may have been better off continuing it
* Bradley J. Daniels looks at River's Alliance-altered brain, and the real effects of “stripping" the amygdala
* Mikhail Lyubansky shows why, psychologically, death really is Buffy's gift
* And editor Joy Davidson takes on Angel's mommy issues—how the course of his whole extraordinary existence can be traced back to the woman who made him a vampire
"1100630660"
The Psychology of Joss Whedon: An Unauthorized Exploration of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly
First there was “Buffy the Vampire Slayer"; then its spin-off “Angel"; then the cult hit “Firefly"; and its follow-up film, “Serenity." They all had two things in common: their creator, Joss Whedon … and their surprising psychological depth.

Revisit the worlds of Joss Whedon … with trained psychologists at your side. What are the psychological effects of constantly fighting for your life? Why is neuroscience the Whedonverse's most terrifying villain? How can watching Joss's shows help you take on your own psychological issues?

It's all the best parts of Psych 101—without Professor Walsh.

* Robert Kurzban explains how Mal's morals are a form of evolutionary pornography, and why we like to watch
* Thomas Flamson explores free will in the Whedonverse—with prophecies, sacred duties and the long arm of the Alliance, does anyone actually have any?
* Carole Poole demonstrates how Buffy and Spike's season six relationship could be considered metaphor for narcissistic personality disorder—and concludes that Buffy may have been better off continuing it
* Bradley J. Daniels looks at River's Alliance-altered brain, and the real effects of “stripping" the amygdala
* Mikhail Lyubansky shows why, psychologically, death really is Buffy's gift
* And editor Joy Davidson takes on Angel's mommy issues—how the course of his whole extraordinary existence can be traced back to the woman who made him a vampire
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The Psychology of Joss Whedon: An Unauthorized Exploration of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly

The Psychology of Joss Whedon: An Unauthorized Exploration of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly

The Psychology of Joss Whedon: An Unauthorized Exploration of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly

The Psychology of Joss Whedon: An Unauthorized Exploration of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly

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Overview

First there was “Buffy the Vampire Slayer"; then its spin-off “Angel"; then the cult hit “Firefly"; and its follow-up film, “Serenity." They all had two things in common: their creator, Joss Whedon … and their surprising psychological depth.

Revisit the worlds of Joss Whedon … with trained psychologists at your side. What are the psychological effects of constantly fighting for your life? Why is neuroscience the Whedonverse's most terrifying villain? How can watching Joss's shows help you take on your own psychological issues?

It's all the best parts of Psych 101—without Professor Walsh.

* Robert Kurzban explains how Mal's morals are a form of evolutionary pornography, and why we like to watch
* Thomas Flamson explores free will in the Whedonverse—with prophecies, sacred duties and the long arm of the Alliance, does anyone actually have any?
* Carole Poole demonstrates how Buffy and Spike's season six relationship could be considered metaphor for narcissistic personality disorder—and concludes that Buffy may have been better off continuing it
* Bradley J. Daniels looks at River's Alliance-altered brain, and the real effects of “stripping" the amygdala
* Mikhail Lyubansky shows why, psychologically, death really is Buffy's gift
* And editor Joy Davidson takes on Angel's mommy issues—how the course of his whole extraordinary existence can be traced back to the woman who made him a vampire

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781935251354
Publisher: BenBella Books, Inc.
Publication date: 12/01/2007
Series: Psychology of Popular Culture
Sold by: Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format: eBook
Pages: 224
File size: 464 KB

About the Author

Leah Wilson graduated from Duke University with a degree in Culture and Modern Fiction and is currently Editor-in-Chief, Smart Pop, at BenBella Books. She lives in Cambridge, Mass.

Table of Contents


Introduction   Joy Davidson     1
Mal's Morals   Robert Kurzban     7
"Darn Your Sinister Attraction!"   Carol Poole     21
Free Will in a Deterministic Whedonverse   Thomas Flamson     35
The Adaptive, the Maladaptive, and the Mal-Adaptive   Nicholas R. Eaton   Robert F. Krueger     51
An Analysis of Slayer Longevity   Tracy R. Gleason   Nancy S. Weinfield     65
How Buffy Learned to Confront Her Fears   Brian Rabian   Michael Wolff     79
Terror Management Aboard Serenity   Wind Goodfriend     91
Existentialism Meets Feminism in Buffy the Vampire Slayer   C. Albert Bardi   Sherry Hamby     105
Dealing with the F-Word   Misty K. Hook     119
"Stripping" River Tam's Amygdala   Bradley J. Daniels     131
Buffy the Vampire Dater   Siamak Tundra Naficy   Karthik Panchanathan     141
More Than Entertainment   Stephanie R. Deluse     155
Buffy's Search for Meaning   Mikhail Lyubansky     171
Psychology Bad   Ed Connor     185
"There's My Boy..."   Joy Davidson     197
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