Joss Whedon vs. the Horror Tradition: The Production of Genre in Buffy and Beyond (International Library of the Moving Image (PDF))

Synopsis

Although ostensibly presented as “light entertainment,” the work of writer-director-producer Joss Whedon takes much dark inspiration from the horror genre to create a unique aesthetic and perform a cultural critique. Featuring monsters, the undead, as well as drawing upon folklore and fairy tales, his many productions both celebrate and masterfully repurpose the traditions of horror for their own means. Woofter and Jowett's collection looks at how Whedon revisits existing feminist tropes in the '70s and '80s “slasher” craze via Buffy the Vampire Slayer to create a feminist saga; the innovative use of silent cinema tropes to produce a new fear-laden, film-television intertext; postmodernist reflexivity in Cabin in the Woods; as well as exploring new concepts on “cosmic dread” and the sublime for a richer understanding of programmes Dollhouse and Firefly. Chapters provide the historical context of horror as well as the particular production backgrounds that by turns support, constrain or transform this mode of filmmaking. Informed by a wide range of theory from within philosophy, film studies, queer studies, psychoanalysis, feminism and other fields, the expert contributions to this volume prove the enduring relevance of Whedon's genre-based universe to the study of film, television, popular culture and beyond.

Copyright:

2019

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9781786725417

Related ISBNs:

9781788311021

Publisher:

Bloomsbury Publishing

Date of Addition:

04/13/19

Copyrighted By:

Kristopher Karl Woofter, Lorna Jowett

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Entertainment, Horror, Nonfiction, Art and Architecture, Science Fiction and Fantasy

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.