An evangelical father and church leader recently told me that his "must see TV" includes the news shows and weighty fare one would expect from an informed and discerning Christian. "And when no one is looking," he said, "I watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer." He's not alone.
Some Buffy watchers believe the show to be not only entertaining but important as well. When English professors David Lavery and Rhonda Wilcox solicited contributions for Fighting the Forces: What's at Stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer?, the response was so overwhelming that they created the online interdisciplinary quarterly journal Slayage. (Imagine citing that on a tenure application.) One recent book pushed the view, long believed by fans, that Whedon is a genuine "genius."
My husband has finally returned from another place of terror, Iowa,* and is pleased to be back home in civilization. He's pretty much nonplussed by my new fascination with "Fluffy," as he puts it, but he still sits down with me at 10:30 every night (after the son is safely ensconced in bed) to watch yet another episode. When I asked him if he likes it yet, he replied, "I don't like it or dislike it, but I like being with you." It's good to have him back.
*Please, no emails about Iowa. My husband's experience there was truly evil for a number of reasons, but surely there are good people there. He just didn't meet any of them.
Note 5-13-03: Three "there"s in the above sentence?! Profuse apologies. I've got to let an entry sit a little longer before posting it--distance allows one to spot such infelicities.
Who is the Lady of Shalott?Click here and find out. Why do I call myself the Lady of Shalott?
In addition to being a blogger, I'm a wife, mother, and Ph.D. student specializing in scripture and the Graeco-Roman world, and I'm just a little bit pregnant with a dissertation (but we're not going to talk about the dissertation, are we? No!). In hopes of receiving tenure someday at a university as wonderful as the one I now attend, this blogger will remain resolutely anonymous. Nothing like yards of politically incorrect off-the-cuff statements to derail the tenure track. But we'll have lots of fun anyway.
