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Televised Morality: The Case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The increasing frequency of moralist critiques of television shows is an acknowledgment of television's growing role in the shaping of a culture's moral values. Yet many moralist critiques misconstrue the full moral message of a show due to a restrictive focus on sex, violence, and profanity. Televised Morality explores the nature of moral discourse on television by using "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as a case study. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" has simultaneously been heralded as one of the most morally sophisticated shows on television and one of the most morally corrupt. The program offers a fascinating look into the divergent issues involved in the moral evaluation of television today. Stevenson argues that analysis of this show's moral vision, its methods of moral reasoning, and its narrative function reveal the complexity of moral discourse on television and provides a good model for the moral critique of other television shows.
318 pages, Paperback
First published February 28, 2004
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August 30, 2023
Televised Morality-The Case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Gregory Stevenson is a 250+ page paperback.
I truly hope this isn’t the ‘moral majority’ type screed I expect it to be. The sub-Lulu graphics on the cover screams self-published and the fact that Gregory Stevenson holds a Ph.D. From the Graduate Division of the Religion doesn’t bode well.
But I’m a huge fan of BtVS and just had to try to read this book.
Chapter 1 starts to hint that I may have ‘judged a book by its cover’. It’s intelligently (but not too academically) written. It’s insightful (I wish I had another/better word for that) and seems to really ‘get’ Buffy. Which ain’t everybody.
So far it’s a fascinating and even handed examination of the opposing views of the morality of BtVS.
A nice introduction to the series and the themes in the series. Includes the characters and brief description of each season. I could understand that this could be boring for those who know the series well, but I appreciated it.
I guess it could be considered Spoilers, but if you haven’t seen Buffy by now, you just suck...
This is actually a very interesting to read book describing the morality of BtVS and how it is not at all black-and-white and in fact frequently displays the vagary of the concept of good and evil while firmly stating it exists.
It’s definitely a book by a fan and while there is certainly a comparison to traditional ‘Christian’ morality it is very fair and not overwhelming. This book was a very lucky get for me.
This is actually a much more fascinating book than I thought it would be (the cover doesn’t help!). I’d recommend it to anyone who is interested in the morality behind BtVS. Certainly, it’s ‘preaching-to-the-quire’. There’s not much a fan would not know, but it is interesting to see it spelled out.
Excellent section on detailing the morality of Xander. I always thought a Xander spin-off could be awesome. Wrote a lot of it in my head. TMI?
“So many people in this. World labor heroically in obscurity, never receiving the praise or notice due them; yet it is how one lives one’s life when no one else is looking that is the truest test of moral character.”
“Well, at first it was confusing. Just the idea of computers was like, ‘Whoa, I’m eleven hundred years old. I had trouble adjusting to the idea of Lutherans’” - Anya
“The state of religion in America is increasingly defined less by communities of reference than by an independent spirituality that seeks some kind of personal and individual relationship with the divine.”
I’m reminded of the many times I’ve heard people say “I’m not religious, but I’m spiritual!”
Seems to me that if there is a god, he wouldn’t come “ala carte” (pick and choose what you want).
For the record, while there was some negative fan reaction to “Dawn”. In the end it was an absolutely brilliant idea and payed off amazingly.
“The Afterlife and “After Life” is an especially interesting examination of Buffy coming back from heaven.
The book often quotes Buffy episodes which only serve to remind me of how excellently written that show is.
“That the same God who delivered the commandment ‘Do not kill,’ shortly thereafter orders his people to wipe out entire cities and provides guidelines for capital punishment demonstrates that seemingly absolute rules like the Ten Commandments require contextualization for proper interpretation.”
“I used to tell the truth all the time when I was evil” - Anya
The author even defends the charges that BtVS glorifies and justifies violence. Hrm. I’m not sure how I feel about this. The author is correct, in that the violence isn’t wonton.
But I feel it’s kind of a cop-out to not just say, it’s entertainment and kicking ass is entertaining and that’s why we watch fantasies because it would so cool if all our worst problems could be solved by violence!
Batman: “I’d do a lot better just giving all my money away. Yes, if I really wanted to end crime, I should end poverty.”
It’s funny because it’s true.
But it’s not entertainment!
“I’ve always been very offended by the whole, ‘let’s rewrite all the fairy tales’ where the three pigs settle their differences with the wolf by talking about their feelings.”
This book remains fascinating and enlightening. It spells it all out specifically in a way I knew internally, but never really had read expressed so specifically.
No sure anyone needs this information who has seen the show. But it’s an interesting read nonetheless.
There is certainly an aspect of ‘preaching to the choir’ of this book—there is honestly not much criticism in what BtVS has done wrong morally and surely there must be something — but it is a fascinating look at an aspect of the series that I never considered as thoughtfully as this book does.
“My goals is not to convince others of the moral value of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but to convince others of the complexity of moral discourse within popular culture.”
This was a fascinating view of a topic I would never really have considered. I’m glad I read it, give it 5 stars and will keep it as a great addition to by BtVS literature.
I truly hope this isn’t the ‘moral majority’ type screed I expect it to be. The sub-Lulu graphics on the cover screams self-published and the fact that Gregory Stevenson holds a Ph.D. From the Graduate Division of the Religion doesn’t bode well.
But I’m a huge fan of BtVS and just had to try to read this book.
Chapter 1 starts to hint that I may have ‘judged a book by its cover’. It’s intelligently (but not too academically) written. It’s insightful (I wish I had another/better word for that) and seems to really ‘get’ Buffy. Which ain’t everybody.
So far it’s a fascinating and even handed examination of the opposing views of the morality of BtVS.
A nice introduction to the series and the themes in the series. Includes the characters and brief description of each season. I could understand that this could be boring for those who know the series well, but I appreciated it.
I guess it could be considered Spoilers, but if you haven’t seen Buffy by now, you just suck...
This is actually a very interesting to read book describing the morality of BtVS and how it is not at all black-and-white and in fact frequently displays the vagary of the concept of good and evil while firmly stating it exists.
It’s definitely a book by a fan and while there is certainly a comparison to traditional ‘Christian’ morality it is very fair and not overwhelming. This book was a very lucky get for me.
This is actually a much more fascinating book than I thought it would be (the cover doesn’t help!). I’d recommend it to anyone who is interested in the morality behind BtVS. Certainly, it’s ‘preaching-to-the-quire’. There’s not much a fan would not know, but it is interesting to see it spelled out.
Excellent section on detailing the morality of Xander. I always thought a Xander spin-off could be awesome. Wrote a lot of it in my head. TMI?
“So many people in this. World labor heroically in obscurity, never receiving the praise or notice due them; yet it is how one lives one’s life when no one else is looking that is the truest test of moral character.”
“Well, at first it was confusing. Just the idea of computers was like, ‘Whoa, I’m eleven hundred years old. I had trouble adjusting to the idea of Lutherans’” - Anya
“The state of religion in America is increasingly defined less by communities of reference than by an independent spirituality that seeks some kind of personal and individual relationship with the divine.”
I’m reminded of the many times I’ve heard people say “I’m not religious, but I’m spiritual!”
Seems to me that if there is a god, he wouldn’t come “ala carte” (pick and choose what you want).
For the record, while there was some negative fan reaction to “Dawn”. In the end it was an absolutely brilliant idea and payed off amazingly.
“The Afterlife and “After Life” is an especially interesting examination of Buffy coming back from heaven.
The book often quotes Buffy episodes which only serve to remind me of how excellently written that show is.
“That the same God who delivered the commandment ‘Do not kill,’ shortly thereafter orders his people to wipe out entire cities and provides guidelines for capital punishment demonstrates that seemingly absolute rules like the Ten Commandments require contextualization for proper interpretation.”
“I used to tell the truth all the time when I was evil” - Anya
The author even defends the charges that BtVS glorifies and justifies violence. Hrm. I’m not sure how I feel about this. The author is correct, in that the violence isn’t wonton.
But I feel it’s kind of a cop-out to not just say, it’s entertainment and kicking ass is entertaining and that’s why we watch fantasies because it would so cool if all our worst problems could be solved by violence!
Batman: “I’d do a lot better just giving all my money away. Yes, if I really wanted to end crime, I should end poverty.”
It’s funny because it’s true.
But it’s not entertainment!
“I’ve always been very offended by the whole, ‘let’s rewrite all the fairy tales’ where the three pigs settle their differences with the wolf by talking about their feelings.”
This book remains fascinating and enlightening. It spells it all out specifically in a way I knew internally, but never really had read expressed so specifically.
No sure anyone needs this information who has seen the show. But it’s an interesting read nonetheless.
There is certainly an aspect of ‘preaching to the choir’ of this book—there is honestly not much criticism in what BtVS has done wrong morally and surely there must be something — but it is a fascinating look at an aspect of the series that I never considered as thoughtfully as this book does.
“My goals is not to convince others of the moral value of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but to convince others of the complexity of moral discourse within popular culture.”
This was a fascinating view of a topic I would never really have considered. I’m glad I read it, give it 5 stars and will keep it as a great addition to by BtVS literature.
Displaying 1 of 1 review