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A review by octavia_cade
Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Rhonda Wilcox
informative
medium-paced
4.0
I have to admit that when I first saw the title of this book, I thought it would be about visual art; instead, it's an argument that Buffy the Vampire Slayer can be interpreted as art. Which doesn't seem such a stretch to me, but then some people are snobby about what they call art, and as Wilcox points out, even the best episodes of the show got little critical attention for their writing or acting in the form of awards, or award nominations, from mainstream outlets such as the Emmys.
The book's structured in two parts, and while both are interesting, I found the second half - comprising close reads of half a dozen episodes as case studies - to be more appealing. Primarily because most of the episodes chosen, such as "The Body" or "Once More with Feeling" are also favourites of mine (though for the life of me I can't remember a single thing about "The Zeppo"). Anyway, it's an enjoyable and generally accessible read; there was never a point where my attention faded out. I suspect that's at least in part because I'm a big fan of the show, but Wilcox also takes care not to wallow overly in academic-speak, which is frankly always helpful.
The book's structured in two parts, and while both are interesting, I found the second half - comprising close reads of half a dozen episodes as case studies - to be more appealing. Primarily because most of the episodes chosen, such as "The Body" or "Once More with Feeling" are also favourites of mine (though for the life of me I can't remember a single thing about "The Zeppo"). Anyway, it's an enjoyable and generally accessible read; there was never a point where my attention faded out. I suspect that's at least in part because I'm a big fan of the show, but Wilcox also takes care not to wallow overly in academic-speak, which is frankly always helpful.