Sundays in October through November 1st, at 2pm in AUX | Free screenings and lectures
Scroll down for this Sunday’s episode and lecturer info
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS) was a television series created by Joss Whedon which aired on the WB network and later UPN from 1997-2003. It predominantly starred Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy), Anthony Stewart Head (Giles), Alyson Hannigan (Willow), Nicholas Brendan (Xander), Amber Benson (Tara), Kristine Sutherland (Joyce), David Boreanaz (Angel) and James Marsters (Spike). The series is most commonly known as subverting the horror genre as we follow Buffy the Vampire Slayer through battling vampires, demons and several apocalypses.
Please join us for a month long intensive Lecture & Screening series featuring Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Vox Populi member Beth Heinly has invited seven lecturers; Megan Carr, Jon McCabe, Homay King, Ann Cornell, James Myers, Lynn Dorwaldt and Kate Kraczon, each from a varied arena of expertise including academia, art, curation, geekdom, podcasting and writing to guide this very special Buffy ReWatch in a most scholarly fashion.
The Buffyverse, a term coined by the Buffy fandom describing the Buffy universe, is a frequently used springboard topic for discussion among academia from high school to college courses providing many articles, essays, and bibliographies for perusal on whatever sparks the Buffy fan’s curiosity. Watch along and immerse yourself in the world of Buffy Academia led by lectures unique to each season. Following the lecture there will be roundtable discussions that discuss specifications within the screened episodes covering character development, language, pop cultural references and fashion. Each week the series will be recorded for a podcast to air midweek, so if you have to miss a Sunday, tune in! Please check in closer to the premiere on October 4th for more details on our podcast.
This is a free event. We will have snacks à la Buffy and drinks to cure whatever ails you from your Saturday nights “patrolling”. Do be mindful that we highly encourage cosplay for attendees.
Happening every Sunday in October at 2pm with the finale on Sunday November 1st at 2pm. Scroll through our calendar to see what episodes we’ll be featuring, meet your teacher and check out links to suggested reading materials.
*Important to note that due the nature of this lecture series, there are spoilers. We recommend this event series as a ReWatch. If you would like to join us anyway as your first time watching the show keep in mind of spoilers. Alternatively, you can try to watch 22 episodes of television in one week.
Sunday October 25th 2PM | Free Event
Buffy ReWatch: Abridged Version, Screening & Lecture Series
Fool for Love (Season 5, Episode 7)
The Body (Season 5, Episode 16)
w/ Lynn Dorwaldt
In the Season 5 Buffy rewatch we will examine the portrayal of death throughout the season. While death fills the Buffyverse, it is used most prominently in the story arc of Season 5. On top of the daily slaying of vampires and demons, you witness the death of Dracula, the death of 2 previous slayers at the hands of Spike, the death of Buffy’s mother, and the death of Buffy herself. We will compare and contrast the natural and the mystical elements of death in Season 5 and their role in advancing the narrative. Special attention will be given to the episode “The Body.” Written and directed by Joss Whedon, “The Body” has been praised for its realism in portraying one of the most significant deaths in the series.
Suggested readings:
Willcox, Rhonda. “Death: They’re Going to Find a Body.” in Why Buffy Matters: the Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (London: I.B. Tauris, 2005). Ch. 11, p. 174-190.
Stommel, Jesse James. “I’m Not a Dead Body; I Just Play One on TV: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Performativity of the Corpse.” Slayage: The Online International Journal of Buffy Studies, 8.1 (2010).
Bloustien, Gerry. “And the Rest is Silence: Silence and Death as Motifs in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” in Music, Sound, and Silence in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Ashgate Publishing Limited: 2010. Ch. 6, p. 91-108.
Lynn Dorwaldt is Librarian at the Wagner Free Institute of Science, a 19th century educational institution and natural history museum. She spends her time cataloging and providing access to the collections of the Wagner which include books, journals, archival materials, and natural history specimens. She also works on the interpretation of the National Historic Landmark site as an example of 19th century natural science and architecture. She is especially interested in the use of glass lantern slides as educational tools and hosts the Philadelphia Lantern Slide Salon every October.
