geekyI don't really need four copies for my very own. So...
In my essay, I talk about my love of Buffy, and how it helped me grow into myself as both a fannish adult and a professional author. Others talk about finding community through the Browncoats, or the treatment of good and evil in Angel, or the Hero's Journey of Dr. Horrible. If you're a Whedon fan, you probably have a story of your own. Tell it! Be as detailed or as brief as you like. On Friday, I shall unleash our old friend, Random Number Generator, to pick two winners, each of whom* will receive a copy of Whedonistas.
The book officially comes out next Tuesday, so even if you don't win, you should absolutely pick up a copy for the Whedon fan in your life. Or in your head. Whatever floats your boat.
Game on!
(*North American entries only, please, unless you're willing to pay postage. I just can't afford it right now, I'm sorry.)
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March 8 2011, 23:08:59 UTC 6 years ago
Later on, Buffy and Angel connected me with the girls who are now my best friends, and Firefly keeps me connected with my best friend all the way out in Israel, doing super-genius things, and with my closest friends and gamers (most of which stood up in my wedding.) We play the Serenity game once a month, and I can't imagine not having them - and the Whedonverse - in my life, because they are the shiniest of bad guys, and they are also the firemen when the floods roll back.
March 8 2011, 23:14:59 UTC 6 years ago
Last year I had the chance to go to Dragon*Con for the first time. In the logical sense I knew that there were a lot of awesome Whedon fans out there, I even came with a group of ten or so of them. Ideas of what there was never could have prepared me to what there really was out there. I sang along to a shadowcast of Once More with Feeling and Doctor Horrible until I was hoarse, and I cried at both. Someone threw a stuffed Bunny at my head, he's sitting on my mantle. I danced the night away at a Shindig that was so full of love and fun that it felt like the room couldn't hold it. I sat in a packed to the brims room with over a thousand people and watched a film set in the Firefly universe that was made lovingly by fans, for charity, and because they loved it. I played Spot the Jayne Hat like you would Slug Bug. And I can't wait for the chance to go back this year and do it all again.
So, not to sound too sappy, but yes, Joss Whedon and his works are a major part of my life. I wouldn't have it any other way.
March 8 2011, 23:24:22 UTC 6 years ago
March 8 2011, 23:32:22 UTC 6 years ago
I made good friends through Buffy fandom though. For I have walked amongst the Buffy/Faith Shippers and felt as though I was where I belonged.
March 9 2011, 00:01:29 UTC 6 years ago
Missed Firefly - but when Serenity came out we went (since we heard a lot about Firefly) and knew enough to go the show. Loved it, came home, bought the Firefly series on e-Bay. Own the non-fiction and fiction books about Firefly and Serenity, including the graphic novels.
And two of our favorite shows - Bones and Castle have two great actors from Josh's worlds.
And our two cats (brothers) are named "Mal" and "Seely".
March 9 2011, 00:21:36 UTC 6 years ago
My dad was a firm believer of not sheltering us from any sort of horror. He would let us watch whatever horror movies he was watching, then turn around and tell us a story more frightening than anything that had happened onscreen. I know it sounds strange, but it was our way of bonding as a family. One of my first memories is him writing down my ghost story about the neighbor's dog. He died when I was six.
After he died, I kind of stopped talking about anything really. I would answer direct questions, but that was the extent of it. A little over a year after he died the first episode of Buffy aired. I should have been in my room, but I snuck into the living room to watch whatever my mom was watching. And there were vampires! And a girl living with her mom, no dad in sight. I don't know why my seven year old self connected so much with that character, but I do know that after watching that episode I started talking. I started making up stories again. I probably would have come out of my shell sooner or later, having four siblings at that time, but that show let me start healing right then. And to this day it's something that my mom and I can bond over and talk about for hours.
Buffy was able to work through everything that came her way, and being seven I wanted to be just like her, and sitting in silence wasn't doing that. I don't think there will ever be another show that will have that much impact on my life.
March 9 2011, 03:01:00 UTC 6 years ago
March 9 2011, 03:05:11 UTC 6 years ago
So: Buffy the Vampire Slayer helped me find myself when I was lost and alone. I found strength, grace, and understanding in its narratives; it is one of the stories that has made me who I am.
For that, I am thankful to Joss Whedon and everyone involved with BtVS.
March 9 2011, 04:11:00 UTC 6 years ago
Firefly has also affected my vocabulary quite a bit, eg Chinese cussing, etc, and added a lot of catchphrases to my speech, eg "Mine is an evil laugh", etc.
March 9 2011, 04:31:42 UTC 6 years ago
Now, my TV watching was limited to which channels regularly came in. We had a huge old antenna on our roof for the entirety of my childhood, because my father didn't believe in paying for the privilege of rotting one's brain. (He left his copy of The Glass Teat lying around for us to find.) We also had several migration patterns pass straight over our house, because that antenna was apparently awesome for perching when one was a bird, and had a song to share with the world.
I can't remember which channel Buffy was on, but it was not one that came in, even on a night when we got good reception. I decided it couldn't possibly be better than the movie, anyway, and paid it no mind.
But then college happened. In college, there was free cable in the dorms, and TV watching nights huddled around in common areas. I fell in with the weird crowd, and, among them, a young man named Joshua.
Initially, Joshua creeped me out, because, well, he clearly liked me, and I was in a mental head space where people liking me was reason for immediate suspicion. But he and I got to talking, and one of those subjects was about the merits of Buffy. And I chattered on for nearly an hour before I realized he was talking about a TV show.
In the end, I gave both him and the TV show a chance. Long story short, Josh and I are celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary on March 24th, and the Buffy box sets are one of the few possessions we made sure to budget for. Even when we could rarely make time for one another, we still made sure to prioritize that one hour of TV watching together, back when the shows aired. We made parties of the season premieres and finales, and befriended people just because they also liked and watched Buffy. We tended to find that it was a quick litmus test for locating our kinds of people.
And so, I owe most of my memorable relationships of the last decade to Buffy, in a way. The only thing I'm sorry about is that I didn't give it a chance earlier on.
March 9 2011, 04:51:05 UTC 6 years ago
I remember, by contrast, my first viewing of Firefly. It was well after my daughter was asleep, and the now ex had been loaned the boxed set. It sounded potentially interesting, but sadly I had a paper to work on.
I'm pretty sure I finished the paper hours later than I could have, thanks to being introduced to that world and the amazing characters and the amazing stories, and and and....
And then, and /then/! I discovered that Mr. Whedon had been involved in this little Disney animated film called Atlantis: The Lost Empire. From what little I remember initially, it did not do well in the theaters, but I enjoyed it amazingly. Strong female character (Helga Sinclair, voiced by Ivanova!) after strong female character (Audrey Ramirez, girl mechanic extraordinaire!) after strong female character (Kidagakash, a.k.a. Kida).
I caught bits of Dr. Horrible, and mourned the loss of two people at the very end.
I saw Serenity, and cursed the name of Whedon forevermore. (What can I say? He's hard on characters.)
And somewhere in the midst of all this, I saw this amazing video of Whedon accepting an award from Equality Now (look up a bit for maya-a's icon, and you'll understand, or just search YouTube). And for everything else I've heard about the man, positive and negative, that one speech cemented him in my mind as the kind of ally *I'd* want to be if I had this kind of visibility out in the world; I do my best to be that kind of all *now*, because it's /necessary/.
"So why do you write these strong female characters?" "Because you're still asking this question."
So hats off to Joss - not only for the stories he tells, not only for the characters he creates, but also for the courage to tell the stories and write the characters.
Buffy helped me connect with my father
March 9 2011, 05:04:04 UTC 6 years ago
Things that allow me to connect with my father are not so plentiful on the ground as random diamonds the size of my head, so I'll take it.
March 9 2011, 06:29:06 UTC 6 years ago
March 9 2011, 06:42:10 UTC 6 years ago
The show makes me think about things I rarely find TV bringing up, and the thinking is helping me understand some bits of myself that I didn't handle well. A few other people helped the discussion too; it's about being chosen and what are good and bad things about the honor, regardless of what we were chosen for. As a freak throughout school, I was rarely chosen for anything except bullying and coursework, and I hated it; being chosen was always bad. Now, I'm figuring out that sometimes being chosen is a good thing - if it's for the right reason and a role you want.
March 9 2011, 08:27:38 UTC 6 years ago
Part 1
March 9 2011, 11:40:22 UTC 6 years ago
Angel was a lesser care for me, though I did find it humorous that a few years after it began syndication on a local station my father (who didn't watch Buffy) got caught up in watching Angel the first season. I'll never forget the morning when I realized that the episode dad was describing was one I remembered vividly (Doyle's death).
Firefly though...it originally broadcasted during my senior year of HS and I remember being so angry because we moved that year and our cable didn't come on until the third episode aired. I was so thoroughly lost, but I kept watching because I was hooked. When it got canceled I took to the internet and for the first time in my life I did something other than RPG'ing, fanfiction reading and chatting--I looked for more information.
It was my first American run at fandom (previously anime and manga were my teachers) and I was overwhelmed. I tried to get my dad to watch it with me, but he was reluctant and I didn't pretty that hard honestly. At the time we didn't live together so it would have been hard to watch together anyhow.
The DVD release came and I BEGGED my dad to buy it for me. BEGGED him to buy it for at retail price! I didn't even wait for a sale. Then he made him sit through the pilot episode with me (since I was determined to rewatch the series in order. By this point we lived together and I don't think I ever saw him get so drawn into a show so quickly.
We marathoned the entire series over a long weekend (he didn't have work), then watched all the extras, then watched it all over again with commentary (though Joss Whedon's sometimes self-congratulatory speechifying turned my dad off from listening to commentary for a long time). It was the first show, since Star Trek and Babylon 5, that my dad and I both enjoyed equally. For different reasons, but still equally.
It was the launching point for us. From there we picked up watching Farscape, LOST, the 4400, Alien Nation and dozens of other shows together. It became a normal routine for us to seek out new shows each season to see if we'd enjoy them together or not. Before we'd watch shows together but not the same interest level. I watched La Femme Nikita because I had a crush on Birkoff and I grew up watching Star Trek TNG and DS9 so I didn't count those. Dad tolerated Xena and Hercules for the scantily clad women.
Part 2
March 9 2011, 11:40:50 UTC 6 years ago
A couple of years later my sister watched the series as well (by then we had begun to rewatch it once a year in full and certain episodes more often) and the three of us had a lot of fun discussing it and our impressions. My brother never really got into it, but he did know a lot about the special effects and such from the trade magazines he read religiously. Firefly opened up a way for us to bond.
When Serenity opened in theatres it was a family event. Forget what it meant to the audience at large, for my family it was the first movie in YEARS we all wanted to see without resorting to bribery. We were excited. We bought midnight tickets and planned our entire weekend around it. As a family we saw it once, individually I saw it 5 times (with various friends in various states), my dad saw it 3 times (once with a coworker friend) and my sister saw it 3 times (twice with me, once with our stepsister).
Our dinner conversation was dominated by the movie for a couple months afterwards. We'd start out by talking about the day but one of us would say 'I can't believe they did that!' and it would start a new round of 'why did he do such a thing?!' And it resparked me and my father's ongoing debate on the truth of Book's past. Though I cared to learn more about Inara's, Book was my dad's large interest and thus we talked about him moreso.
Firefly went from being this show that we enjoyed to a way for us to learn more about each other. My dad liked Jayne and Niska the best, my sister obsessed over Wash, my brother grudgingly admired Jayne and I loved everyone (though Mal and Simon were eyecandy loves for the most part, Inara and River were thought-provoking loves and Kaylee was who I wanted to be). Our favorite episodes give a good indication of why we love the series (my dad loves "War Stories" and "Out of Gas", my sister loves "Heart of Gold" and "Our Mrs. Reynolds", bro enjoys "Train Job" and I love "Ariel" and "Shindig").
Later I would find out my friends all enjoy the series too and while I enjoy watching it with them, its not the same. The inside jokes my family has, the western allusions my dad points out...can't have that with my friends. In the end Firefly gave us a common thread to build off of that's just shiny.
March 9 2011, 14:03:06 UTC 6 years ago
I immediately self-identified with shy, bookish Willow (tho sadly, my parents were more like Xander's than Willow's)
I was *bawling* during the Body, especially having just lost my own mother not that long previously. (distance *does* make the heart grow fonder)
I had *heard* the music for Dr. Horrible but had *not* seen it -- until the Dr. Horrible sing-a-long at DragonCon 2009. My jaw dropped.
(and yes, I did fall in love with Felicia Day as well even tho I didn't know who she was when she made a surprise appearance before the sing-a-long)
Dollhouse - I confess I had to netflix the series to be able to watch it properly.
May I hope that in whichever series Joss does again, he go with anyone *but* the Fox Network.
and don't forget Season 8!!
March 9 2011, 17:38:33 UTC 6 years ago
March 9 2011, 17:42:03 UTC 6 years ago
So THEN I went back and marathoned Firefly.
And THEN I went back and marathoned Buffy and Angel. Together. In the order they were aired.
And THEN I felt like I understood something very important about storytelling. And once I can pinpoint exactly what it is, and put it into words, I will tell you.
Once More, With Feeling
March 9 2011, 17:47:08 UTC 6 years ago
My favorite Buffy episode is the musical. Such a good story and important plot/character developments inside what could have been just a silly throwaway gimmick. Tara breaks up with Willow, Giles leaves Sunnydale. Great stuff.
March 9 2011, 17:54:53 UTC 6 years ago
I cannot wait to read Whedonistas!!!
March 9 2011, 17:58:20 UTC 6 years ago
When the series came out, I wasn't immediately interested, but with a few evenings at friends when they INSISTED that it be shown (I'm looking at you,
As Buffy moved on, we got Angel, and while the characters and plots were still there, there was something lacking. I loved the first couple of seasons as it carried a lot of the magic from Buffy, but the angst overpowered much of the fun.
Then there was Firefly. All that I wanted in a series was there with characters that carried beyond the confines of the high-school/small town mind into the stars. A pity it ended so soon, but that's what happens.
Eventually Dr. Horrible came along to amuse and bemuse, with NPH leading the way and Nathan Fillion mixing Mal with a little Castle as his foil. This is my generation's Star Trek, and I love every minute of it.
And I do have the t-shirt that states, proudly in Star Wars font: "Josh Whedon is my master now."
March 9 2011, 19:13:51 UTC 6 years ago
BTW, since I know the random generators can't really be random because if things were really random I would eventually win something somewhere and since that has never ever happened like, ever, with something that was random, it seems like it's probably a little less random. Thus, I leave this banner as quick note to your random number generator. (It would be fong luh if I finally won. LOL)
March 9 2011, 19:42:29 UTC 6 years ago
I did theater, and Newspaper, and Yearbook, and was decidedly not cool. At all.
We shared a commute to and from the university an hour away, living at home while going to college, up until graduation last semester. Our acceptable playlists consisted of two things: Dr. Horrible, or The Nightmare Before Christmas.
He might have been super cool in high school, but if his musical selection is any indication, I'm pretty sure he's a bigger geek than I am. I'm glad Joss Whedon's super geeky shows have given him a chance to embrace that, because Buffy was the show that did it for me.
March 9 2011, 22:27:33 UTC 6 years ago
In many ways I grew up with Buffy. I swore with British slang, found out that not all monsters have green skin, and learned that sometimes it *is* better when death is final. I became a better writer through writing Buffy fanfiction. I learned what it was like to make characters that other people cared about, and how odd it was to have an existence in other people's minds so outside of who you consider yourself to be (thank you Douglas Adams). I gave my first interview as a writer to a real newspaper.
I learned Joss as well, and while that view may be distorted through my own lens as a fan (how could it not be?), I knew who was going to live and die through Serenity, and that Dollhouse was a fragile dream that maybe would have lived better as a comic book.
As a media scholar (seriously, I do it for a living, sort of), I am deeply impressed by the fact that Joss has been able to give us so many wonderful fans given the current production situation for film and television, and I hope that the executives continue to support him. I may not love everything he creates but I watch it- to celebrate the flaws and draw all the strength you can from his explorations of the human condition, green horns and all.
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