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lanikei's review
2.0
The idea behind these 'pop culture and philosophy' books is so cool, and then I remember that I HATED philosophy classes. I think what I really want is more like 'literary analysis and discussion of pop culture' books. Of course with any sort of anthology it's a mixed bag. Some essays were more interesting than others, and I'm sure if I remembered more about my philosophy 101 I would have been able to follow some better.
If you're a big nerdy Buffy fan and are willing to skim the stuff you don't care about and enjoy the good ones, this wasn't bad. And I'm sure if you're a philosophy nerd or philosophy student this is more entertaining than a lot of the stuff you read.
If you're a big nerdy Buffy fan and are willing to skim the stuff you don't care about and enjoy the good ones, this wasn't bad. And I'm sure if you're a philosophy nerd or philosophy student this is more entertaining than a lot of the stuff you read.
pussreboots's review
2.0
These essays illustrate just how disjointed and inconsistent Buffy as a series became over the course of its run. Many of the essays in this book try to follow the behaviors of a character or two throughout the seven years of the show and rationalize through a philosophical theory these actions. It doesn't work except to create a rather dull book. For a better primer to philosophy that also uses a television series as its central theme, read Philosophy and the Simpsons: The D'Oh of Homer.
ladyhacksaway's review against another edition
3.0
The writing craft of this book is pretty disappointing beside others in the series (e.g., The Matrix and Philosophy); many of the authors of the essays fail to reach meaningful conclusions about the significance of their comparisons between the philosophy and BtVS.
The contributors often also take on a myopic approach to the counter-arguments for their interpretations, and some (especially Neal King, Michael P. Levine, and Steven Jay Schneider) seem to strain believability in order to adopt a contrarian stance, demonstrating a limited understanding of the series up for discussion.
The book is additionally hampered by jumping the gun and releasing ahead of the release of the final season of the show, making it feel incomplete.
The contributors often also take on a myopic approach to the counter-arguments for their interpretations, and some (especially Neal King, Michael P. Levine, and Steven Jay Schneider) seem to strain believability in order to adopt a contrarian stance, demonstrating a limited understanding of the series up for discussion.
The book is additionally hampered by jumping the gun and releasing ahead of the release of the final season of the show, making it feel incomplete.
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