'You don't need a degree in gender studies or literary
theory to enjoy Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but if you're
headed to "Blood, Text and Fears," it wouldn't
hurt. The international academic conference devoted
to the series will be hosted by the University of East
Anglia in Norwich, England, on October 19-20.
"Cool!" says Buffy creator Joss Whedon, speaking
to TV Guide, as he eyes the program of 63 lectures for
the first time. Zeroing in on the session linking Buffy's
last season to the W.B. Yeats poem "The Second
Coming," he says, "I'm psyched because [last]
season is the bastard child that everyone's mean to.
We had a purpose. And for people to take it seriously
and not just to say, 'That season was depressing adn
the villains were nerds,' makes me feel good."
"This is not a fan convention," says Claire
Thomson, one of the conference organizers, who had expected
to receive about 10 papers from graduate students in
the United Kingdom but got more than 100 proposals from
as far away as Australia. "People take it incredibly
seriously."
Considering another lecture that Whedon fixates on,
we believe her. Titled "The Spike/Buffy Relationship:
Law, Morals, Rapd and S&M; or You Always Hurt the
One You Love," the session promises legal, social,
and feminist interpretations of Buffy (Sarah Michelle
Gellar) and Spike (James Marsters) infamous Season 6
bathroom scene. "I wish I could be there hearing
the live debate," says Whedon. With his Buffy,
Angel and Firefly shooting schedule, he'll have to borrow
someone's notes. --Mandi Bierly
