Discovering Buffy
In 2003, after the final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) aired in the United States, the editors of Slayage, David Lavery and Rhonda V. Wilcox, invited readers to share their accounts of how they discovered the series, convinced that a collection of such accounts would have ethnographic value. Their original prompt read as follows:
They also included an example by Lavery:
Collected in subsequent webpages in alphabetic order is the archive of the submissions Lavery and Wilcox received:
Researchers are welcome to cite the narratives. An example of a proper citation in Modern Language Association (MLA) style follows:
- In less than 200 words offer us a brief but specific account in first person of how and when you started watching Buffy. Begin by telling us who you are and what you do. Send your response in an e-mail to xxx@xxx.xxx.
They also included an example by Lavery:
- I am a professor of English at Middle Tennessee State University where I teach courses on literature, film, and popular culture and have edited or co-edited books on Twin Peaks, X-Files, and The Sopranos. On October 5th, 1999, I was teaching a course on Film History at MTSU. One of my students asked before class started if I would be watching the season premiere of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that evening. I responded with disdain. I had hated the movie and was barely cognizant of the TV show, although I had just noticed with surprise that my new copy of Entertainment Weekly contained "The Ultimate Buffy Viewer's Guide" as though it were worthy of careful attention. Two other students in the class chimed in, insisting that it would be a show I would love. I agreed to check it out and that evening watched "The Freshman." I was instantly hooked (even though, in retrospect, it was not a strong episode). Since one of my Film History students (Chris Peltier) had almost all of the first three seasons on tape, I caught up quickly. Soon thereafter I approached Rhonda Wilcox, who had already published a superb essay on Buffy, about doing a book together. The rest is history.
Collected in subsequent webpages in alphabetic order is the archive of the submissions Lavery and Wilcox received:
Researchers are welcome to cite the narratives. An example of a proper citation in Modern Language Association (MLA) style follows:
- Lavery, David. "Discovering Buffy." Whedonstudies.tv. The Whedon Studies Association, n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2014 [date of access].