# Fighting the Forces

Fighting the Forces: What's at Stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a 2002 academic publication relating to the fictional Buffyverse established by TV series, Buffy and Angel.

## Book description

The book looks at the struggle to examine meaning in the television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series is examined from a variety of viewpoints, and especially the social and cultural issues dealt with by the series and their place in a wider literary context.

## Contents

The chapters are grouped as follows:
* Part 1: Forces of Society and Culture: Gender, Generations, Violence, Class, Race and Religion (Chapters 1–10).
* Part 2: Forces of Art and Imagination (Past): Vampires, Magic, and Monsters (Chapters 11–16).
* Part 3: Forces of Art and Imagination (Present): Fan Relationships, Metaphoric and Real (Chapters 17–20).
| Chapter | Title | Author |
| Foreword | The Color of Dark in Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Camille Bacon-Smith |
| Intro | Introduction | Rhonda V. Wilcox and David Lavery |
| 01 | "Who Died and Made Her the Boss?" Patterns of Mortality in Buffy | Rhonda V. Wilcox |
| 02 | "My Emotions Give Me Power": The Containment of Girls' Anger in Buffy | Elyce Rae Helford |
| 03 | "I'm Buffy and You're ... History": The Postmodern Politics of Buffy | Patricia Pender |
| 04 | Surpassing the Love of Vampires; or, Why (and How) a Queer Reading of the Buffy/Willow Relationship is Denied | Farah Mendlesohn |
| 05 | Choosing Your Own Mother: Mother-Daughter Conflicts in Buffy | J. P. Williams |
| 06 | Staking in Tongues: Speech Act as Weapon in Buffy | Karen Eileen Overbey and Lahney Preston-Matto |
| 07 | Slaying in Black and White: Kendra as Tragic Mulatta in Buffy | Lynne Edwards |
| 08 | The Undemonization of Supporting Characters in Buffy | Mary Alice Money |
| 09 | "Sometimes You Need a Story": American Christianity, Vampures, and Buffy | Gregory Erickson |
| 10 | Darkness Falls on the Endless Summer: Buffy as Gidget for the Fin de Siècle | Catherine Siemann |
| 11 | Of Creatures and Creators: Buffy Does Frankenstein | Anita Rose |
| 12 | Sex and the Single Vampire: The Evolution of the Vampire Lothario and Its Representation in Buffy | Diane DeKelb-Rittenhouse |
| 13 | "Digging the Undead": Death and Desire in Buffy | Elisabeth Krimmer and Shilpa Raval |
| 14 | Spirit Guides and Shadow Selves: From the Dream Life of Buffy (and Faith) | Donald Keller |
| 15 | Hubble-Bubble, Herbs and Grimoires: Magic, Manichaeanism, and Witchcraft in Buffy | Tanya Krzywinska |
| 16 | Whose Side Are You on, Anyway? Children, Adults, and the Use of Fairy Tales in Buffy | Sarah E. Skwire |
| 17 | Crossing the Final Taboo: Family, Sexuality, and Incest in Buffyverse Fan Fiction | Kristina Busse |
| 18 | "My Boyfriend's in the Band!" Buffy and the Rhetoric of Music | S. Renee Dechert |
| 19 | Buffy’s Mary Sue is Jonathan: Buffy Acknowledges the Fans | Justine Larbalestier |
| 20 | www.buffy.com: Cliques, Boundaries, and Hierarchies in an Internet Community | Amanda Zweerink and Sarah N. Gatson |
| Afterword | The Genius of Joss Whedon | David Lavery |

## Critical reception

The book was reviewed by Dorothy Kuykendal in Extrapolation, Sabrina P. Ramet in The Journal of Popular Culture, Shannon Rupp in Ottawa Citizen, Nicholas Birns in Science Fiction Studies, Fiona Kelleghan in the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, and Deborah Netburn in The New York Observer.