(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2007) Graham, Brita Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Linda Karell; Michael Sexson (co-chair)
The television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer - in its entirety - encompasses a collection of ideas, languages, semiotic representation, artistic expression, and even scientific curiosity that is not easily reducible and has few true parallels. The Whedonverse, as fans refer to it, has become a semiotic domain in much the same vein as Star Trek or Star Wars, reaching beyond its one-time niche market into the realm of pop culture iconography. The text's simultaneous admixture and denial of discrete genres, from comedy to action, from horror to melodrama, marks it as a truly unique creation. While textual vampires have always been important barometers of our society, we need an understanding not only of vampires, but of the trickster construct to more fully understand how Buffy works - and plays - and in what ways the myths and symbols of pre-colonial storytelling tie in to post-modernism, deconstruction, and even contemporary scientific inquiry, such as chaos theory.
