{"product_id":"faith-and-choice-in-the-works-of-joss-whedon","title":"Faith and Choice in the Works of Joss Whedon","description":"\u003cp\u003e   Joss Whedon once identified himself as an \"angry, hard-line atheist\" who is nevertheless \"fascinated by the concept of devotion.\" While organized religion seems to hold no satisfactory answers for Whedon, his dedication to exploring the meanings of faith and belief can be seen in many of the characters he has created for such works as \u003ci\u003eBuffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Serenity\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eFray\u003c\/i\u003e. This work examines a variety of Whedon's characters and discusses what can be learned from their struggles and discoveries regarding religion and belief.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e   Part One focuses on the characters' search for purpose, revealing how Dawn, Spike, and Angel attempt to define the meaning of their lives in \u003ci\u003eBuffy the Vampire Slayer\u003c\/i\u003e and its spin-off, \u003ci\u003eAngel\u003c\/i\u003e. Part Two focuses on family, examining the unconventional family dynamic in Whedon's comic book miniseries \u003ci\u003eFray\u003c\/i\u003e and television series \u003ci\u003eFirefly\u003c\/i\u003e. Part Three centers around the concept of redemption, using \u003ci\u003eAngel\u003c\/i\u003e's Doyle, \u003ci\u003eFirefly\u003c\/i\u003e's Malcolm Reynolds and Shepherd Book, and \u003ci\u003eBuffy\u003c\/i\u003e's Faith Lehane to examine the characters' search for salvation and their own acceptance of their past actions. Finally, Part Four focuses on the harmful potential of religious zealotry, revealing the negative aspects of absolute belief through \u003ci\u003eFirefly\u003c\/i\u003e's River and \u003ci\u003eBuffy\u003c\/i\u003e's Caleb. A primary source guide follows the main text, providing the writer, director, and air date of each television episode, along with publication data for Whedon's print works, including the in-publication \"Season 8\" comic books for \u003ci\u003eBuffy the Vampire Slayer\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"McFarland \u0026 Co Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54257270194520,"sku":"9780786434763","price":27.5,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780786434763_28fa5b2f-3eb7-423c-b29b-96716d5bc922.jpg?v=1765180850","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/faith-and-choice-in-the-works-of-joss-whedon","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}