Customer Reviews

The Psychology of Joss Whedon: An Unauthorized Exploration of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly (Psychology of Popular Culture)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the first book I have read in the Psychology and Popular Culture series, and I enjoyed it. Although I have taken a university psych course and had some background knowledge on the topics discussed, the book still would have been easy to understand if I hadn't.

The book covers mostly Firefly/Serenity and Buffy, although there are a few essays about Angel. The contributors do reference all seasons / episodes of the series, so this is a book that's best to read after you've watched all episodes (unless you want to be spoiled).

If you're not a psychology student/ scholar this is the book for you. It's interesting, informative and explains, in easy to understand words, the psychological terms it employs. So even if you've never taken a psych class you can still enjoy the book, and probably even learn a few things about your own psyche in the process.

Like the other reviewer said, I've seen essays referring to all seasons of Buffy and Angel, and every episode of Firefly. So it's definitely better if you have seen every episode before reading the book, just so it doesn't ruin watching the show for you.

Disclaimer: I am/was not a huge fan of Joss Whedon. However...

I read this because I read the equivalent book(s) for LOTR, Harry Potter, etc, and I'm a huge TV and pop culture trivia lover in general. Even though I don't like Joss much as an end product, I thought I'd be interested in what goes into his work that makes many people (just not me...) love it so much. I was not disappointed. The motives and symbols behind his writing become very apparent in this book. I gave Joss another try after reading this, and thought I still wasn't blown away, I had a much better appreciation for his work. Life lesson: truly learn about something before you judge it. ^-^

Why 4 stars? I wasn't mindblown, and there wasn't anything supremely groudbreaking in this book. I think there are much better such books for other series/authors.

- Marie J.
English Major

This book goes into the psychology of Joss Whedon's TV shows (buffy, firefly/serenity, not much dollhouse), but tends to cover the same ground several times; this falls at the feet of the editor. Perhaps there isn't more out there. We read about strong female characters and how the various sidekicks complete the main character. I'd say this is an OK book, but not outstanding.

Not gonna lie, I'm a Joss Whedon fangirl. I think he's a genius. On his worst day, his work is just fantastic as opposed to mindblowing. When The Psychology of Joss Whedon came across my radar, I was incredibly excited to read it. I have a large interest in psychology and the idea of delving into Joss's mind on that level, seeing what makes him tick, makes me more than a little giddy.

First, a warning: Do not read this book if you haven't watched Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Serenity. Spoilers galore. If you haven't seen Dollhouse or Dr. Horrible, get on that immediately, but don't worry about this book spoiling them as it was written before they came about.

As I mentioned above, I enjoy psychology. I've been known to read psychology textbooks for fun. And even I found the scientific details and explanations to be a bit too much in The Psychology of Joss Whedon. As a means to explore how Whedon creates creates characters, the information is interesting. Unfortunately, a number of essayists delved into way too much science and neglected to relate it to Joss or his characters in an entertaining way.

I'm a strong believer in educating someone by using their interests as examples. I think it helps a person process and retain information when it is presented in a context they are already familiar with. The Psychology of Joss Whedon does well here. Specific scenes fans know and love broken down by psychological analysis will help fans understand complicated psychology concepts while giving them a deeper appreciation of the series, characters and Joss himself.

The Psychology of Joss Whedon doles out a lot of great information, but it could have been a little lighter. Some essays were written with the intended audience in mind, while others are clearly more clinical in nature. Psychology of pop culture figures should be a little more fun than this and the seriousness of certain essays will definitely turn off readers who usually get their psychology from Dr. Phil and Dr. Drew.