My Top 5 Meta for 2012

[red_satin_doll]

For my very first post to this community I wanted to list some of my favorite Buffyverse meta essays of the year. Fiction seems to be the overwhelming fan vehicle of choice, at least here on LJ/DW, but it was meta essays that pulled me into this fandom. These are by no means "the best" of the year (my full list would be closer to 10 or 11 essays), but represent some that are my touchstones for this 'verse and it's fandom:

"Rules of Engagement: Violence and Hyperreality in the Buffyverse"  by  lostboy_lj   may be my "if you only read one meta from 2012" choice. Why Buffy and Spike's relationship in S6 is not directly analogous to abusive relationships in RL, using "Smashed" as it's focal point.

"Buffy, the Vampire Slayer vs Buffy the Vampire Slayer"  by  beer_good_foamy.   Most post-modernist thinky-thoughts; how the show's title represents the central problem of the narrative for it's titular protagonist, and how Buffy resolves her dilemma in "Chosen".

"Word of Willow: "Witch", Mirrors, and Mommy Issues"  by  local_max .   What I hope to be the first of several Willow-centric essays from someone who has plumbed the depths of Willow's character more thoroughly and compassionately than any fan I know of.

"Warren Mears"  by  itsnotmymind .   Draws parallels between Warren, Faith and Spike, how they mirror, intertwine and intersect thematically and within the story itself, and what they represent re: Buffy's psychology. Wonderfully complex.

"Where Did I Go? A Farewell to the Buffybot"   by  mcjulie .   One of the few essays I've seen in these parts about one of the Buffyverse's most memorable characters. (While I'm here, I'll note that mcjulie has also taken on the awesome task of continuing the   "Episode Polls"   and discussion where gabrielleabelle  left off, starting with S5's  "Tough Love".  Especially recommended is her poll and meta commentary on "The Gift".)


Originally posted on LiveJournal http://buffyversetop5.livejournal.com/341066.html

Comments

[lunarwolfik]

Just wanna say this collection of essays freakin' ROCKS.

Thank you so much for the rec list. Can't go wrong with more awesome Buffy analysis. :D

[red_satin_doll]

Thanks muchly! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll probably put up a more comprehensive post about metas on my own journal.

I actually had a list of 8-10; the first three were super-easy; paring it down to the last just about killed me.


BTW - I've been over to your DW site and read your Cordy/Faith (via Dawn's POV) fic. that was the only post for buffyverse that I saw, or did I miss something?

[lunarwolfik]

Oh awesome! :)

I've always been tempted to read the published stuff analyzing Buffy or the "Philosophy of Buffy" work. Have you read them? If so, are they worth it?

Thank you for checking out my fic! <3 <3

It's from forever ago. It's the only Buffyverse fic I've written yea, I do have an Angel one though (Lilah/Fred). And a TON of Buffy WIPs that will probably never see the light of day.

[red_satin_doll]

I haven't read any of the published books; some of them sound interesting. There was the one about Whedon in general that was in bookstores last year (timed for the release of the Avengers) that was really a fannish celebration of Whedon specifically. (I made the mistake with Baz Luhrmann of treating a creator like a god who could do know wrong. I won't do that again.) Not that there's anything with fannish celebration of the person, I guess, but not what I'm into.

And unfortunately some of the essays at the Slayage Journal of Whedon studies are over my head.

I wonder if any of your WIP's could be cut down to just some key scenes and turned into ficlets and drabbles?

[beer_good_foamy]

Thanks a lot for reccing! :D All of these are absolutely brilliant.

[red_satin_doll]

It was my pleasure; the more people who read your stuff, the better. As I said to lunarwolfik, the first three on the list were no-brainers; it was paring down the rest of my list to just two that was the hard part. (I was hoping to split them into two lists of 5 based on time of year or subject matter, but no dice.)