SUNDAY, MAY 30th, 8:15—10:00 OPENING CEREMONIES

KEYNOTE FOUR: JAMES SOUTH: On the Philosophical Consistency of Season Seven

In this paper, I ask whether the "lessons" conveyed by the episodes of Season Seven of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are philosophically consistent. One major complaint voiced against Season Seven by viewers is that it took too long to get to the action—the final confrontation with the First Evil and his race of über-Vampires. The corollary complaint is that the middle stretch of the series (roughly episodes seven through fifteen) lacked narrative drive. I think there is a compelling philosophical account that can justify such a narrative strategy. The first episode of the season, "Lessons," suggests the instructive function of the season as a whole in both its title and its theme: "It’s all about power." What lessons about power are we supposed to learn as the season progresses? I think the most notable confluence of ideas revolves around the notion of the First Evil and its minions. The salient power of the First Evil is not physical, but psychological: its ability to project illusions that others believe to be real—or believe even when they know them not to be real. Thus, the basic lesson of power is that illusion can be more powerful than reality. Of course, raising the illusion/reality dichotomy brings us right to the heart of philosophy. It is striking that the illusions of the First Evil center on family and love, and play on the insecurities that accompany human relationships (Buffy and Spike, Dawn and Joyce, Willow and Tara, Warren and Jonathan/Andrew). The question I want to raise is whether there is a consistent way in which these illusions are dispelled, and I will answer in the affirmative. However, there is another side to the issue of power—physical force. When the First Evil decides to develop a force, it appears overwhelming in size and strength, yet, ultimately, is easily vanquished with little real physical harm. I explore the ease with which physical force is dispatched (thanks in great part to an object of mystical provenance) and contrast that with the long path to dispelling the illusions fostered by the First Evil in the context of human relationships. In the end, then, I show that it makes good philosophical sense to suggest that the "reality" of illusion is considerably more powerful (and much harder to defeat) than the reality of physical power.

South, James B. "'All that James Bond stuff': The Appropriation of James Bond in Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Paper read at the conference The Cultural Politics of Ian Fleming and 007, University of Indiana, Bloomington, IN, May 31, 2003.

___. "'All Torment, Trouble, Wonder, and Amazement Inhabits Here': The Vicissitudes of Technology in Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Journal of American and Comparative Cultures 24.1/2 (2001): 93-102.

___. "And Was There a Lesson in All This: Introduction."  Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy. Ed. James B. South. Chicago: Open Court Press, 2003. 1-3.

___. "Buffy, Faith, and the Meaning of Life," paper to be read at the Marquette University Library Colloquium Series, March 23, 2004.

___. "'Death is My Gift'": Philosophical Themes in Buffy the Vampire Slayer," paper read at the Midwest Popular Culture Society Conference, Milwaukee, WI, October 5, 2002.

___. “’My God, it’s like a Greek tragedy: Willow Rosenberg and Human Irrationality.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy. Ed. James B. South. Chicago: Open Court Press, 2003. 131-45.

___. On the Philosophical Consistency of Season Seven (paper accepted for but not presented at the Slayage Conference on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Nashville, TN, May 2004). 

___. "'They show up, they scare us, I beat them up, and they leave'": the Dialectic of Self-Knowledge in Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Paper read at the conference Blood, Text and Fears: Reading around Buffy the Vampire Slayer, University of East Anglia, Norwich UK, October 20, 2002.

___, ed.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy. Chicago: Open Court Press, 2003.