Ark. academic conference examines TV hit 'Buffy'

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. —

Aristotle. Nietzsche. Buffy? The blonde heroine of the campy television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," as well as other works by director and writer Josh Whedon, will be the focus of a three-day academic conference held at Henderson State University beginning Friday.

The television series starring Sarah Michelle Gellar won cult fame and critical praise during its seven seasons on The WB and UPN networks.

Since it ended, the series has spawned enough academic books on the philosophy surrounding the roles of friendship and feminism to fill a bookshelf stretching 15 feet long at the college in Arkadelphia, said Kevin Durand, an associate professor of philosophy at the school.

"It has staying power," Durand said. "It's like I tell my students in philosophy a lot of times: We're not so much about necessarily finding all the answers as wanting to ask better questions. 'Buffy,' I think, does that. 'Buffy' never really leaves you with nice, pat answers. You have even more questions than when you started."

Durand said more than 90 academic papers will be discussed at the conference. He expects about 150 people to attend and discuss the vampire slayer and Whedon's other works, like the television series "Firefly" and "Angel." Another point of discussion will be a lesser-known part of Whedon's work - his screenplay for the hit animated film "Toy Story."

Among the papers: "Buffy and Feminism," "Buffy and Identity," "Gender Stereotypes and the Image of Domesticity in 'Firefly,'" "'Firefly:' The Illusive Safety of Big Damn Heroes" and a Durand favorite by a British scholar, "Hero's Journey, Heroine's Return: Buffy, Eurydice and the Orpheus Myth."

"That one just sounds cool," he said.

Durand, who contributed an academic paper at each of the two previous Buffy conferences, often focuses on how power plays into the "Buffy" series. He said much of the fictional heroine's strength came from others and her willingness to work with friends in her fight against creatures of the night.

---

On the Net:

Academic conference: http://www.slayageonline.com/SC3/index.htm

See Also

• Two for the Road
• Nokia Launches New Digital Music Store in Sweden
• John Acquaviva, David Amo and Julio Navas
• Charade

Trio rush to make 'Deadline'

Brittany Murphy, Thora Birch, Tammy Blanchard in thriller

NEW YORK -- Brittany Murphy, Thora Birch and Tammy Blanchard are starring in the psychological thriller "Deadline."


In the "Shining"-style feature, Murphy plays a scribe who travels to an abandoned house to write a screenplay. A bout of writer's block and other unforeseen events lead her to a psychological breakdown.


Sean McConville is making his directorial debut with the independently financed feature, which began principal photography Wednesday in Louisiana. Roger Betterton is producing. Marc Blucas also stars.


Murphy, repped by Paradigm, next appears in the thriller "Across the Hall."


Birch is repped by Special Artists Agency and Keep the Peace Management.


ICM reps Blanchard.

See Also

• 50 Cents Dix Hills mansion destroyed in fire
• Acrimony
• Karen Allen - The Things They Say 8325
• Mad Professor

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Nicholas Stoller's FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL is a romantic disaster comedy produced by the same team that made such hits as THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN and KNOCKED UP, headed by writer, director, and producer Judd Apatow. When he gets suddenly and unceremoniously dumped by his longtime girlfriend, television star Sarah Marshall (VERONICA MARS lead Kristen Bell), composer Peter Bretter (FREAKS AND GEEKS alum Jason Segel) is devastated. Miserably depressed, he seeks solace in tawdry one-night stands, but he is desperate to win Sarah back. On the advice of his stepbrother, Brian (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE's Bill Hader), Peter heads off to Hawaii for a much-needed vacation, but he gets even more freaked out when he discovers that Sarah and her new beau, wild and wacky British singing sensation Aldous Snow (comedian Russell Brand), are staying there as well. Mired in sadness, Peter is befriended by hotel employee Rachel Jansen (THAT '70S SHOW's Mila Kunis), who encourages him to get back his life and pursue his own dreams, which include staging a Dracula musical with puppets. But Peter is blinded by his desire for Sarah even as he grows closer to Rachel and starts hanging out with some of the hotel's odder personalities, including Chuck (Paul Rudd), a drug-addled surf instructor, and Matthew (SUPERBAD's Jonah Hill), a drug-dealing restaurant worker obsessed with Snow. Segel, who gets fully naked several times in the film, wrote the screenplay, a sharp blend of comedy and drama, and is solid in his first major starring role. Stoller, making his feature-film directorial debut, gets the most out of his diverse cast and beautiful setting, especially Jack McBrayer and Maria Thayer as a newlywed couple having some bizarre sexual problems, and Billy Baldwin as Sarah's costar in the television show CRIME SCENE: SCENE OF THE CRIME. FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL is an outrageously funny yet touchingly sweet movie.

See Also

• Bon Iver, For Emma Forever Ago
• Nicole Richie: ‘Harlow Changed My Friend’s Attitudes’
• Movie Review: Secret Window