(no subject)

thedeadlyhook has a fabulous post on AtS Season 5 and how it's really All About Spike. This will be of particular interest to those who've been following the three protagonists thread at Tea at the Ford.

And thanks to everyone who rec'ed me some fluffy stuff yesterday. It was much needed.

Essay requests

itsabigrock is having an essayathon, for which I wish there were a more elegant word.

I've decided to ask for the following essays, if anyone's interested in writing them. Or if someone's already written on these topics, I'd be very grateful for a URL or reference.

On Englishness in the Jossverse: What do the shows says about modern (and particularly US) perceptions of Englishness? There have been many English characters on the shows, including Giles, Spike, Dru, Wesley and busloads of Watchers. Are the English all ruthless thugs with a tweed veneer of civilisation, leather-coated hooligans with hearts of gold or madwomen escaped from the attic? I'd be especially pleased if the essay touched on anxieties of Empire, as expressed through Victorian-age flashbacks, Pangs, the antiquated Council and the present-day power of multinational corporations such as Wolfram and Hart.

On being Texan in the Jossverse: What does it mean to be Texan in the Buffyverse? Can we look at Fred, Lindsey, the elder Burkles and the Gorches and find any common strands? Why, of all of the US states, is Texas singled out in this fashion? Has Texas now come to represent to Americans the best and worst features of the US?