Whedon's Cantata in B: Age of Ultron

With the national release of Avengers: Age of Ultron, the summer blockbuster season has begun. Much is riding on Ultron for Disney, which owns Marvel and hence, the characters featured in those carefully-planned-for-release-lo-unto-the-next-generation films. Also, Joss Whedon, who directed the first Avengers film, is at the helm again for Ultron, which promised moreMoreMORE! and he's got a lot riding on this one as well. Known for being both a "Marvel boy" who grew up loving these titles and characters and also known for his deft handling of true ensemble casts (Firefly leaps immediately to mind), Whedon brought over $1.5 billion into the Mouse's coffers and there is a great deal of pressure for him to catch that lightning in a bottle again.

He almost does.

Early in Ultron, we see Bruce Banner sitting off to himself after a battle in which his alter-ego, the Hulk, played a pivotal (and highly destructive) part. He's wearing headphones, concentrating not on the banter of his teammates, but rather on the "Casta Diva" aria from Bellini's opera Norma. It's no secret that Whedon likes music - he's a noted Sondheim fan and he crafted both the Buffy episode "Once More with Feeling" and Dr. Horrible. Norma is the story of a powerful Druid priestess who is betrayed first by her love for the enemy and ultimately by her own tribe. The "Casta Diva" aria is a prayer for peace - Norma is trying to protect her lover by cooling the flames of war.

Interesting choice for Banner/Hulk, yes?

I mention this because I think Whedon was trying to write his own version of an opera - or at least a cantata, which is a musical form that has evolved over the years to encompass many different configurations. But I think he forgot that most operas - including Norma - don't really have plots that are all that complicated (ridiculous, maybe, but not complicated). Whedon is notably for his smooth incorporation of large ensemble casts and multiple storylines, so who better to hand Ultron over to? After all, Ultron is setting up Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so elements from the past films need to be present here, this story needs to advance and hints need to be dropped for events yet to come. He's got plenty to work with, including a huge cast - not only the core group of Avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye), he's also folding in Ultron, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver, with small parts for everyone from Fury and Maria Hill to Falcon and War Machine.

Whew! I'm tired just from typing the list!

The fact is, Ultron's a good flick. Buy your popcorn and enjoy yourself. There are cool fight scenes, the Hulkbuster suit, a bit of character development, and Vision and Scarlet Witch are just fantastic. (I'm also in favor of about anything that lets Andy Serkis act without motion capture.) But it's not without flaws. He's working with some interesting ideas - security v. freedom, creator v. created, family v. team, and the nature of monstrosity, all with a healthy dose of man's hubris thrown in for good measure. That's a lot of horse to ride.

I keep hearing, "well, Whedon had to do what the studio said, so this isn't really him" and "at least 30 minutes was edited out." All well and good, but Whedon's name is on this, so he owns it - he doesn't just get to claim the quips and the 360-degree heroes' circle. As readers of this blog know, I admire the bejeezus out of Whedon's work, but that in no way means that I think he's above criticism. (I'm looking at you in particular, Dollhouse!) And Ultron is not a perfect movie.

For instance, it's downright clumsy to have everyone in the imaginary town/country (the movie is a bit muddy on that point) of Sokovia speak English with a heavy, vaguely Russian, accent. One element of Marvel's comics that I always enjoyed is the snippets of foreign languages that are then translated at the bottom of the panel - it shows the international focus of the teams and missions - and it feels like Whedon doesn't trust the audience to glance at a few subtitles. Also, while Black Widow still kicks tail and takes names, she's also relegated to "taming the beast" status with a subplot involving the Hulk that just clunks. (Plus, I've seen the "safe word" thing before with Simon and River, so this felt recycled to me.) And really - Tony Stark has gone from being a smartass to just an ass. (By the way, the events of Iron Man 3 apparently didn't happen, based on Tony's "wheee! Lookit me, flying around, perfectly comfortable in my iron skin!" attitude. Then again, I loathed that movie, so . . . )

I get that Ultron is a large-scale set-up for future movies. I just wish I'd been so excited when I saw this one that I squeed! in Marvel-girl delight more.

Whedon's cantata is also his swan song for this franchise - the Russo brothers (of Captain America: Winter Soldier and the upcoming Civil War) take over from here.

Well, at least Hawkeye got some good lines this time.

Of Slayages and Squirrels

I apologize for missing "Walter White Wednesday" this week, but it was unavoidable. Ensley and I had just returned from the Sixth Biennial Slayage Conference on the Whedonverses and were dealing with jet-lag. I'm pretty sure that if I'd tried to post on Wednesday, the result would have looked like this:

"Welcome to Walueoriep jsdoibfjkl;adk fl;sdkflzzzzzzz."

And really - who wants that?  We did have a successful book signing at Beers Books in Sacramento, due in large part to supportive Slayage attendees who came out to celebrate with us (and maybe to score a little of the blue). The picture at the top of the post is from the signing - look at that enticing bowl of candy!

Many others will post about Slayage - and there will be an official report on the various papers, presentations and roundtables put out by official Whedon Studies Association ("WSA") reporters soon - so I'm taking a different tack here. Rather than attempting to summarize the various papers I was able to hear (I missed a fair number, since three sessions run concurrently and I have yet to master the use of time-traveling technology), let me explain why the WSA matters.

There are any number of professional organizations - groups devoted to particular philosophers, authors, theorists, professions, and so on. The WSA is devoted to the academic study of Joss Whedon, a prospect that has caused more than one media professional to say, "Huh-what?" I'm not here to re-plow that ground - Whedon's work often shows depth and nuance that an academic would eagerly pounce on, and the fact that humor is so tightly interwoven just makes the exploration that much - well, cooler. We're fans of the work (we spend too much time here to hate the stuff, although I went to a fantastic session defending "hated characters" at this latest gathering), which means we quote, and quip, and wear clever T-shirts. But at the core, Slayage is about scholarship. How does Dollhouse tackle themes of consent and privilege? How can theories of leadership and military tactics be applied to The Avengers? How does the law firm of Wolfram & Hart reflect actual legal principles of a "vigorous defense"? Oh, we do go on.

But even that's not the real point of this.

Perhaps you've noticed:  higher education is a mess right now. Questions of student loans, bloated administrative costs, low morale, frozen pay, a dangerously-expanding bubble of adjunct workloads, and the application of so-called "business models" to education dominate the headlines.  In short, it's not a good time to ask for funding to go to a conference devoted to a man best known for creating a show with the silly-sounding title Buffy the Vampire Slayer, no matter how elevated the work and discussion might be. But go we do, often on our own dime. And that matters.

Yes, we make valuable contacts. Publishing contacts, professional contacts, and personal contacts - we make 'em all at Slayage. We present our work - often nervously; these people are smart! - and we refine it as a result of questions and comments we receive. In such ways, scholarship - which ought to matter as much as the football field house - advances, bringing us along with it. We see the world a hair differently. We understand each other a touch better. We aren't so scared of someone who doesn't look exactly like us.

We become better.

 And that's what it's about. Now, the WSA won't work that way for everyone; that's why there are all those other societies. But for me, the WSA provides a unique opportunity to learn. Many teacher-types don't want to do that - they aren't secure enough to admit there are things they don't know about, so they remain tightly in their own box of expertise. Whedonians not only cheerfully admit that they don't know things; they revel in the idea that there's so much more out there to learn and they expect you to share. I've attended sessions in areas that are so far afield from my own areas of expertise that it would make my knees quake to consider going to a presentation in those areas if I didn't have the common thread of Whedon to wrap tightly around me. Seriously - I know very little about musicology or the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze and I attended - and enjoyed - sessions centering on both.

The "bottom line" folks would ask - "Well, how are you going to use that in class?"

My answer:  I don't know. Yet. But I know I'm a better instructor for going outside what I already know.

And Slayage is also so much fun! Spending time with intelligent, lively people who are reveling in their passions usually is. Add to that the campus squirrels, who were entirely too tame, and you have the makings of a meme. So we did.  (Tumblr. The. Best.)

Passion.  Maybe Angel said it best:  "Passion is the source of our finest moments; the joy of love, the clarity of hatred, and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank . . . without passion, we'd be truly dead."

So there's Slayage and during that time, we see each other.  We squeal, and we hug tightly, and we cement that community, knowing that it needs to carry us through another Slay-age (which has been determined to be four days followed by two years). And carry us it does. Think of it this way - since I started attending with the second Slayage in 2006, I've published my first book; gotten involved in fan communities that use Whedon's words as inspiration to raise awareness and cashy money for good causes (I even helped design a T-shirt to help with one I felt especially strongly about); met and married my husband; co-wrote a book with him; and built relationships with people that I may not see all that often, but consider family nevertheless.

I can't put a dollar amount on it, but I know it's worth something better than cash.

Walter White Wednesday 106

Also known as the one in which the "one who knocks" becomes the "one with the Tony Award"! Yes, on Sunday, Bryan Cranston took home the Tony for Best Leading Actor in a play for his role as President Lyndon Baines Johnson in All the Way, which also won the Tony for Best Play.  And yes, Cranston compared acting on Broadway to blue meth, so you could say Walter White is still on his mind.

Next week, Ensley and I will be out in California attending and presenting at the 6th Biennial Slayage Conference on the Whedonverses. We're looking forward to seeing "conference friends" who we generally only get to brush shoulders with once every two years (a "slay age" has been determined to be three days followed by two years, incidentally) and the lineup for this conference looks quite impressive!  Many of the contributors to the highly-anticipated collection Reading Joss Whedon will be there - and that's a recently-released book serious Whedon scholars will want!  (You might even recognize a name or two . . .)

While we're out in Sacramento, we'll be having a signing for Wanna Cook? over at Sacramento's comprehensive independent bookstore Beers Books, so if you're in the area (or know Breaking Bad fans who might be!), spread the word and come on down!  It's scheduled for 3:00 - 6:00 pm on Monday, June 23! I'll put up a quick reminder - probably over on Twitter - but the Slayage conference is a runrunrun event, so no "Walter White Wednesday" next week, although I'll be sure to check in again before we leave for sunny Sacramento!

"W" for the Win!

It feels a little like Sesame Street, but this blog post seems to be brought to you by the letter "W," as both films I'm going to discuss begin with that letter and both belong in the "win" column.

First, the new Simon Pegg The World's End is out, completing the trilogy begun with the hilarious Shaun of the Dead and continued with Hot Fuzz. For me, this one was a winner with unexpected heart to it.  In World's End, a drunken, middle-aged Gary King reassembles his pack of school chums to complete an epic pub crawl that fizzled out when they were all teenagers.  For Gary, this was the best night of his life, while for his chums, it was a night when they were all about 18.  Gary's never moved on - his car, music, and attitudes are frozen in time and it wasn't a pretty time to begin with.  There are some laugh-out-loud moments and some oddly touching ones as well.  Oh, and alien-controlled robots.  Did I leave that part out?  (And they're right - "robot" is a Czech word that means "slave."  I learned that from Whedon's Dollhouse which featured the Rossum Corporation, which took its name from the playwright who coined the term back in the 1920s.  More on that here, if you're interested.)  It's a good one, and be on the lookout for the Cornetto references.   Verdict:  go see now!

Second, the 2009 straight-to-DVD animated movie Wonder Woman.  I know, I know.  "Straight to DVD" doesn't usually mean anything good.  As a Joss Whedon fan, I breathlessly awaited his big-screen version of Wonder Woman, but I (along with a lot of other fans) was disappointed, as he never completed a full script.  Only now I know that I wasn't disappointed - they made the Wonder Woman movie I wanted to see; they just didn't bother to tell me that it was a cartoon.  In this case, I suspect that DC Comics knew that they had a good movie on their hands that would have a hard time finding a multiplex audience.  It's a cartoon, but it's a cartoon that deserves its PG-13 rating.  (Apparently, the first cut was given an "R," which I find intriguing.)  While the movie isn't perfect (the Invisible Jet needs some explaining, for instance), this is a lovely, touching portrayal of the origin of the Amazon princess.  Maybe it had too much Greek god stuff for mainstream USA (after all, Thor is now known as the PRINCE of thunder, which has got to be considered a downgrade from serving as the GOD of thunder to generations of the Norse) is or maybe it was the pointed feminist message; I don't know.  What I DO know is that I liked this immensely.  Diana's (voiced by Keri Russell) pro-feminist view is one that badly needs to be heard these days and it keeps from teetering into "man bad/woman good" by Steve Trevor's (Nathan Fillion) being quick to call Diana on her simplistic view when it veers in that direction.  Russell and Fillion had worked together in the indie gem Waitress in 2007 and they clearly work well together.  Beneath is a brief clip from the film - here, Diana has just arrived in New York and meets a crying child who is being excluded from a game of pirates.  I like her advice - and the response of Trevor.  Not in theaters, so seriously - go rent this one.

Walter White Wednesday 62

Every week brings us closer, Breaking Bad fans!  So many unanswered questions, so many ways for things to go wrong for Walt . . .

This Saturday is the Joss in June conference that Ensley and I have been working on for the better part of a year (yes, while also working incredibly hard on Wanna Cook?), so you'll understand if this is a short post.  Joss in June is shaping up to be a great conference, but there are a number of details to tend to before registration begins, so our days - and our lists! - have been long as of late.

But there are a couple of items I want to bring to your attention in this post.  First, Hank may be the brewmaster, but the official Breaking Bad beer will be named for Walt.  Typical, don't you think?  Yes, it's true.  "Heisenberg's Dark" (no, it's not blue) has a limited distribution area, but if you're in the Albuquerque area, you'll be able to pick up a six-pack of the intensely dark, internally-conflicted brew.  And if you don't, it'll probably track you down and poison you.

Also, why not show the world you're a Breaking Bad fan?  AMC has made available the "Breaking Bad Name Lab" which will render your name in the style of the credits.  You can then post your own personal periodic table to Facebook or Twitter, and even send an animated GIF to your friends.  Or your enemies, if want them to say your name.

That's it for this edition of "Walter White Wednesday" - as I said, I know it's short, but hey! - it's full of quality work, so that has to count for something!

Yes, Yes, Yes!

During the summer months, studios release the films they fervently hope will be major blockbusters.  For the moviegoing public, this is the season of (as we say here in the South) high cotton, as every week there's something new to excite our jaded senses; something advertised with the sounding of trumpets as being Bigger, Better, Louder, and More!  (More what is a question that should be asked, but I digress.)

But every now and then, if you look diligently and patiently and don't mistake quiet for dullness, you'll find a small and glittering gem, so sure of its worth that it doesn't require the circus parade of whizbangwow!  Readers, I am pleased to report that I have found that summer gem and it is Joss Whedon's adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing.  It's a small movie, not available in every market, so you'll probably have to search a little.  Don't bother, I hear some of you saying.  It's Shakespeare?? I hate that guy - he talks funny and I never understand him.  Isn't something with explosions or aliens or car chases or hangovers playing anywhere?  Readers, lend me your ears.  Let me tell you why it's worth the effort.

First off, Shakespeare is only dull and boring if you approach it the way many of us were first exposed to it in high school - by silently reading the script and having our eyes dart down the page to figure out what a "cankerblossom" is.  Tsk, tsk.  It's the worst possible way to read Shakespeare (or any play, for that matter).  But you don't have to read the whole thing out loud - let trained actors do the heavy lifting for you.  When done properly, Shakespeare's language dances and twirls and delights in itself.

Second, back in the 1930s, American cinema had a heyday with a particular kind of romantic comedy known as the "screwball comedy."  Among the particular elements of the screwball comedy are two lovers who can't abide each other, a strong and independent female lead, quick-paced dialogue, an exploration of social norms, and highly exaggerated circumstances.  Fun movies - and it can be argued that Much Ado started the whole screwball comedy genre.  Beatrice and Benedick can't stand each other, but they're irresistibly attracted to each other.  (Hero and Claudio's romance is supposed to be the main storyline, but they just can't compete with these two, whose wit and banter and heat can blister the paint off a wall.)

Whedon has long had a liking for Shakespeare and he's been known to host informal readings at his house.  He shot Much Ado in 12 days at his house, in between principal photography on The Avengers and post-production work on that monster-budget film.  This is a "micro-budget" film - in fact, it's been said that the total budget of Much Ado was less than the catering budget on Avengers.  Like the best of the screwball comedies, this Much Ado is filmed in sharp black-and-white.  Whedon assembled a cast of actors he's worked with before and the results sparkle.  The incandescent Amy Acker (Beatrice) and the highly magnetic Alexis Denisof (Benedick) get to show off their comedic chops, while Nathan Fillion (Dogberry) and Tom Lenk (Verges) nearly steal the show as bumbling, nearly incoherent cops.  I could go on and on, but I won't.  Go see for yourself.

Of course the plot isn't realistic - when Shakespeare was writing, realism in drama was several centuries in the future.  (Although the very first scene of the movie provides a reason for why Beatrice and Benedick are so strained around each other.)  You know what else?  People didn't go around in Shakespeare's time speaking in iambic pentameter, either.  Let it go.  Quit being so hip and cynical and just enjoy watching overheard conversations lead to the the unfolding of True Love.

Walter White Wednesday 47

As we begin gearing up for the final 8 episodes of Breaking Bad, there's been a lot (a LOT!) of speculation among the fan base regarding Walt's final outcome.  Face it, no one outside of those involved with the production company knows for sure (and they're not talking!  I suspect hazard pay).  There are two aspects of this that I find incredibly interesting.

The first is how invested people are in the show itself.  As a Whedon fan, I understand incredibly passionate fans and some shows attract that more than others.  Those shows, by the way, are often science fiction or fantasy shows - Firefly springs to mind.  You don't often see the same level of investment in reality-based shows - no one dresses up at Jack McCoy from Law & Order to go attend a fan convention, for instance.  (Something I once heard Elisabeth Rohm, who played Kate Lockley on Angel and Serena Southerlyn on Law & Order say at a fan convention.)

The second part that fascinates me is how many people are pulling for Walt to somehow come through all of this unscathed.  Now this, I must admit, I don't get - and I've tried.  Walt has done horrible, reprehensible things and, no matter how he attempts to justify his actions, he's steadily walked into darkness.  I happen to believe that redemption is possible for just about anybody, but it has to come with remorse, regret, and a determination to "go forth and sin no more."  This humility is simply not present in Walt.  I see no way out for him.  I think some fans see Walt as a rebel who's just had all he can take and want Walt to somehow stick it to the Man, but they ignore the awful, terrible, violent things Walt has done and the things he has set in motion and then stepped back and watched.

I've heard fans comment that they hope he goes out like Tony Montana in Scarface - and we've seen Walt watching the finale of the movie.  What I think people are missing is that the ending of the movie doesn't have Tony blasting away at his enemies and then waltzing away from the carnage.  We know Walt has justified everything as him simply "taking care of the family."  But that's the same family that has his wife flinching when he touches her, the kids packed off the the in-laws (who have made it clear that they like having the kids around), and secrets hidden under the very floorboards of the house.

He's done a lousy job of taking care of the family.

And he's got an M60 in the trunk of his car.  I don't see this ending well for Walt.

And don't forget to check out Ensley F. Guffey's ongoing "Meth Monday" posts over at his blog!  Also, you can always follow us on Twitter and we love getting comments!  Like us?  Tell us!  Think we're wrong?  Tell us - gently!

Critiquing the Slasher Movie

Puppeteer at work?

To begin with, this post is going to be about the Whedon/Goddard not-quite-horror flick The Cabin in the Woods.  It's been out on DVD for a while now and if you haven't seen it, be warned that there will be a few spoilers in this post - nothing that a quick look at rottentomatoes.com doesn't have, but still . . . if you want to skip to the "bottom line," here it is.  See this movie.

Okay, now that we have that taken care of - what sets Cabin apart?  It's a movie that viewers enjoyed, but critics loved.  The "Tomatoes" rating is a fine and respectable 76% for viewers, but a whopping 91% for critics.  Then again, I suspect critics saw different things in Cabin than most casual viewers did.  Whedon is known for genre-mashing and Cabin (which he and Goddard co-wrote) showcases his fondness for creating hybrids.  I daresay some purists in the horror world despised Cabin for that reason and I'm sure a few fans felt disappointed in the film.

Confession time - I'm not a huge horror buff.  I'm fine with suspense and I can handle creepy, but the trend towards finding more and more creative ways to hurt people (usually young females) leaves me cold.  Oh, I can trot out all the theories about why being scared serves a valid societal and psychological purpose, and I agree with part of those theories,* but I still have no desire to see most of it.  Like all genres, horror films have certain tropes that must either be obeyed or subverted - here's a great rundown of those tropes and cliches.  Cabin not only acknowledges these "rules" (for instance, the sexually-active girl has to be the first to die and the virtuous girl must be the "final girl"), it creates a world in which these rules are ironclad.  Whedon likes to toy with the "free will vs. game is rigged" conundrum and Cabin shows that off, too.

I like this movie quite a lot because it asks some questions about just who watches these movies. While there are several excellent scenes - including one in a stuffed-to-the-gills basement - the one that best underscores this point takes place in a sterile control room where a celebratory party is going on, with the relieved partygoers completely ignoring the live images on the giant viewscreens that show a girl desperately fighting for her life.  If you laugh at this scene, it's probably some very uncomfortable laughter - after all, we're also watching this and we paid money to be entertained by images of innocent people being hunted and killed.

I think that ought to make us uncomfortable.



*Stephen King has written extensively on this and his Danse Macabre is well worth a read.  If you really want to know more, check out the Journal for Horror Studies.  Yes, it's real.

Walter White Wednesday 32

Way back in March, I wrote about silence in Breaking Bad. From there, the work grew a bit and I'll be presenting on some of the ways nonverbal communication is used in the show at the upcoming (I leave in a couple of hours) Popular Culture/American Culture Associations in the South conference. It's a juicy topic and I have limited time, so I really can only touch on a few highlights, including the Heisenberg hat and Hector Salamanca's "bell of doom." I'm really looking forward to this - it's always a lively conference and I come home flush with new ideas.

I'm also fortunate to be presenting on a themed panel - sometimes the panels are a little random and it's always nice to be part of a session that has a clear through-line. Seriously - check this out:


First, David Lavery, one of the howitzer-sized big guns of television studies, presents on "Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad, and Television Creativity."  That's followed by Jeffrey D. Frame presenting on "Walt’s Wake: Chemical Disincorporation and the Break Down of Breaking Bad’s Secondary Characters." My beloved co-author, Ensley F. Guffey, will present on "Buying the House: Place in Breaking Bad" and then I wrap things up with "Pregnant Pauses: The Uses of Nonverbal Communication in Breaking Bad."

This is on Friday morning, so here's hoping the conference attendees are properly caffeinated!


Among the items in my luggage this year are a stack of flyers I'll be using to hawk JOSS IN JUNE!, which is a one-day conference devoted to exploring the work of Joss Whedon that I'm co-convening at my school in (you guessed it) June.  Interested? C'mon, you know you are!  After all, The Avengers was just released for home viewing yesterday!  The deadline for proposals is January 1, so you have plenty of time.  Of course, you can always just attend and not present, if that's what floats your boat.  Check out the link, and then contact me for details.

Now let me go pack!


By the way, the amazing artwork at the top of this post is by artist Martin Woutisseth.  You can learn more about him and his work by visiting http://society6.com/MartinWoutisseth/Breaking-Bad-Illustrated-Hector-Salamanca_Stretched-Canvas.

Slayage 5

It's no secret that Joss Whedon got me into the popular culture analysis game.  I've written and presented on his work for six years now and he keeps putting out things that need to get looked at (the Angel & Faith comics have some storylines that deserve examination, for instance, along with a little film called The Avengers that may have slipped by you this summer), so I imagine I'll keep writing about his work.

Every two years since 2004, scholars have gathered (no one seems to know what the proper collective noun is for such a group; I've suggested a "dissertation of scholars."  We'll see if it catches on.) for a conference devoted to Whedon and his works.  While Whedon is often the subject of papers and full panels at popular culture conferences, the Slayage Conference on the Whedonverses is devoted exclusively to him.  Papers are presented that look at his works from a nearly bewildering variety of perspectives - a copy of the program can be found here - and I always leave the conference fired up and brimming over with (hopefully good) ideas for future projects.

In the past, I've tried to recap the conference, which is an exhausting endeavor.  Seriously, this conference is gogogo for three straight days, plus one evening beforehand.  On top of which, we (my husband is also a Whedonian) had travel "adventures" both outbound and returning, so it took longer than usual to get our breath back - plus there was jet lag from journeying from North Carolina to Vancouver and back.  Fortunately, I don't need to feel bad about not recapping the conference presentations, because several others are storming the summarizing ramparts.  Check out the following and I'm sure there are more:

• Nik at Night is the wonderful blog run by Nikki Stafford of Toronto's ECW Press.  She is in the process of taking her notes and turning them into full-scale write ups for each day that are both informative and chatty.  She also has pictures, which is doubly cool.  And she's the editor for the Wanna Cook? project, so she's triply cool.
• David Kociemba and Kristen Romanelli maintain the blog for Watcher Junior which is the undergraduate journal for Whedon studies.  They are taking turns posting recaps of the conference - both the blog and the journal itself are well worth reading.
• The beyond charming witnessaria (go back and watch "Once More with Feeling" to get the name) has also blogged about the conference.  
• If you want to see the live tweets that came out of the conference, go to your Twitter account and look for #slayage5.  This hashtag is still active, so you'll need to look back a bit.  Multiple folks were tweeting throughout the panels, which was (I think) a first for Slayage.  At one point, the #slayage5 hashtag was trending worldwide!  Academics talk a lot, be that on Twitter or through any other channel!
• Also, the Slayage journal will have official write ups from three reporters soon.  Those are always solid and complete, so you'll want to check that out.

It's a great time and it's not just for academics, so we'll see you in a Slay-age (three days followed by two years) for the next one!  

Walter White Wednesday 21

The premiere of the first half of Season 5 is only a few days away and you can bet that next week's "Walter White Wednesday" will focus on the first episode, which AMC has revealed is titled "Live Free or Die."  Wonder what we should make of that title?  At the end of Season 4 Walt seemed to think he had "won," but I'm not at all sure about that.  Drug cartels, much like nature, abhor a vacuum, and with the end of Gus and Hector, there's a distinct blank space in the cartel structure.  Walt wants money, power, and prestige and he's shown a willingness to kill to get what he wants.

Then again, Gilligan has taught me to not assume much of anything in this show.  He's a twisty as they come.  Too curious to wait?  Then check out this "what you might expect in Season 5" video from AMC.

In the meantime, I'm up in Vancouver enjoying the Fifth Biennial Slayage Conference on the Whedonverses. New material for this conference includes presentations on The Cabin in the Woods, Avengers, and the comic Sugarshock.  I'm scheduled for Friday and I'll be talking about space Westerns and how Firefly owes a "thank you" to Watanabe's anime Cowboy Bebop. So much has been written about Whedon's works - it's by far the most popular television series to get the academic treatment - but Whedon's comic work is not discussed as much as his TV/film work, so I'm especially looking forward to hearing more about his run on X-Men (Kitty Pryde was a model for Buffy Summers, BTW) and the continuation of Buffy in comic form.  In the past, I've blogged about the conference as it was going on, but this time, I've decided to save up the commentary for afterward and spend more time with actual live people.  But I can tell you this much.

There are going to be puppets.  And a sing-along.  And probably a sing-along with puppets.

Oh, I know - this makes it sound like we're not Serious Scholars, but trust me.  These people are scary-super-smart and the Slayage conference is one time in two years where puppets and enthusiasm don't need to be accompanied by an apology.  So I'm going to go blow off some steam with like-minded individuals and come back refreshed and recharged.

Onward!

Assemble!

With the May 4 release of The Avengers, the summer blockbuster season is officially underway.  Preliminary reports indicate that Avengers hasn't just broken the records for opening weekend receipts, it well-nigh shattered it.  The final Harry Potter film had held that record and early reports have Avengers topping the boy wizard by approximately $40 million.

Of course, box office receipts are no indication of quality.  Plenty of movies (Transformers, anybody?) make money by the boatload but aren't very good examples of storytelling.  Michael Bay can make things go "boom," but I've never been impressed with his stories or characters.  My second "of course" is that things that go "boom" can be a lot of fun and sometimes you just want to munch popcorn and detach.  In that case, go rent John Carter, which really wasn't that bad.

Avengers has been years in the making.  Literally.  Both Iron Man films, Hulk, and Thor all were leading up to this - a team picture.  Audiences got used to a teaser for the next film appearing in the credits and to seeing Clark Gregg's Phil Coulson pop up here and there to help tie things together.  Samuel L. Jackson was cast as Nick Fury - casting planned to the point of having the Nick Fury of the Avenger Ultimates world be drawn as Jackson.  Joss Whedon was tapped to write the screenplay* as well as direct and geekdom held its collective breath.  This was it.  Whedon was either going to rocket to glory (and sort of vicariously taking all of us who believed in him with him to the A list) or this was Not Going to Work.  It was not a sure thing.  Superhero movies can be tricky.  Large ensemble casts even more so.

It works.  It works!!  IT WORKS!!!  I felt a bit like Victor Frankenstein shouting to the heavens when the monster took its first breath.  It really IS alive!  (OK, it's not a perfect metaphor.  Work with me here.)

I don't say this purely as a fan of Whedon.  Most people know that I had my problems with Dollhouse which I found to be deeply, deeply flawed.  And Buffy has some plot holes and misfires.  Hey, you try doing seven seasons of hour-long television without the occasional misstep.  Everything that made me adore Whedon's work in the first place - it's in Avengers.  The dialogue is snappy, the visual puns are there, the characters snark and quibble and fight - and still get the job done.  Women are not weak, fragile things that must be saved (thank you for getting Black Widow right!) and the men are not surprised by women acting as equals.  Characters are drawn, not quick-sketched, and there's enough screen time to care about all of them (I, for one, was never really a Hawkeye fan.  Now I am).  Characters are fundamentally changed and yes, there's loss.  And hope.  And glory.  And at the end, not everything is okay because the world can't change that much and everything be okay.

Hollywood is notorious for copying success, so my hope is that the Suits will see beyond the explosions to the characters and decide that strong women aren't scary.  Think of that - a slew of movies with strong female characters.  There's still a ways to go - I do not think Avengers passes the Bechdel Test and Black Widow isn't on as much merchandising as Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, and Cap.  (Then again, neither is Fury or Hawkeye, so there's that.)

Go see The Avengers.  It's a big-screen movie, so see it there - and be sure to stay through ALL of the credits.  All of them, you hear me?

*Whedon shares the writing credit with Zak Penn, who's no slouch in his own right. (I like Alphas, for instance and am looking forward to the second season.)  Apparently, though Whedon didn't think much of Penn's original script.

Walter White Wednesday 9

. . . in which I digress from talking about the show to talking about the project.

As readers of this blog know, "Walter White Wednesday" is being done to support the upcoming book Wanna Cook? The Unofficial Guide to Breaking Bad.  A question I get asked a lot is some variation of "So how do you get a book published?"  Here's at least part of the answer.  Actual mileage may vary.

1. Everyone will tell you that it's all about luck.  It's not.  What it IS about is hard, grinding work done consistently.  Since it involves hard, grinding work done over a long period of time, for the love of all the angels, pick a topic you absolutely LOVE - you're going to be living with it for a long time.
2. For my first book, I became fixated on finding the answer to the question, "If  Joss Whedon's a hard-core atheist, how come he cares so much about redemption?"  Seriously - that one question got the whole ball rolling - and the answers I found surprised me.  I then started reading what other people had written, making notes on what I agreed with and where I thought people ignored the overall evidence to support only their own ideas.  Read the show sites, but also read the critical sites - trust me, there's a critical site (which features more academic writing and fewer straight recaps) for everything.  Whedon, science fiction, film, soap operas, commercials - everything is someone's darling to study.  Go find it.  Read, comment, and when something truly clicks for you (for me, it was the fact that I couldn't find the stuff I wanted to read, so I thought, Well, I'll write it myself.), it's time to start writing.  Writers write.  They don't sit on the couch and whine about how great they'd be if they only had a publishing contract.  You start writing without one.
3. Now you start presenting and getting your work out there into the world.  Regardless of what you're writing - fiction, poetry, non-fiction, criticism, you name it - you need a reader.  This is someone who will read your material critically.  Warning - they will, very occasionally, bruise your feelings.  But, if they're any good at all, their comments will make you a better writer.  Maintaining a blog or writing some sort of online column is also a great idea, but you have to be consistent about it (I think once a week is the absolute minimum yet you have to also be careful about how much you give away.)  
4. With a few posts and pages under your belt, it's time to see how your work stacks up.  Get on the list for a conference that caters to your area.  There are conferences for writers of romance novels, academic criticism, sportswriting, and so on.  I found popular culture conferences and I haven't looked back.  Go, meet people who write what you want to write, and go hear people who write in other areas, too.  When you're ready, present your own work - it'll usually be a 20 minute reading, so you don't have to have an entire manuscript done.  Ask questions.  Collect business cards.  Have coffee with people.  Go have dinner.  Grab a sandwich between sessions.  Most people are friendly and quite willing to talk about their work.  Also, in my experience, most of these people are funny and it's never a bad idea to spend time with such folk.

5.  Conferences also have publishing reps.  Look over the book tables and see what they brought with them.  Chat with the reps, who probably have a "so you want to send us a proposal?" handout with them.  You can get this information online, but it's good to wander and see who's publishing what.  Also, having ten minutes to just chat with someone in publishing about you and what you're interested in writing about - that's gold.  Thank them for their time and after you get home, drop anyone who was generous with their time or whose work you especially liked a quick note.  No - this probably won't fling open the doors of the publishing house; it's simply good manners.
6.  Now you write a proposal following the guidelines.  You make it strong, you make it pretty, and you accept that you probably won't get asked to the prom right off.  My first book, Faith & Choice in the Works of Joss Whedon (you've got that on your bookshelf, right?) came about with some major tweaking on the proposal.  It's a academic book - I'll never get rich off of it, but I wrote (or so I believe) a solid, well-researched, yet still readable book about a subject I cared a great deal about.  Further, the book has opened doors for me - as people read my work and heard me present, they kept me in mind for other projects.

It's not luck.  It's work and setting deadlines and making them and turning in work that doesn't have to be salvaged by an editor.  Learn the basics of grammar and don't be so sensitive to criticism that you don't let anyone read your work before you seek a wider audience.

I'm really enjoying co-writing the first part of Wanna Cook?  With the fifth and final season not airing as one unified season, I don't know what that's going to do to publication date - I imagine it's pushed back a bit, especially if the second half of Season 5 doesn't air until early (or, heaven forbid, mid-) 2013, but we'll have to see.  That's the other thing about writing - you have to roll with the punches, because - oh, boy! - there will be some.

Now go write!