Prompts for Response Paper #1

Prompts for Response Paper #1:

Due Tuesday, January 25 in class (and before class on turnitin.com)

1)      Discuss how either DeLusé’s “More Than Entertainment” or Wilcox’s “Love and Loss: It’s Not Over” demonstrate what Joseph Harris would call “rewriting.” You might consider, for instance, how either essay “rewrites” traditional academic discourse, rewrites the “Whedon-verse,” etc.

2)      Evaluate/critique either DeLusé or Wilcox’s essay. In short, make an argument about the value/merit of the essay and defend your thesis. You can focus on the entire essay or a particular section/facet you found compelling (or not at all compelling).

3)      How do the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes “Surprise” and “Innocence” represent their own form of rewriting?

4)      DeLusé writes about how Joss Whedon’s shows and movies have served as a sort of therapy for her. She explains, “…by unearthing hidden issues and bringing the worms into the light, we invite a phase of growth that lets us take power from the very things we once hid, or hid from. And that’s something thoughtful entertainment…can help us do if we let it in” (156). Write about a specific text (TV, book, movie) that has worked that way for you. (You do not have to be terribly confessional!)

5)      DeLusé also writes about “reflexive empathy”—how we can understand our own lives better “through carefully considering the lives of others” (158). Write about a way that a fictional character has allowed you to understand your own life better.

6)      Wilcox points out that “Surprise” and “Innocence” operate on two levels: a sort of mythic/hero level (hero on a journey loses someone she cares about) and a personal level (girl sleeps with a boy and he turns into a jerk afterwards). Talk about this trope (or tropes). (This one is wide open…)