Re-Entering the Dollhouse

Heather M. Porter is a Los Angeles based television producer and independent scholar. Michael Starr is an associate professor in film and screen studies at the University of Northampton, United Kingdom.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Welcome to the FutureMichael Starr and Heather M. PorterPart I: Society and Self“Now that we have a black president”: White Feminism, ­Post-Raciality, and the Curious Case of Boyd LangtonMary Ellen Iatropoulos“The body doesn’t matter, it’s the mind that we want”: Examining and Critiquing Contemporary Socioeconomic and -political Structures Through Rossum and the FrameworkErin M. GianniniRipley, Alice, and Echo: Corporate Malfeasance and the Female BodySherry Ginn“We’re also misunderstood, which great humanitarians often are”: Examining the Intelligence and Wisdom of the Mad Scientist Topher BrinkHeather M. PorterPart II: Philosophy and TechnologyEarning a Place on the Ark: Evolution, Ethics, and EpitaphsMadeline MuntersbjornFrom Androids to Actives: Death of Identity and the Legacy of TechnicismThomas D. Parham IIIAgencied Objects: Locations of the Technodomestic ­Object-I in the WhedonversesJuliette C. Kitchens“How does it feel to end the world?”: The Dark Ecology of the DollhouseMichael StarrPart III: Form and FunctionWhat You Don’t Know Won’t Hurt You? Constructive Omissions in the Title MusicJanet K. HalfyardFriday Night Rites: The Posthuman Hero’s Tale in the Television NarrativeDevon E. Anderson“You cannot possibly stop them alone”: The Formula Conspiracy Story, the Monomyth, and Whedon’s Complicated HeroicsStephen G. Melvin“Tell me about the Dollhouse”: The Impact of Promotional Paratexts on Audience ReceptionTanya R. CochranPart IV: Influences and Allusions“I’m awake now”: Female Cyborgs, ­Self-Awareness, and (Qualified?) Rebellion in Dollhouse and WestworldEve Bennett“To grow, we all need to suffer”: Memory and Trauma as the Path to PersonhoodJeana Jorgensen and Keegan L. MillsLost, Not Gone: The Haunted (Doll)HouseCatherine PughPod People, Zombies, Dolls: Fear and Anxiety in I Am Legend, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and DollhouseCharmaine TantiAppendix 1: Dollhouse Episode ListAppendix 2: Westworld Episode List, Cited in TextAppendix 3: Whedon Television Episode List, Cited in TextAppendix 4: Whedon Filmography, Cited in TextAbout the ContributorsIndex

“[T]his collection is a welcome addition to Whedon studies in general and to the study of [the] often-neglected series Dollhouse in particular.”—Elizabeth L. Rambo, associate professor of English, Campbell University