Aristotle. Nietzsche. Buffy? The television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as other works by director and writer Josh Whedon, was the focus of a three-day academic conference held at Henderson State University earlier this month. The 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 4m at the college in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, US, 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.”
PHOTO: AP
Durand said more than 90 academic papers were discussed at the conference. About 150 people attended and discussed the vampire slayer and Whedon’s other works, like the television series Firefly and Angel. Another point of discussion was a lesser-known part of Whedon’s work — his screenplay for the hit animated film Toy Story.
Durand, who has also 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.(AP)
亞里斯多德、尼采還有芭菲？本月稍早，韓德森州立大學舉辦了一場為期三天的學術研討會，研討會主題是電視影集《魔法奇兵》和其他同樣由導演兼編劇喬許．威登創作的作品。由莎拉．蜜雪兒．吉蘭領銜主演的《魔法奇兵》在華納及派拉蒙電視網播出了七季，除了廣受影迷喜愛外，評論家也讚譽有加。
美國阿肯色州阿卡德爾費亞市韓德森州立大學哲學系副教授凱文．杜蘭說，這部影集播完後，從哲學觀點探討劇中角色友誼和女權主義的學術書籍如雨後春筍般出現，數量之多足以放滿校內一排四公尺長的書架。
杜蘭說：「這部影集的熱潮持續不退。就像我常告誡我哲學系的學生說：『問好問題比得到所有答案重要得多，我認為《魔法奇兵》就是這樣；這個影集決不會乖乖幫你解謎，而是讓你看了之後產生更多疑問。』」
杜蘭說，研討會中討論了超過九十份的學術論文，將近一百五十人齊聚一堂討論《魔法奇兵》及威登的其他作品如：電視影集《螢火蟲》和《夜行天使》。會中討論的另一個重點，是威登較鮮為人知的作品──熱門動畫電影《玩具總動員》的劇本。
杜蘭自己在前兩次《魔法奇兵》研討會中各發表了一篇論文，他的論文大多著重在影集中權力的安排。他說，這位虛構女英雄的力量來自旁人，而她也樂於和朋友攜手合作，打擊暗夜妖魔。（美聯社�翻譯：袁星塵）
cult 異教教派�集體崇拜 The word cult refers to a religious group that tends to be extremist. Its followers usually lead an unconventional life that most people outside the cult frown upon. For example, “If you join that cult they’re going to ask you to leave behind your family and friends.” Cult can also be used, like in the article above, to describe something enjoyed by a select group of people. For example, “The film Office Space bombed at the box office but went on to become a cult classic.” 「cult」這個字指的是極端的宗教團體，這個團體的信眾通常過著外界大多無法苟同的異常生活。例如：「如果你加入這個教派，他們會要求你拋棄你的家人和朋友」。 「cult」也可以用來形容一群特定人士特別喜歡的某事物（如上文中的用法）。例如：「《上班一條蟲》 這部電影票房奇慘，但它最後成為一部受歡迎的 經典作品」。
The US-Israeli war with Iran, which began on Feb. 28, has killed thousands of people, destabilized the Middle East and rocked global energy markets by effectively closing the strait. WHAT IS THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ? Lying between Oman and Iran and linking the Gulf north of it with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond, the strait is 33km wide at its narrowest point, with a shipping lane just 3km wide in either direction. Perhaps the world’s most important energy shipping channel, the waterway is about 167km long. Following through on an old threat, Tehran effectively closed the strait
A: Apart from the Thai Water Festival, Taiwan’s three major Matsu pilgrimages are among Asia’s largest annual folk activities. B: This year, “Baisha-ma” of the Baishatun Gongtian Temple in Miaoli County was the first to kick off her pilgrimage, with the deity departing on April 12 and returning on the 20. A: Then “Dajia-ma” of the Dajia Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung will set off next, departing tonight before midnight and returning on April 26. B: And what about “Beigang-ma” of Yunlin County’s Beigang Chao-tian Temple? When will she launch her procession? A: Typically, “Beigang-ma” begins her procession on the eve of her lunar
Have you ever found yourself desperately feeding coins into a claw machine just because you’ve already spent so much trying to win that stuffed animal? Or maybe you’ve continued watching a boring movie simply because you already paid for the ticket? If so, you’ve experienced the “sunk cost fallacy.” A sunk cost refers to time, money or effort that has already been spent and cannot be recovered. This psychological trap is surprisingly common. You might keep playing a video game you no longer enjoy because you’ve invested countless hours in building your character, or maintain a toxic friendship because you’ve known
When you twist open a bottle of carbonated water, bubbles rush out with a hissing sound. This drink is simply water infused with carbon dioxide (CO2) under pressure, giving it that fizz on your tongue. But this basic description barely scratches the surface of the carbonated water family. Although all carbonated waters are bubbly, slight differences set them apart. Seltzer is just plain water with artificial CO2—no minerals, no extras. Club soda includes added minerals such as sodium bicarbonate, which creates a slightly salty flavor. This makes club soda suitable for mixing with fruit juices. Sparkling water, on the
RSS