
Now I'm not going to discuss Joss's high level of integrity and dedication to quality that equals that of Pixar's. I'm not going to discuss his boundless creativity, originality, and media innovation. I'm not going to discuss his fully realized characters, immersive worlds and mythologies, or skills as a good old-fashioned storyteller. I'm not even going to discuss how his talents cross all media, from comic books, to cinema and TV, to music composition. I'm going to discuss the one thing that separates him from all other writers and contributors of pop culture: Joss Whedon knows that life really sucks.
No matter who you are, life is unrelentingly hard and filled with horrible, endless pain, but the moments and m

For example, let's look at Buffy The Vampire Slayer because it is the most blatant allegory for life. The Hellmouth-topping-town of Sunnydale and the constant stream of demons and evil forces that attack it are the fantasy manifestation of the problems and terrible crap that we must face ourselves every day. It is Buffy's destiny to be the protector. There are no loop holes, no way out, her job for the entirety of life is to destroy demons and keep evil at bay. This is not unlike our own lives i

In addition to the constant barrage of suffering we must face, Joss also knows what the most painful thing of all is, and he exploits it for our entertainment, captivation, and refle

Now I don't mean to be such a downer and I'm not just a painfully tortured person, in fact I've had a pretty damn good life compared to a lot of people and I'm very grateful for that, but I still face my demons, I still face the fear and and discontentment that life's problems never stop sen

I think Joss's incomparable understanding of the human condition is best summarized by lyrics from the musical Buffy episode, "Once More, With Feeling".
"Why is the path unclear,
When we know home is near.
Understand we'll go hand in hand,
But we'll walk alone in fear. (Tell me)
Tell me where do we go from here."

When we know home is near.
Understand we'll go hand in hand,
But we'll walk alone in fear. (Tell me)
Tell me where do we go from here."

I think that's pretty self explanatory. We are all searching for the ultimate contentment, our "home", our place in the universe, but we don't really know how to get there and we never will. No one knows what the future holds, but we're gonna get through it with the help of our loved ones, unfortunately, the pain is always gonna be there and only you can face yourself. 
So that is why Joss Whedon is on my shirt. That is why I truly respect and adore this man's work and can only hope to create something half as good. He expresses the painful reality of life in an earnest, non-condescending, and inspirational way that resonates with me and the millions of other Whedon-loving geeks out there. Joss is definitely one of the good things in this demon-ridden world.
Now I can't force you to be a Whedonite, all I can say is that I've never met someone who disliked his work that actually spent some time discovering it. Keep on fighting the good fight, I sure will. Until next time...

So that is why Joss Whedon is on my shirt. That is why I truly respect and adore this man's work and can only hope to create something half as good. He expresses the painful reality of life in an earnest, non-condescending, and inspirational way that resonates with me and the millions of other Whedon-loving geeks out there. Joss is definitely one of the good things in this demon-ridden world.
Now I can't force you to be a Whedonite, all I can say is that I've never met someone who disliked his work that actually spent some time discovering it. Keep on fighting the good fight, I sure will. Until next time...
"I will walk through the fire,
because where else can I turn.
I will walk through the fire,
and let it burn."
because where else can I turn.
I will walk through the fire,
and let it burn."
Joss is the best... shiny post!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog!!! I couldn't agree more. Buffy season 6 is by far my favorite simply for the reasons you listed. Nice to know someone out there in this crazy, frakked up world gets it.
ReplyDeleteShiny!
ReplyDeleteI too love Season 6, one of the most powerful explorations of loss, depression and survival ever made. It's not so light and quippy, and the apocalypse is self-made. Like life. Well said indeed!
Wonderful. Thank you. I just scared my dogs by yelling "a-HA!" when you said Buffy's Season Six was the best. As Joss himself summed up, for that season and all his work, "Life is the Big Bad."
ReplyDeletethis post alone makes me want to follow your blog :) I'm a lover of ALL things Joss for all the reasons you just summed up. But I think what I love about him most is his ability to find unexpected humor in moments where you wouldn't expect it (impending apocalypse for example!). Cheers fellow Whedonite!
ReplyDeleteWow, I just wrote this post to articulate to my Whedon-ignorant friends why Joss means so much to me, I didn't realize it would resonate in this way with the rest of the Whedon-loving community.
ReplyDeleteFizz over at Whedonesque has reminded me about Kitty Pryde's quote at the end of Astonishing X-Men and I would like to add it here as an addendum, because I think it caps off the article quite nicely.
"Everything is so fragile. There's so much conflict, so much pain... You keep waiting for the dust to settle and then you realize this is it: the dust is your life going on. If happy comes along, that weird, unbearable delight that's actual happy-- I think you have to grab it while you can. You take what you can get. Cause it's here, and then... gone"
You put into words what I feel about Joss Whedon but didn't know how express. Thanks for that :)
ReplyDeleteSo say we all!
ReplyDeleteseason six is the reason why i became a buffy fan.
ReplyDeleteWow, nice. I like it. You're even featured on Whedonesque. They tweeted the link as well, which is how I found you. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad to know someone else loves Joss just as much as I do!
He understands us all so well, and I love every second of it. Because,
"You know, if you look around, life occasionally doesn't suck."
you are speaking my language. i have this shirt and i wear it proudly. whedonites unite!!!
ReplyDeleteYou couldn't be more right! I've also tried to explain to many people why i am so devoted to everything joss whedon related and why i have been for so very long. And as I type this i am printing out this page and saying here read this and all will be explained! :D
ReplyDeleteFor most of his post-life period, Spike was in love with Dru and didn't hate her. The being in love with women he hates only really starts in the 3rd season.
ReplyDeletenext time someone asks me what the deal is with my shirt (yeah I have that same one) I'm just gonna pull out a copy of this blog then :D
ReplyDeleteI also have this shirt and am proud to wear it, no matter how crazy my friends and family think I am. Think I'll print this off and carry it with me so I have it ready next time someone asks "Why?"
ReplyDeleteThank you for expressing what so many of us have known but were unable to express ourselves. Thank you, thank you. I must share your blog post with the rest of the Whedon-verse.
ReplyDeleteTake my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
There's no place I can be
Since I found Serenity
But you can't take the sky from me...