Northampton Electronic Collection of Theses and Research

Becoming Echo: deterritorializing Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse

Starr, M. (2010) Becoming Echo: deterritorializing Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse. Paper presented to: The Slayage Conference on the Whedonverses 4 (SC4), St Augustine, Florida, USA, 03-06 June 2010. (Unpublished)

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Abstract: Joss Whedon’s science fiction television series Dollhouse (2009-2010) presents many conflicting philosophical arguments relating to the question of the relationship between body, mind and soul, which are essentially reducible to the question of ‘what makes someone a person?’ This paper explores the character of ‘Echo’ within the series, placing her as ‘becoming-other’ as viewed through the medium of the Post-Structuralist philosophical theory of Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995). Classical ontology treats the ‘self’ as a stable, bounded entity, but from the Deleuzian perspective the subject only has meaning dependent upon its relationship with other assemblages, which result in transformations and the potential for the development of new formations. This theoretical approach is hence ideally suited to the analysis of Dollhouse, where the very concept of ‘self’ is malleable and dependent upon external forces. Using the Deleuzian concept of ’Becoming’, the paper ultimately examines how Dollhouse confronts issues of subject, self and identity
Subjects: P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1992 Television broadcasts
P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN3427 Special kinds of fiction. Fiction genres > PN3433.5 Science fiction
Creators: Starr, Mike
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Faculty of Education & Humanities > English and Creative Writing
Faculties > Faculty of Education & Humanities > English and Creative Writing
Date: 3 June 2010
Date Type: Presentation
Event Title: The Slayage Conference on the Whedonverses 4 (SC4)
Event Dates: 03-06 June 2010
Event Location: St Augustine, Florida, USA
Event Type: Conference
Language: English
Status: Unpublished
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/3307

Actions (login required)

Edit Item Edit Item