Seers, Witches And Psychics On Screen

by Beeler, Karin

• ISBN13: 9780786433469
• ISBN10: 0786433469
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-11-01
• Publisher: McFarland Publishing

Summary

This book addresses the pervasive representation of women with unique visionary abilities in postfeminist television series and films from the 1990s to the present. Whether the female characters take the form of seer figures, witches, mediums, or women with the ability to see or know the future, these "women of vision" suggest unique ways of constructing female heroes as saviors in a postfeminist era. These women mediate between the living and the dead or between different worlds of experience, redefining what it means to be "normal" and challenging the traditional boundary between science and the inner world of visionary, mystical experience. History and myth mention many female visionaries, but Cassandra and Joan of Arc stand above the rest as the most imitated icons for modern "women of vision" in popular culture. Fittingly, the first two sections of this book offer an examination of several television series or films which use these legendary women as key prototypes or points of departure for their own heroines or protagonists. Section one includes a discussion of modern-day Cassandra figures, including the witches and other "seers" of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Charmed, Hex, and Tru Calling. Section two discusses modern television shows whose main characters represent a contemporary spin on Joan of Arc, including Joan of Arcadia and the short-lived Wonderfalls. Finally, section three investigates female mediums and other "psychic detectives" in reality television series such as Psychic Investigators and Rescue Mediums; the popular television dramas Medium, Ghost Whisperer, and Afterlife; and contemporary films such as Ghost, The Gift,and Premonition.

Author Biography

Karin Beeler is an associate professor in the English department at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George, Canada. She is also the author of Tattoos, Desire and Violence: Marks of Resistance in Literature, Film and Television (2006). She lives in Prince George.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Postfeminist Cassandras: Seers, "Witches" and Women Who Know the Future
Cheerleader/Seer: The Hybrid Visions of Cordelia Chase in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel	p. 25
The Transformation of River Tam: Psychic Warrior, Female Prodigy and Anti-Hero in Firefly and Serenity	p. 38
Phoebe and the Power of Sight: The Witch as Seer in Charmed	p. 49
Visions of the "Mad" Outsider in Hex: Cassandra, Witches and Lesbian Appetite	p. 61
Postfeminist Savior: Seeing the Future and Reliving the Day in Tru Calling	p. 70
Joan of Arc in Contemporary Television: Images of a Reluctant Seer
Teen Visions of God: Postfeminist Heroism and Genre Crossing in Joan of Arcadia	p. 82
Joan of Arc in Niagara Falls: Signs of a Seer and Cross-Cultural Contact in Wonderfalls	p. 93
Investigating the Dead: Mediums and Psychic Detectives
Psychic Women, "Dead" Men and the Search for Truth: Cross-Gender Communication in Ghost, The Gift and Premonition	p. 107
Rescue Mediums and Psychic Investigators: Television for Women and Paranormal Programming	p. 124
Resisting the Myth of the Bad Mother: Psychic Visions and Maternal Anxiety in NBC's Medium	p. 138
Looking for Closure: Investigating Mothers, Daughters and Disease in Ghost Whisperer	p. 151
A Medium's Visions of a Third Space: Finding Family in the U.K. Series Afterlife	p. 165
Conclusion	p. 177
Chapter Notes	p. 181
Bibliography	p. 195
Index	p. 203
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