Fighting the Forces explores the struggle to create meaning in an impressive example of popular culture, the television series phenomenon "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." In the essays collected here, contributors examine the series using a variety of techniques and viewpoints. They analyze the social and cultural issues implicit in the series and place it in its literary context, not only by examining its literary influences (from German liebestod to Huckleberry Finn) but also by exploring the series' purposeful literary allusions.