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"I Made a Promise to a Lady": Critical Legal Pluralism as Improvised Law in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

W.A. Adams

Published: 2010-05-06

This article analyzes "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," a popular television series, in order to explore the concept of critical legal pluralism as improvised law. The series provides numerous examples of the improvised nature of law as the social construction of legal meaning. Spike is an evil vampire, yet viewers readily accept a character arc in which Spike, motivated by chivalry, vows to protect a human being even at the expense of his own existence.

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...the innovative working models of improvisation developed by creative practitioners have helped to promote a dynamic exchange of cultural forms, and to encourage new, socially responsive forms of community building across national, cultural, and artistic boundaries.

– Ajay Heble