Mapping Smallville: Critical Essays on the Series and Its Characters - Paperback

by Cory Barker (Editor), Chris Ryan (Editor), Myc Wiatrowski (Editor)

One of the first full-length academic projects on the television series Smallville, this collection of new essays explains why the WB/CW series is important to understanding contemporary popular culture. The essays are presented in four sections covering broad categories: Clark Kent's metamorphosis to Superman and the influence of his parents and the home; the role of the series' noteworthy female characters; the series' representations of the Other, explorations of identity, and the ways in which characters speak to Clark's own struggles; and audience reception of the series and its position within the Superman narrative universe.

Author Biography

Cory Barker is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Communication & Culture at Indiana University. His writing has appeared in Vox, Complex, The A.V. Club, and other publications. He lives in Peoria, Illinois. Chris Ryan is an editor and social media researcher in Austin, Texas. Myc Wiatrowski is an analyst of business and culture and associate instructor in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University in Bloomington.