What Echo's Journey to Self-Awareness Tells Us About the Human Soul

by Oluwafemi Morohunfolaon Dollhouse

“Forty-eight personalities, each with its own rich
history, and none of it tells me anything . . . I know
you’re all very invested in your vaunted technology,
and it is very impressive, but I still don’t believe you
can wipe away a person’s soul.”

–Paul Ballard (“Omega,” 1-12)

Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse calls into question the common
conception of self and forces us to ask difficult questions
regarding philosophy, psychology, and human existence. In the
Dollhouse universe, what defines people as individuals? What
makes them anything other than bodies waiting for identities?
How much are they capable of changing? Are they the sum of
memories and experiences, or is there more to them than just
the electrical signals moving around in their brains?

Dollhouse created a world where technology could be used
to remove a person’s personality and memories and store them
on a piece of computer equipment. This allowed for the possibility
of people being erased, … read more»

Recent Free Essays (Still Available!)

Available Until
Mon 6/25

Your Guide to the Real Stars Hollow Business World

by Sara Morrisonon Gilmore Girls

From the hospital in a town that only has one stoplight to its geographically impossible distance from Hartford and New Haven, Stars Hollow has never claimed to have its feet firmly planted in reality. Rather, it thrives in a land of fiction, where Bridgeport (one of the scariest cities ever) … read more»

Available Until
Fri 6/22

Dear Magneto

by Adam-Troy Castroon the X-Men

24 Aug 2005

Attn: Mr. Erik Lehnsherr
Satellite M
Constant Orbit above Cities of Man
Marvel-Earth, Multiverse

Dear Erik:

First off, I want to thank you for taking time from your busy schedule of fi ghting superheroes, soliloquizing and plotting the overthrow of human civilization long enough to read these few words by … read more»

Available Until
Thu 6/21

The Adaptive, the Maladaptive, and the Mal-Adaptive

by Nicholas R. Eaton, Robert F. Kruegeron shows created by Joss Whedon

Although Firefly lasted only one season, it was filled with so much information that viewers could get quite an education. Those interested in learning interplanetary diplomacy, the art of seduction, or how to curse in Mandarin were not disappointed, and the breadth and detail of the Firefly universe allowed audience … read more»

Available Until
Wed 6/20

Bonnie Bennett: A New Kind of Best Friend

by Bree Despainon The Vampire Diaries

As an author of teen fiction, there are many things I
absolutely love about my job: meeting new people,
spending all day creating fictional boys for my readers to
crush on, and developing whole new mythologies inside my
head. But I have to say that one … read more»