Meta Essays

A meta essay, or meta (short for meta-analysis) refers to an essay that explores the text of a show in more detail than an episode review or recap. Broader themes, or deeper analysis are investigated, often with supporting evidence in the form of screencaps, pictures or charts.

See Picspams for links to graphics based meta, which use images from the Show, alongside, or instead of text.

Meta Communities

The Supernatural community spn_heavymeta on Livejournal is dedicated to providing a platform for metaists and readers alike. In the first two seasons of Supernatural, the community followed a set regime, where members would submit essays for each episode on Dean, Sam and John. After Season Two this structure was abandoned, and the community simply provided a central place for people to link to their metas.

Communities which focus on analysing fandom itself include Meta Fandom and Fanthopology which tracks mentions of fandom in the media.

The forums on Television Without Pity and supernatural.tv as well as blogs like The Winchester Family Business often contain meta-ish discussion, as do the comments sections on many media sites.

Famous aca-fan Henry Jenkins has written about Supernatural.

Some of us really do watch for the plot was published in 2007 through Cafe Press and was the first collection of fan meta on Supernatural.

In 2009, Benbella Books published In the Hunt: Unauthorized Essays on Supernatural.

In March 2010, the online journal "Transformative Works and Culture" published a special Supernatural issue.

Meta Essays

This is a selection of meta essays, primarily drawn from LiveJournal.

Dean

• Dean's Arrested Development by noelq
• Dean as Combat Commander by ladyraiden
• Good Dean Hunting by astri13
• Who's in Charge here: Dean in Wendigo by dotfic
• Still a long way to go: Dean in Home by karaadora
• If you love someone set them free: Dean in Shadows by marinarusalka
• Dean in Route 666 by anteka
• If that's what it takes: Dean in Dead Man's Blood by jewelgalantine
• Dean in Croatoan by blackcat333_99
• Holding out for a hero: Dean in NightShifter by slaysvamp
• Fear of irrelevance: Dean in In My Time Of Dying by ataniell93
• Freudian analysis of Dean by sarahwilder
• Dean's relationship to food by ash48

Sam

• Sam in Season 1 by dunkle_feuer
• Is Sammy selfish or functional ? by dodger-winslow
• I had a crappy guidance counselor: Sam in Asylum by estel_willow
• The end of innocence: Sam in Home by morgan32
• Daaaad: Sam in dead Man's Blood by astri13
• Carry on my wayward son: Sam in Salvation by candygramme
• Allowance for us all: Sam in Everybody Loves A Clown by sargraf
• My turn to fall apart: Sam in Playthings by marinarusalka
• True Believer: Sam in Houses of the Holy by dodger_winslow
• The killer in me: Sam in Croatoan by missyjack
• Sam Winchester as Chewbacca by blackjedii
• Sam in Season 3 by girlwonder
• Sam in Season 4 by quarterwhore
• Why Sam is not going darkside but he may end up wearing spandex by missyjack
• Rockstars, hunters and addiction by fannishliss

John Winchester

• John in Season One by phantomas
• The John Winchester Parenting Handbook by ellipsisblack
• On the dangers of normal: John in the Pilot by deannie
• Choices and consequences: John in Something Wicked by sargraf
• John in Home by dotfic
• Fallen warrior: John in Everbody Loves a Clownby morgan32
• The vanishing act in reverse: John in Shadows by phantomas
• Cast a giant shadow: John in Asylum by astri13
• John's digression from champion to adversary by kinda_tempted

The Winchesters

• It's all about the Sam, the Dean, the Dad, the Demon by dodger-winslow
• Hugging & brotherly love: a comparison of the way brothers relate in Supernatural, Heroes & Prison Break by silver_spotted
• Alpha, beta & omega: Pack order in the Winchesters by technosage
• Oedipal narrative in Supernatural by angstslashhope
• You're not my brother: Insights into the boys' relationship through Skin and Asylum by angstslashhope
• The blunt instrument and the sharp: Sam and Dean in Mystery Spot by spiderine
• Sam vs. Daddy by ahania
• Redemption narratives and kissing by missyjack
• Vessels, and shared responsibility by destina
• Sam and Dean's transformative love story by Catherine Tosenberger
• Tension, Conflict, Motivation, and Plot: Why the Story is About Dean & We Do Know Sam by bowtrunckle
• Dean's capability and Sam's morality by eilonwy
• Sam and Dean and Me: codependence in Supernatural by vichan
• The tragedy of Sam and Dean by affectingly

Castiel

• A boy and his angel by karenmiller
• Where Do Castiel's Loyalties Lie ? by darksilvercat
• Castiel: An Angel in the trenches by Amanda Spedding
• Castiel's character meta by sistermagpie
• Jimmy: The man behind the curtain by seahorse-4215
• The evolution of Castiel's humanity by missyjack

Other Characters

• Then and Now by blackcat333_99
• Hunter and hunted: Jo in Born Under a Bad Sign by missyjack
• Long arm of the law: FBI Agent Hendrickson in Night Shifter by marinarusalka
• You can't choose your family: Bobby and Ellen as mentors by mahoni
• Why Gordon is more than just a killer: Gordon in Bloodlust by phantomas
• Sam and the Trickster in Mystery Spot by makishef
• Ruby & Castiel as avatars for aspects of Sam and Dean by missyjack
• Better the devil you know: illustrated meta on Ruby through seasons 3 & 4 by missyjack
• Illustrated meta on Anna by tirra-lyrra

Mytharc Meta

• Good and Evil in Supernatural (Supernatural panel held at Escapade 2006, a fan-run convention)
• Sam, John and the Demon by destina
• The possibilities of Sam Winchester by fuoror_scribiend
• The Winchester Guide to Demonology by hoovooloo_too
• Angels, spirits, spirits and planetary talismans by reasearchgrrl
• A Cowboy, a Hero, and a Chevy Impala: American Mythology in Supernatural by aislinamara
• Season 3 Episodes 15 & 16 - An analysis of Sam and Dean's contract by stare-at-walls
• Meta analysis on Season 3 by albydarned
• On The Head Of A Pin: there's no going back by bardicvoice
• Questions on the angel hierarchy by schmevil
• Supernatural: Paving the Way for The New World/Testament by cugami

The Impala

• The Imapala as a mirror for Dean's emotional state by anteka
• Meta-llicar: muscle car meta by missyjack

Supernatural & Its Visuals

• Kripke and His Camera: Pastels, Flowers, and Symbolism in WIAWSNB
• Blue Velvety Smoothness: Visual references in WIAWSNB
• Red Demons and Yellow Psychics: Color Association and their Role in Supernatural's Visual Language Part 1
• Red Demons and Yellow Psychics: Color Association and their Role in Supernatural's Visual Language Part 2 (This part focuses on Sam and his connection to demons)
• The Supernatural Color Wheel by hearseeno
• The Angel in the House: On the Presence of a Higher Power by sadelyrate
• Supernatural Title Cards and the 5 elements by blacklid
• Supernatural Title Cards and their meanings by meiou-set
• Visual Tropes and Call-Backs in Early Season 5 Episodes by hearseeno
• Statues in Supernatural by tirra-lyrra
• The Balance of Red & Blue: Color Symbolism in context of Fate & Free Will in Season 5 by zimsham
• The Writing On The Wall: a study of the graffiti in The End by andreth47

Gender and Sexuality

• Manly man in TVLand: Gender in Supernatural by astri13
• Less Campy: comparisons of gender depictions in Buffy and Supernatural by monkeycrackmary
• A feminist take on Supernatural by fanishliss
• Masculinity in Supernatural by lefefuge
• Macho vs masculinity by sasha-davidovna
• Some Considerations (in defense) of Supernatural's Malleus Maleficarum from a Feminist by crossroads_lore
• Something about Mary by spg
• Hell hath no fury like a woman born by deadbeat_nymph
• Daddy, would you like some sausage ?: Oedipal narrative in Supernatural by angstslashhope
• Latchkey Hero: Masculinity, Class and the Gothic in Eric Kripke's Supernatural by Julia M. Wright
• The Story of My (non) Existence: Bisexuals and Genre Television by chasingtides
• The Women of Supernatural by Mike Elrod
• "Well, you are kind of butch": the bisexuality of Dean Winchester by waterofthemoon
• Commentary on the "Women's Work" Fanvid by fan-eunice
• Women's Art and "Women's Work" (Essay on the gendered nature of vidding and, in particular, examining "Women's Work", a fanvid by Luminosity and Sisabet & how it examines the portrayal of women in Supernatural)
• Characters Count Analysis of Supernatural Season 1 (Statistics by episode on the number of characters who speak and/or die and who are female and/or of color and whether the episodes pass the Bechdel & race-Bechdel tests, with notes)
• Tosenberger, Catherine: "The Epic Love Story of Sam and Dean".Supernatural, queer readings, and the romance of incestuous fan fiction, in "Journal of Transformative Works and Cultures", Volume I, 2008
• HOYAY! "Supernatural": Coded gays, slashfic bait and Wincest, oh my! on After Elton
• Supernatural recap on Facebook by Michael Jensen on After Elton
• Has Slash made the world better for gay men? on After Elton
• Looking at Dean Winchester: The Gaze In Supernatural by missyjack
• Gender bias in Supernatural: a tally of deaths and survival by gender by ash48 and bythedamned

Class

• Supernatural and economic instability by amonitrate

Ethnicity

• Regional accents in Supernatural by ethrosdemon
• Race in Supernatural by The Angry Black Woman blogsite
• Judaism in Supernatural by hagar-972

Music
Music (Original Score) (meta on themes and motifs in the music score by zimsham)

• Top fifteen music moments on Supernatural by quidditchkiss
• Chasing Rabbits: On the use of "White Rabbit" in the teaser to Hunted by gigglingkat
• Other music metas by gigglingkat

Miscellaneous

• Somebody save me: the point of view of people in peril on the boys by astri13

• Free will & determinism in the Supernatural universe by technosage
• The long arm of the law by silver_spotted
• “Why do I hafta be some kind of hero ?": A Hero’s Journey Analysis of Supernatural by kentawolf
• Politics in Supernatural by Lyric Ron
• How the writers' strike affected Season 3 by percysowner
• The Viewers Guide to the Pilot by bowtrunckle & hugemind (with emphasis on cinematography)
• Repeated language by weesta
• Brains trumps legs: Disability in Supernatural by chasingtides
• Vampires as a metaphor for denial in Supernatural by redrikki
• Comparisons between Supernatural and Constantine by blackbetrayal
• Chakras in Supernatural by meret

Fandom & Fanfiction

• Move over alpha geeks, here come the fangrrls Portrayal of the many facets of fandom, particularly Supernatural
• Navigating The Supernatural Online Fandom: A Great Hiatus Time Killer by Alice Jester
• Still Alive Fanvid meta on the Supernatural fandom
• A box of mirrors, a unicorn, and a pony by missyjack
• What we write - an analysis of genres and pairings, and changing trends in Supernatural Fanfic from 2005-2009