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Freedom and Firefly
AFF's Brainwash ^ | Aug 7, 2005 | Sara T. Hinson

Posted on 08/08/2005 7:28:50 PM PDT by 68skylark

At its best, science fiction advocates liberty. While Star Trek lamentably supported a "Federation knows best" mentality, other works like Star Wars and Robert Heinlein's novels have promoted the dissolution of central rule and the triumph of the individual. For the science fiction writer, space means one thing: freedom. Like the Wild West where men made their own rules and property rights were enforced at the end of a landowner's shotgun, space has afforded the hope that one day man can move beyond the reach of any government's oppressive hand.

No recent T.V. series understands this better than Fox's Firefly, the tragically cancelled masterpiece spawned from the mind of Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel. Firefly was critically acclaimed, but sadly mismanaged and was cancelled after only eleven episodes aired in 2002. But thanks to DVD sales, Firefly has maintained a steady popularity. It currently ranks at 49 among DVDs on Amazon.com after seventeen months since its release.

The story of the series follows a smuggling ship captained by Malcolm (Mal) Reynolds. Mal and his first mate Zoe fought in the great galactic civil war as Independents resisting the unification of all the planets under the rule of the great behemoth, the Anglo-Sino Alliance. Ultimately crushed by the boot of empire, Mal buys a spaceship that can give him the freedom the Alliance threatens to steal. He tells Zoe that with the ship, "[We] never have to be under the heel of nobody ever again. No matter how long the arm of the Alliance might get, we'll just get a little further." And one gets the feeling that, while Mal, Zoe, and the other independents lost the battle, they will never give up the war.

Naming his ship Serenity, Mal takes on a crew, which includes a pilot, a mechanic, a mercenary, a preacher, a prostitute, and a fugitive doctor and his sister. A diverse band whose crimes almost solely revolve around a desire for freedom, the crew of Serenity must endlessly dodge the ever-looming presence of the Alliance that threatens to close them down. The series' central theme seems to concern the ineptitude of strong central government and its tendency to oppress and stifle rather than free or secure. As Mal says, "That's what governments are for, [to] get in a man's way."

Through Mal and his crew Whedon asks us to consider: What does freedom mean when the nearest government agent could be millions of miles away? Like the nineteenth century American West, civilization on the outer rim of the "verse" depends not on bureaucracy, but on natural law and contracts.

Precisely because the centralized law is the very force that Serenity escapes, Mal must hold his ship afloat through a very rigorous sense of duty and loyalty; his crew is his life, and to defend them, he would do just about anything. Because of their basic human decency, Mal and his crew embody the responsible spirit of freedom. Here are some of Firefly's foundations for liberty, the foundations Mal upholds:

Trade should be uninhibited. Operating under the precepts of free trade, Mal is a principled smuggler; while the government places barriers on trade, Mal believes the smuggling he does is honest work. As he tells a prospective client who is apprehensive about dealing with supposedly dishonest smugglers, "Seems to me there's nothing dishonest about getting goods to people that need 'em." That philosophy extends to mud, medical supplies, and in one delightful episode, cattle.

The best protection is self-defense. Everyone in Whedon's universe is armed and ready to fight at the first sign of trouble; after all, if the government is too far away to protect you, or if it is itself the aggressor, someone must take up arms. Even the resident preacher will. As he says, while the Bible may be specific about killing, "It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps."

Prostitution is just another way to earn a living. Inara, the ship's prostitute, lends the band of smugglers "a certain respectability." Prostitutes, or companions as they are known in the story, are a highly organized, highly selective group of cultured and trained women. They are not forced into their work and carefully choose each of their clients out of a screened registry.

The government is not always benevolent. The fugitive doctor, Simon, and his sister River are running from the Alliance. River was the subject of a government experiment and Simon helped her escape when he discovered the danger she was in. It is unclear what the government was trying to accomplish with the teenage girl, but what is clear is that River is left damaged, violated, and afraid.

Contracts must be honored. On the outer rim of the Alliance, no government entity is accessible to uphold contracts or settle disputes. Even when dealing with clearly immoral and corrupt clients, Mal is sure to either provide the service he agreed to or return the money he was paid. Without such basic principle, the outer planets fall into lawlessness, and the Alliance might feel the need to step in and regulate; by honoring contracts, the outer rim stays free.

The ship Serenity may represent freedom, but those of us who seek it on television are out of luck for the time being. Thanks to poor scheduling, Firefly was canceled before the end of its first season, and while episodes can still be seen on DVD, no new revelations have emerged in the past three years regarding many of the story's mysteries.

But there is hope. On September 30th of this year, a full-length feature film entitled (what else?) Serenity will take up, once again, the story of Malcolm Reynolds and his crew. Set six months after the final episode, the movie picks up right where the last show left off, with Serenity still existing at the edge of the 'verse and evading the not-so-omnipresent Alliance. Like the best of science fiction, Joss Whedon's Firefly is a tale of freedom and self-reliance. Here's hoping Serenity carries on with those themes.

Sara T. Hinson is a freelance writer and is the assistant director of a fellowship program in Washington, D.C.


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To: lepton
Firefly fit the constraints of TV so well, I worry that it won't translate well. It is also very detailed and ongoing...not generally the flash that can be folded into two-hour movie and then left with nothing for a few years.

I know what you mean. On the other hand, Whedon has been very successful at writing for movies as well as for TV. (He was involved with writing Toy Story, for example -- one of the better movies ever done IMHO.)

So I think he knows the differences, and will probably do very well.

101 posted on 08/10/2005 2:09:05 PM PDT by 68skylark
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To: jalisco555
BTW, I first heard of Firefly right here on FR. Fox did a miserable job marketing and scheduling this show.

After catching an episode at a friend's house, I actively watched for the commercials, and didn't see a one until after the cancellation announcement. It was pathetic.

102 posted on 08/10/2005 2:32:11 PM PDT by lepton ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
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To: Starter
On a more serious topic, I vaguely recall an interview with Joss where he stated something to the effect that he only had two hours to play with in the movie,

That is my worry - the difference in formats.

103 posted on 08/10/2005 2:34:48 PM PDT by lepton ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
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To: papertyger

My favorite was this exchange when Jayne was trying to trade his gun for the Captain's new wife:

J: It's miles more worthy than what you got!
M: What I got? She has a name.
J: So does this. I call it Vera.


104 posted on 08/10/2005 2:45:04 PM PDT by Modernman ("A conservative government is an organized hypocrisy." -Disraeli)
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To: John O
Thank you . I wasn't sarcastic either but I understand your meaning.
105 posted on 08/10/2005 5:29:54 PM PDT by EsmeraldaA
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To: EsmeraldaA
Thank you . I wasn't sarcastic either but I understand your meaning.

Now you've *really* got my curiosity peaked. If you comment wasn't sarcasm, then it what sense is it an expression of 'humour'?

106 posted on 08/10/2005 6:59:53 PM PDT by papertyger (There's nothing worse than a monster that thinks he's right with God. -- Mal Reynolds)
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To: Modernman

Jayne is my favorite personality of the ensemble. I really don't think that particular character could exist without the unique talents of both the writer and the actor.

Somehow, Baldwin manages to communicate it is Jaynes very lack of moral certainty that causes him to submit to, and draw strength from, Reynolds...even though the direction consistantly shows Jayne is a much more imposing fighter than Mal.

I don't know how the hell you even imagine, then write for such a convoluted dynamic: let alone approach 'playing' it.

I had to admit real admiration for the director during the "train robbery" episode. My wife was watching it for the first time, and in the barfight scene once Mal and Zoe are knocked outside the bar, my wife had just barely finished saying the words "where is that other sorry bastard" when Jayne comes busting through the front door beating the hell out of *three* of the local toughs.

Now that's timing!


107 posted on 08/10/2005 7:26:50 PM PDT by papertyger (There's nothing worse than a monster that thinks he's right with God. -- Mal Reynolds)
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To: lepton
Yeah. Space: Above and Beyond mangled military stuff too, as I recall

Oh good Lord...their idea of 'military' on that show was an embarrassment. That's what killed the show for me. They were *so* flagrantly ignorant of anything that could be called a 'military bearing' that, to me, in constituted disparaging treatment.

108 posted on 08/10/2005 7:44:35 PM PDT by papertyger (There's nothing worse than a monster that thinks he's right with God. -- Mal Reynolds)
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To: lepton

What are these "Travellers?"


109 posted on 08/10/2005 7:45:54 PM PDT by papertyger (There's nothing worse than a monster that thinks he's right with God. -- Mal Reynolds)
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To: papertyger

Traveller is a Sci-Fi based roleplaying game by Marc Miller that came out in the 70s, and has gone through several iterations.


110 posted on 08/10/2005 7:49:07 PM PDT by lepton ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
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To: Tarantulas
In the episode where they stole the vaccine from the train, Mal was threatened by a bad guy, so in response he kills the guy. To me it symbolizes the current "anything goes" society where people are encouraged to manufacture their own morality and nothing is every purely right or wrong.

Wow! I couldn't disagree with your analysis more.

Initially, all Mal knew was the mark was an 'Alliance' shipment. As the Alliance is shown to be little more than an organized kleptocracy, I can see what would attract him to take the job.

Next, Mal returns the vaccine once he finds out it's not the Alliance that's being hurt by the theft.

Finally, the thug he killed typified to me the mentality of the criminal who presumes to use a moral person's conscience as a weapon against him. The thug drew first blood, and after being beaten is so presumptuous and conceited as to make threats from a position that is clearly dependent on the mercy of his captor. He even draws himself up during his little monologue in an attempt to intimidate Mal.

In my mind, that made him nothing more than a two legged attack dog to be put down immediately. Only a fool would allow him to live in the context where there is no intervening authority to keep him in check.

Mal Reynolds hardly typifies the "anything goes society," but rather, the simplicity and moral clarity of unapologetic belief in the classical notion of "natural law."

111 posted on 08/10/2005 8:19:06 PM PDT by papertyger (There's nothing worse than a monster that thinks he's right with God. -- Mal Reynolds)
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To: papertyger
I just hope whatever vehicle is used to further the Firefly mythos doesn't get hijacked from the spirit of the original series.

I'll second that. To be honest, I don't like the fact that they are making a MOVIE of Firefly, I would much prefer that the Sci-Fi channel or someone else pick up the series and keep it on TV, where it belongs. Movies are what you make when a series is coming to an end, not something to further it.....but then ya never know....

I remember that conceited little pimple Harlan Ellison tried to remake Star Trek in City on the Edge of Forever. He wanted to make Bones a druggy or insane IIRC.

Just saw that 'Forever' episode just a few days ago! I own the original series on DVD. Whatever Harlan's motivation was, 'Forever" is one of the best Star Trek episodes ever.

Then there was the Section 31 book that was an explicit attempt by the author to make the Star Trek universe homosexual-friendly.

In general, the sci-fi community is one of the most truly tolerant of any groups, despite whatever political or religioius background they might come from. Unfortunately, because of this tolerance, those with more leftist leanings use it as a means of furthering their agenda. For instance, H.G.Wells was way left of center, and I believe Alduos Huxley was too...but they were certainly brilliant writers!)

If Firefly can stick to its original premises, who can tell how far it will go?

Shoot, I'd be happy if we could just get a full TV season out of it!

Yet I understand your point: there's a lot of potential in that series that is yet to be exploited, especially with the characters "River" and "The Shepherd." They could also pickup an occassional new passenger from time to time, just to keep things really interesting. And then there's the relationship between Mal and Inara....

Shoot, there's at least a couple of years worth of material there...

112 posted on 08/10/2005 8:50:07 PM PDT by Ronzo (GOD created the universe to keep scientists fully employed...)
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To: papertyger
You don't fix what ain't broke. And according to Shepard Book..."you don't 'fix' the Bible." Let's hope that goes for the show bible too.

I love that quote....and the episode that it came from! If I remember correctly, that comes from the hillarious "Jaynestown" episode, when River was trying to fix all the errors in Shepherd's Bible....

113 posted on 08/10/2005 8:55:30 PM PDT by Ronzo (GOD created the universe to keep scientists fully employed...)
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To: lepton
My favorite line there is where Jayne is rifling through Simon's stuff and making up mocking diary entries. It was the best day ever!

Oh that was good! Jayne does get a lot of fun dialogue, and so does Kaylee. I think it was in the Jaynestown episode where Kaylee offers this cute fare-well to Inara as she's about to do some companioning: "Have good sex!"

114 posted on 08/10/2005 9:04:24 PM PDT by Ronzo (GOD created the universe to keep scientists fully employed...)
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To: Ronzo
Whatever Harlan's motivation was, 'Forever" is one of the best Star Trek episodes ever.

Ya know, that's the consensus opinion on 'Forever', but I can still clearly remember even as a child 'Forever' was one of the few episodes of ST that would invariably cause me to change the channel that day.

That may not sound like much until you know the market I grew up in had ST as a staple. I watched ST five nights a week for over ten years, and it's as much a part of my childhood as the home I grew up in.

The other one I disliked was the 'Nomad' episode, but I strongly suspect my dislike for it was more because they overplayed that one so much.

Hell, I liked 'Spock's Brain' better than 'Forever'.

115 posted on 08/10/2005 9:11:19 PM PDT by papertyger (There's nothing worse than a monster that thinks he's right with God. -- Mal Reynolds)
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To: Ronzo

I love the one from "Heart of Gold" where Kaylee wants Wash to tell her she's pretty.

Wash: If I were not a married man, I'd take you in a manly fashion.

Kaylee: Cause I'm pretty?

Wash: Cause you're pretty.


116 posted on 08/10/2005 9:22:05 PM PDT by papertyger (There's nothing worse than a monster that thinks he's right with God. -- Mal Reynolds)
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To: papertyger

I liked the scenes where Wash and then Zoe are being interrogated by the Alliance after they rescue the guy from the abandoned ship - and their utterly different responses.

And in "Our Mrs. Reynolds" where Wash thoroughly managed to resist.


117 posted on 08/10/2005 10:24:32 PM PDT by lepton ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
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To: lepton

Zoe (in total deadpan): Take me sir. Take me hard.

;-D


118 posted on 08/10/2005 10:32:13 PM PDT by papertyger (There's nothing worse than a monster that thinks he's right with God. -- Mal Reynolds)
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To: Caesar Soze

I think she meant "Star Trek" not "Star Wars". Although frankly I saw the whole theme of "Star Wars" is we'll get rid of the big bad empire and replace it with another big good (I don't believe there is such a thing) government.

I like Trek but yeah it is all geared towards an all-encompassing Federation.


119 posted on 08/17/2005 12:57:41 PM PDT by samm1148
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To: 68skylark

The seventh podcast is out.....you want to hear them all....trust me on this.

http://signal.serenityfirefly.com/signal.php


120 posted on 08/18/2005 7:28:36 PM PDT by Uriah_lost
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