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.
A late reply since I'm watching a recording of tonight's episode. Speaking of freedom did you ever really listen to theme song. "Since I found Serenity,
You can't take the skies from me".
That says alot.
So I'm not the only one who made that connection :)
I don't know how Wheedon has pulled this off -- I would have thought such a feat was impossible. Either he's amazingly brilliant (a good possibility), or we might have to face the fact that deep down, those on the left and right have more in common than we realize -- and that's a scary thought!
I have just recently watched about a week's worth of Firefly shows on the tube and like very much.
Reminds me of a cross between Star Trek/Gunsmoke/Little House on the praire. You have all the Western character types represented: The sherrif, the side kicks, the love interests, the preacher, the saloon girl, and the doctor.
It's excellent. Here are a couple of posts I wrote about it on FR:
I've been really impressed with the new "Battlestar Galactica" series on the Sci-Fi network, believe it or not. The original series was campy and cheesy as could be, but the new one is gritty, realistic, and doesn't pull any punches. I'm especially impressed with the way it depicts the military (which is the centerpiece of the series) -- both the chain of command, and the individual grunts and officers, as well as the kinds of actions and decisions necessary in warfare. Nothing "touchy feely, happy ending" about it.And:The military's relationship to the civilian authority -- and the civilian authority's own duties and responsibilities under a constitution and system of laws -- is also handled surprisingly well.
Along with being a good action/drama/sci-fi show, it's more of a civics lesson than just about anything else on TV.
The military itself is the undisputed star of the series. And recent episodes have dealt with suicide bombers, sleeper agents, the danger of physical relationships between officers and noncoms, genocide, and so on.
And you should have watched the whole show about the "9-11 commission". It could have come straight out of a FreeRepublic brainstorming session.
In short, a Cylon "suicide bomber" got onto the ship and almost took out the entire top military command. By luck, the top brass escaped injury, but 30+ other people were killed.
A civilian government "review board" was appointed to find out what oversights, if any, allowed the enemy attack to succeed, especially on the military side. As the episode progressed, the investigation became more and more politicized, and turned into a witch-hunt. It was causing far more damage to the people and institutions it was investigating than could have been balanced by any actual constructive criticism. When it finally called Commander Adama (head of the military) for "testimony" and began attacking him and asking "have you stopped beating your wife yet" questions in an obvious attempt to scapegoat him for no good reason, *that's* when he gave his short, to-the-point speech about the investigation having lost sight of its purpose, and he flatly declared "this investigation is over". And then he walked out.
Technically, he didn't have the authority to disband the commission (it was a board appointed by the civilian government), but the point was clear -- if the military refuses to cooperate, the civilian government has no way to enforce any sanctions. ("How many divisions does the pope have?")
Meanwhile, the one real error which contributed to the attack which the commission helped unearth was subsequently handled *internal* to the military, quietly and without fanfare or sacrificial lambs for the wild dogs in the media or the public.
The entire episode was a clear reference to the out-of-control "9/11 commission", without being *too* overt about it. But the point was made, in spades.
It was an excellent episode. As are all of them in this series. I'm constantly awed by how well they manage to make solid, hard-hitting conservative points while producing a first-rate sci-fi action/drama.
Xander: "I can not stress enough how much I don't have plans."Or:
Willow: "When I'm with a boy I like I can't say anything cool, or witty - or at all. I can usually make a few vowel sounds, and then I have to go away."Or
Anya [a thousand-year-old immortal demon who has recently become human -- she is confused and upset by the death of Buffy's mother; she starts to cry]: "I don't understand how this all happens. How we go through this. I mean, I knew her, and then she's, there's just a body, and I don't understand why she just can't get back in it and not be dead anymore. It's stupid. It's mortal and stupid. And, and Xander's crying and not talking, and, and I was having fruit punch, and I thought, well, Joyce will never have any more fruit punch ever, and she'll never have eggs, or yawn or brush her hair, not ever, and no one will explain to me why."
Thanks for the background. I think I'll check out BG some time soon, while I'm waiting for the next "Firefly" movie. I saw a bit of BG on the tube the other night, and it looked pretty good.
I like your Star Trek/Little House analogy. I haven't heard that description from anyone else, but it fits pretty well!
Yeah, the TV series is very strong. I've watched all the episodes on DVD a couple of times. The movie is good as well -- it does some things better than the TV shows, while I think the TV version was better in a few ways.
You left off the lines that come next -- some of the funniest lines on Buffy or any other TV show. Willow has said she doesn't date much, and after the line you quoted she says, "I think boys like a girl who talks more." Buffy says, "Wow -- you really haven't been dating."
I like Battlestar Galatica better than Firefly. My husband doesn't like Firefly, and loves Battlestar Balatica.
We are both Sci/Fiction fans.
bump for later
Xander: (sputtering, on coming in and finding Spike and Buffy giddy with love for each other) How... what... how...?Giles: Three excellent questions.
Dan
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