Dumbest Line in Firefly

POSTED BY: YT
UPDATED: Wednesday, August 31, 2005 03:57
VIEWED: 19167
PAGE 6 of 8

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Originally posted by LoadAndMakeReady:

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Originally posted by dietcoke:

To call someone a "granpa" is an insult. It's like referring to someone as "old man." Book, instead of saying something equality nasty back, he slyly smiles and simple says: "I never married." i.e. I AM NOT A GRANPA! Dumbass!

NY/NJ Browncoats: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/firefly_nyc

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In many cultures -- especially Asian cultures -- calling someone grandfather or grandmother is a sign of respect. One is deferring to the individuals superior age, maturity, wisdom and life experience.

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There are a couple of times in the commentaries where Joss talks about showing how a character reacts differently to different people, and I think the repetition of "Granpa" followed by "I never married," is another example.

The Brutus crew member is using "Granpa" with a more western connotation. I.E., "I don't know you, but by calling you this nickname maybe I can create a false sense of connection with you in order to sell you something." Book responds by casually rejecting the nickname, albeit politely, and with it the false show of friendliness. In the process, his unexpected answer confuses the Brutus huxster right out of his sales pitch, and Book blends back in with the crowd, having proved himself no push over.

Kaylee, on the other hand, approaches Book with an insight into his personality, rather than a hard sell. Book is interested; he stops to talk with her. They form the beginnings of a real connection. So that by the time Kaylee calls him "Granpa," she's using it in a much more eastern way. "Oh, aren't you clever and wise to bring something like this as a way of paying your fare," with a good dash of innocent flirtation thrown in for good measure. This time when Book responds, "I never married," he's sharing part of his life story, another first step of friendship.

As I said earlier in this thread, this little scene tells you several things about Book's character, background, and how he relates to others. But it also shows something about the interaction of Eastern and Western culture in the 'Verse. One word can have a wealth of connotations from both cultures. It all depends on how it's used.

*** *** ***
The woods are the only place where I can see a clear path.

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Originally posted by truthseeker:

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Originally posted by LoadAndMakeReady:

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Originally posted by dietcoke:

To call someone a "granpa" is an insult. It's like referring to someone as "old man." Book, instead of saying something equality nasty back, he slyly smiles and simple says: "I never married." i.e. I AM NOT A GRANPA! Dumbass!

NY/NJ Browncoats: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/firefly_nyc

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In many cultures -- especially Asian cultures -- calling someone grandfather or grandmother is a sign of respect. One is deferring to the individuals superior age, maturity, wisdom and life experience.

---

There are a couple of times in the commentaries where Joss talks about showing how a character reacts differently to different people, and I think the repetition of "Granpa" followed by "I never married," is another example.

The Brutus crew member is using "Granpa" with a more western connotation. I.E., "I don't know you, but by calling you this nickname maybe I can create a false sense of connection with you in order to sell you something." Book responds by casually rejecting the nickname, albeit politely, and with it the false show of friendliness. In the process, his unexpected answer confuses the Brutus huxster right out of his sales pitch, and Book blends back in with the crowd, having proved himself no push over.

Kaylee, on the other hand, approaches Book with an insight into his personality, rather than a hard sell. Book is interested; he stops to talk with her. They form the beginnings of a real connection. So that by the time Kaylee calls him "Granpa," she's using it in a much more eastern way. "Oh, aren't you clever and wise to bring something like this as a way of paying your fare," with a good dash of innocent flirtation thrown in for good measure. This time when Book responds, "I never married," he's sharing part of his life story, another first step of friendship.

As I said earlier in this thread, this little scene tells you several things about Book's character, background, and how he relates to others. But it also shows something about the interaction of Eastern and Western culture in the 'Verse. One word can have a wealth of connotations from both cultures. It all depends on how it's used.

*** *** ***
The woods are the only place where I can see a clear path.

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Well said. In my view, Kaylee's "Oh Grandpa," was a way of saying, "Oh, dear Sir." But Book was still annoyed by the undue famliarity from a moment before. Never-the-less, he responded gently.

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Originally posted by LoadAndMakeReady:

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Originally posted by Whisper:
While I love everything about Firefly, there has always been one word that has bugged me. It was from ep Serenity and was the word "humped." It just sounds stupid. Everyone that I have shown the series to have laughed at that line, saying how stupid the word was.

That's my only nitpick but i've since gotten used to it and don't roll my eyes at it anymore.

www.whispergraphics.net]


"Humped" is a euphemism for "f**ked," and has been for decades.

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I know what it's a euphemism for. I still maintain it sounds dumb. "Screwed" may be overused but it still works well. Maybe if they only had said it once it wouldn't have bugged me so much, but they used it 3(?) times.

Another one from Serenity... "Backbirth." I assume that it means a breech birth but it doesn't really make sense when used in regard to someone intelligence.

www.whispergraphics.net

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