Mal kissin' the cross...

POSTED BY: Spookyjesus
UPDATED: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 21:49
VIEWED: 8214
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SPOOKYJESUS

Sunday, February 8, 2004 11:36 AM

During the Serenity valley battle Mal pulls a cross out from under his shirt and kisses it - is it Buffy's classic cross? If so was Joss maybe trying to bless Firefly with a little of that success?

Or it could just be that he was trying to show that there's still God in the future (a prelude to Book if you like).

I just think it looks like Buffy's silver one Angle gave her - I don't know, whatta you guys think?

GEORDIESTEVE2003

Sunday, February 8, 2004 12:43 PM

Er, I think this was not a buffy cross, just a normal one, and it was necessary to show how devout a Christian Mal was and how much he believed in God, also perhaps a small nod to the character of Jackson from Saving Private Ryan, of course which Nathan Fillion starred in, as the other Private Ryan. It was also necessary to show his total loss of faith when all his world collapsed, and how against Book and his religion he is, after the war. Such as in Serenity when Book offers to say grace and Mal says he doesn't mind as long as he doesn't say it out loud. I think this one is just what it appears to be, no huge deep hidden meaning, a tool to show the transition of the man, from the Sarge with his stories into Captain Reynolds.

SPOOKYJESUS

Sunday, February 8, 2004 7:31 PM

Oh I agree - it's just something that whenever i see it I think - is that?

Y'know, that kind of buzz.

URIAH

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 12:12 PM

It's just the first step in the redemptive arc for Mal. He has lost faith, in men, in God, and in some ways in himself. He is not against Book's faith, he's just afraid of it because it reminds him that there was a time when he shared it and while he tries to keep it in check, he is a man who, deep down, believes in ultimate justice, honor and fidelity. He tries to be the "hard man" but his character and morals keep getting in his way....this is the character that hooked me on the show.

AJ

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 12:55 PM

He feels betrayed, by the Alliance for starting the war, by his own superiors for giving up on the cause (and, by extension, him), and most of all by God. He placed all his faith in his religion, and is repaid by being 'thrown to the wolves'. He is anti-authoritarian on several levels, but the values on which he built his crumbling faith still remain....

IMHO

BROWNCOAT1

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 3:05 PM

Doubt it was Buffy's cross.

I agree w/ my peers here that the cross, and the act of Mal's kissing the crucifix was establishing Mal and his character at the beginning of the story, so we can see post War how much he has changed.

His loss of faith and not wanting God on his ship is a symptom of much deeper problems. Mal hates the Alliance because they are an oppressive government and there is bitterness there that he & the Independents lost the War. He also has a lot of resentment toward his former superiors for abandoning the Browncoats in Serenity Valley, then giving up on the cause and surrendering to the Alliance. I think his loss of faith stems from a feeling of a sense of complete loss of everything he knew and cared for before the War ended. He feels that God turned his back on him, his men, and the cause Mal felt so strongly in at that time.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

CHANNAIN

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 4:14 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BrownCoat1:
I agree w/ my peers here that the cross, and the act of Mal's kissing the crucifix was establishing Mal and his character at the beginning of the story, so we can see post War how much he has changed.

I agree with this as well - except it was an empty cross, not a crucifix. A picky little detail to some - to Protestants, a little more important. The crucifix symbolizes the Sacrifice, but an empty cross symbolizes the Resurrection and the Promise.

Quote:
Originally posted by Browncoat1
I think his loss of faith stems from a feeling of a sense of complete loss of everything he knew and cared for before the War ended. He feels that God turned his back on him, his men, and the cause Mal felt so strongly in at that time.

Funny thing about that Promise I mentioned before? Sometimes it can be reinterpreted to serve individual purpose, and relied on just a little too heavily. Faith is all well and good, but it has to be balanced by a healthy dose of common sense.

Much like the discovery of faith, Mal's loss of faith was also a journey, as indicated by the original opening scene showing Mal, Zoe and the other survivors of the battle. The deleted scene with Zoe telling Simon about it also indicates how Mal gave up on faith and had to rely solely on his own resources to pull his men through. By the time the rescue came, I think Mal had already begun to think he was in hell. And as we all know, Once you've been to Serenity, you never leave - which to me means a part of Mal is still in hell and likely to remain there for some time. That's the part he taps into when he shoots Dobson and Tracy.

Mal's pronouncement that Book's prayer was allowed so long as it wasn't out loud indicates to me that his faith is still there - broken and beaten down, but not quite gone. If he truly lost his faith and stopped believing altogether, would he have cared one way or the other if a prayer was spoken in his presence? It's more like Mal's just plain pissed and taking the school-yard approach. "You gonna abandon me - I'm gonna abandon you! So there!"

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

MISGUIDED BY VOICES

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 10:29 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:
Mal's pronouncement that Book's prayer was allowed so long as it wasn't out loud indicates to me that his faith is still there - broken and beaten down, but not quite gone. If he truly lost his faith and stopped believing altogether, would he have cared one way or the other if a prayer was spoken in his presence? It's more like Mal's just plain pissed and taking the school-yard approach. "You gona abandon me - I'm gonna abandon you! So there!"

"None of it means a damn thing". Would make sense that it was directed thataways from Mal. Wonerful breakdown of Mal's loss of faith btw. But gorramit I wasn't going to be doing thinking stuff tonight - left my thinking hat at work.

"I threw up on your bed"

CHANNAIN

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 10:38 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Misguided By Voices:
"None of it means a damn thing". Would make sense that it was directed thataways from Mal. Wonerful breakdown of Mal's loss of faith btw. But gorramit I wasn't going to be doing thinking stuff tonight - left my thinking hat at work.

I hear ya. brain fry... *poof* gone...

I've seen the school-yard approach first hand - and experienced a bit of it myself, actually. It usually starts with the "why" question that goes unanswered and kinda escalates from there.

We have art so as not to die of truth ~ Neitzsche
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=7922

MISGUIDED BY VOICES

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 10:51 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Channain:
I've seen the school-yard approach first hand - and experienced a bit of it myself, actually. It usually starts with the "why" question that goes unanswered and kinda escalates from there.

I apparently nearly made a teacher cry with that approach - I wouldn't accept owl and the pussycat at face value, and proceeded to analyse the problems with it.

No wonder I went into the law....

"I threw up on your bed"

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