More Subtle yet interesting show observations - post yours
POSTED BY: jewelstaitefan
UPDATED: Friday, December 19, 2008 17:29
VIEWED: 34355
PAGE 10 of 13
"Also, I can kill you with my brain" -River Tam
I thought that was really funny. She actually can't kill with her brain ... but, she is dealing with someone who does not know that ... and it freaks him out ...
ShepardRoy
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Quote:
Originally posted by PhyreLight:
In "Objects in Space" when Jubal Early asks Kaylee if she had ever been raped,
This brings me to (what I think) is an interesting point. OK here goes....
I wander what Joss's take would be on his black characters. I mean Book is restricted by his religion. Zoe is restricted by her soldier mentality. Early is psychotic and "The Believer" (a very good retooling of Early) in Serenity is...well a believer. All of them pretty much simply obey.
As much as I really like Jayne's character I think Early or The Believer would have made better main characters.
But my main point is why are the black characters so restricted. Each one obviously has a 3D backstory which in itself could be a film. What do you think?
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Those characters you mentioned can actually make their own choices: Zoe disobeyed Mal's order and married Wash, Book shot people (very un-Christian-like), and Jubal... well, he wasn't under anyone's specific orders. He could have chosen to turn down the bounty if he wanted to. He's not a cop.
But, what about River? If you expose her to the right subliminal message, she'll do anything. She has no choice in the matter.
Experience the Horribleness!
http://www.drhorrible.com
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Why aren't there more Chinese people and any Chinese characters in this show?
An observation I have made about this show is that when ever I loan out one of my two copies of the series it never comes back quickly.
http://swyzzlestyx.com/index.html
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Agreed! But it just seemed "to me" to be a (dont have a word yet). I like the characters but they seemed to be token. Now Joss is such a good writer that even token characters are very good. Great potential in their back stories never really explored. Its the old thing that when you are in the minority things individuals do stand out more. So should they have been in the minority in the new verse?
Rallem: I also wandered about Chinese too.
Maybe its just up appreciating the talents of the writer and expecting more?
Just thinking out loud :)
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Do you think this question is ever asked of Joss at conventions?
http://swyzzlestyx.com/index.html
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Lurkalot: The Shepherd's Tale is supposed to be Book's back story, and that is going to be released in a few months. Not all hope is lost!
Rallem: I think the lack of Asian people in the show a symptom of it being canceled so quickly. It is very, very possible that Serenity would have traveled to planets that were more populated by Asian descendants than European. There is evidence there were plans for other cultures to pop up here and there as well. Niska spoke Czech, so it can be easily assumed that there are pockets of the 'verse that are neither of Asian or English influence.
Experience the Horribleness!
http://www.drhorrible.com
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Thanks for your response. At least you did respond. I get the feeling that this is a subject that many Caucasians don't want to go near (for obvious reasons I suppose.
Bottom line is I think Firefly and Serenity are excellent and while I was watching the shows these issues didn't even occur to me (with one exception) as I was enjoying them too much. I saw Serenity first then Firefly. However after watching the OiG episode it occurred to me that Early and "the Believer" were very similar characters with slightly different motivators. The rest of my thoughts followed afterward.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Lurkalot:
Thanks for your response. At least you did respond. I get the feeling that this is a subject that many Caucasians don't want to go near (for obvious reasons I suppose.
Bottom line is I think Firefly and Serenity are excellent and while I was watching the shows these issues didn't even occur to me (with one exception) as I was enjoying them too much. I saw Serenity first then Firefly. However after watching the OiG episode it occurred to me that Early and "the Believer" were very similar characters with slightly different motivators. The rest of my thoughts followed afterward.
Not sure what obvious reasons you would suppose caucasians don't feel the need to grasp and revel in the concept of victimhood. Perhaps you feel the victimhood angle is the sole domain of minorities.
I did not feel the characters of Zoe, Book ("african americans") or the actors Jewel, Nathan (Foreigners - Canadians) where typecast or prtrayed diferently than any other.
Let it rest.
All of the characters had wonderful backstories which were tragically not explored due to the unfortunate cancellation. I am certain we are all aware of the loss of not being able to see each of these explored. The most wooden of characters presented I would have to view as Zoe, but that was largely due to her character's past and practice and training as a professional soldier. Realistically, how many times have you seen a black actress portraying a professional soldier, non-hysterical, solid stable predictable reactions, without being over-the-top heroic fantasy unrealistic super star?
Posts like yours force me and others to disengage from the feel-good of enjoying our show and to re-think of characters like Zoe and Book not as they were written and protrayed, but downgraded to an evaluation of their minority (or not) status. This is not the thing to wear well on a short-lived series we loved so much.
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Quote:
Originally posted by PhyreLight:
Lurkalot: The Shepherd's Tale is supposed to be Book's back story, and that is going to be released in a few months. Not all hope is lost!
Rallem: I think the lack of Asian people in the show a symptom of it being canceled so quickly. It is very, very possible that Serenity would have traveled to planets that were more populated by Asian descendants than European. There is evidence there were plans for other cultures to pop up here and there as well. Niska spoke Czech, so it can be easily assumed that there are pockets of the 'verse that are neither of Asian or English influence.
Experience the Horribleness!
http://www.drhorrible.com
I often wondered where this series might have gone had it not been under the threat of being cancelled by Fox, because I always thought of the episodes “The Message,” “Heart of Gold,” and “Objects in Space” were just space holder shows for Firefly even though they each held important aspects for the further development of the series. I always felt that these three shows did not follow the normal ebb and flow of the series and they did not develop an ebb and flow of their own, as I suspect Joss must have felt a need to place in these three episodes certain story points that he would have otherwise taken him longer to explore in the series. There is one possible future perspective of Firefly here:
http://www.stillflying.net/
http://swyzzlestyx.com/index.html
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