Research Paper
POSTED BY: CortexOverride
UPDATED: Tuesday, March 1, 2011 10:35
VIEWED: 10248
PAGE 2 of 3
We also see multiple variations on the Death/Rebirth archetype, even just within the span of the movie itself (i.e., ignoring backstory):
-Mal loses what little he has (when the Operative destroys his support network), then is reborn (through the support of his crew) having gained strength and insight.
(In an ironic twist, we're told that Mal had already previously been crippled by nerve damage [and subsequently healed], rendering him immune to the Operative's pressure-point attack.)
-River is reduced to a helpless wreck, then restored, ending up even stronger and more formidable than she was. Not just as a Reaver-killer; note how she transitions from being a passenger (needing to be rescued and carried along) to a pilot (guiding her home and family through the storm).
-Serenity is defiled, destroyed, and ultimately rebuilt. (Subverted, in that she's still falling apart even after being rebuilt.)
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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.
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One of my friends actually texted me last week that her Mythology text covered some Firefly and Serenity. I haven't gotten a chance to talk to her about it, but if I can get in touch with her soon I'll ask her what it said.
There are probably far more "Hero categories" to talk about than creation elements, but I'm sure it will come together 
Ritual is what happens when we run out of rational.
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Quote:
Originally posted by PhoenixRose:
One of my friends actually texted me last week that her Mythology text covered some Firefly and Serenity. I haven't gotten a chance to talk to her about it, but if I can get in touch with her soon I'll ask her what it said.
Your friend was referring to Chapter 40 of the Introduction To Mythology:Second Edition by Eva M. Thury and Margaret K. Devinney. These were the only notes I could get out of the chapter:
1.Becuase of Science Fiction's flexibility and Widespread Appeal, it can provide useful insights into the way mythology permeates contemporary culture.
2.Firefly is sci-fi that relies heavily on biology for shaping its universe and creating the complications of its plot.
3.Terraforming involves recreating the process of evolution in a short time span in order to provide a world like our own.
4.This process is the premise of the show since its outcome is the creation of a world with resources inadequate for the humans on the outer planets. This is an example of Darwinian Natural Selection.
5. Firefly represents the world of organized religion with reservation if not, suspicion.
6.The moral choices of the crew represent eclectic individualistic philosophy prevalent in The X-Files.
7.The Firefly series reflects a constant tension between the good of the individual and the good of the ship or 'family'.
8.Kaylee is seen as the focus of the collective efforts of the show, While Captain Mal represents the values of the individual.-->The call for the collective has much less prominence , represented as it is by a character who is charming, but quixotic and does not have the authority to defend herself.
9.Then they mention the Firefly fans and how they are as likely to identify with the libertarian aspects of Mal's politics as they are to see the show as a call for the sacrifice to the good of the collective.
Then after that, book draws comparisons Firefly with Stagecoach.
Stating how Mal and Ringo encompass the 'Fordian Hero'. It seems like interesting stuff,but I'm just confused as to what insights I can get out of it.
(((tO sPARK tHE mOVEMENT)))
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...What? I don't buy the part about Kaylee or the assessment of Kaylee being a call for the good of the collective and Mal being a call for the good of the individual.
Kaylee tries to serve as a moral compass, yes, but Mal looks out for the good of the crew quite often as well, particularly his confrontation with Jayne (who is an individualist), or returning to retrieve Simon and River in Safe. Mal is also often depicted as a guy who goes honour before reason, and chooses to do good deeds (returning medicine to Paradiso, broadcasting the Miranda message) despite the consequences (capture by Niska, death by Reavers/Alliance).
It's a very political way of framing it, and I have to question whether there's an agenda in the politics they've brought in. They specifically call out liberatarian, almost like it's a bad thing, but then don't call out the political equivalent for collectivism. They say Mal represents libertarianism, or individualism, and suggest in this case it's selfishness, me-first, while ignoring that even as a libertarian Mal has his acts of charity and kindness.
Tensions within the crew seem to be more an issue of triage, moral dilemma, and mutual survival than individualism versus collective.
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I mean, if they wanted to make an argument about libertarianism, they couldn't have observed that the outer planets are fairly lawless and the libertarians in this story are making their living as criminals (including Kaylee!) by STEALING from other people?
Seriously, there was a much easier way to show the downfalls of the philosophy without putting it as a contrast between two characters, or framing it in terms of collectivism versus individualism (which the show definitely isn't about).
And they didn't say one negative word about the Alliance. They didn't even do a pros and cons for either side, Independent/rim-border worlds versus Alliance core world.
They didn't even mention River, who kicks off the entire storyline! Or what was done to her! That's a pretty major part of the story, don't you think?
Who wrote this text, and what indoctrination are they peddling for their Alliance superiors? Radical feminists, to whom Mal represents the white male oppressor? I mean, they seem to be suggesting the whole story is about Kaylee being unable to defend herself against the selfishness of the white man. Which would be completely missing the point. :?
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By the way, I think it's very important for the context of the OP's assignment that we disregard the series Firefly and any other print canon. It is entirely possible that piqued with interest from the OP's paper that the professor may watch the movie.
While we ALL know that Serenity was basically season 2 wrapped in 2 hours of shiny entertainment, making references to any other sources - besides that which is in the movie - may have a negative result on his grade.
I would argue that the characters we meet in the BDM are somewhat different than those portrayed in the series. If you were to watch the movie all by itself, you could draw some different conclusions than having watched the series first.
Not overly helpful to the OP's request, but my 2 cents none the less.
-Steg
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Fair enough, though the text in question calls out Firefly the series, not Serenity the movie.
And even if it was about Serenity, the collectivism and individualism comments still strike me as wildly off base. If you SQUINT, maybe the movie is about Mal pulling himself out of his self-centered pity party after Inara and Book leave (and nearly making everyone else leave too), and through River's call to action he does something for the collective good (reveals the truth of Miranda). But even that's kinda of iffy on it being individualism as opposed to collectivism because Mal doesn't represent individualism. Rather he's clearly reliant on a number of other characters, up to the final confrontation at the end.
Cortex can use the Fordian Hero thing, though, that's accurate. It just means Mal has a good idea WHY he doesn't things without necessarily having a clear plan on the how.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
And they didn't say one negative word about the Alliance. They didn't even do a pros and cons for either side, Independent/rim-border worlds versus Alliance core world.
Actually They do, under the heading Firefly and Stage Coach:
1.Whereas the military in stagecoach is a source of rescue, in Firefly it becomes at best an annoyance, at worst a threat. Its minions turn up at awkward times, flexing their authority and running rough-shod over the concerns of civilians.
2.If The Alliance is an uncertain nuisance, the Reavers are a constant peril.
3.A questioning of the conventional morality appears in Firefly with Inara, the most obvious agent; she is a prostitute, yet her trade is openly accepted while that of the rest of the crew is scorned and she becomes "nurturer" aboard the ship.
4.Firefly shares the film's skepticism toward civilization. The tension between civilization and freedom is, to be sure, a long-standing element in both the Western and Science Fiction.
5. Throughout the show, there is a contrast between the authoritarianism of The Alliance and the inner world of Serenity.
6. The episode "Jaynestown" is a rumination upon social order, exploring the issues of both social and individual needs by considering society's need for heroes and the question of "What defines a man?" To Simon, this boils down to an understanding of what a person holds crucial which Kaylee twits him for.
7.Fordian Hero- The leader of this community most often is a solitary man who "seldom reaps life's humble pleasures. He is often a combination of soldier, judge, and priest, symbolizing his intervention, authority, and self-sacrifice..He is purer than the average man in service of such accepted values as tolerance, justice, medical duty,preservation of family and love.
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THERE we go.
The Mal and Kaylee thing from the first post is still kinda wrong though.
And it's still missing River, the MacGuffin, Oracle, and Quest Giver.
Also, in some ways, Mal is also a deconstruction of the Fordian Hero because he's depicted as a modern anti-hero. When he strays from his heroic nature, it's various members of the crew who pull him back to acting with integrity. In that way, despite being shown as very alone, it's clear he needs the other characters for support and guidance.
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I agree that Mal hasn't regained faith yet, I think maybe he's getting to where he could consider it at some later point. I don't think believing in River constitutes faith, she's right there in front of him.
I don't believe River would have "regained her sanity" after the BDM, I think she clearly has a better understanding of her abilities and that she will have less nightmares, I don't think she's normal or common witted now. But I don't want to argue that, not the point.
There's a lot you can do with this, I do agree that you should leave out stuff that we only see in the series, unless your professor says its okay to have it in there, since this is about the movie. As far as creation, the system was created by the inhabitants, terraforming etc. otherwise they couldn't live there, obviously the planets were already there but they would be unusable without people altering them and creating an environment suitable for habitation.
"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya
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