Article on Chud about Serenity and its Fans
POSTED BY: AnthonyT
UPDATED: Thursday, October 13, 2005 20:52
VIEWED: 13043
PAGE 4 of 4
Let me talk plain...
I like Firefly. I like the idea, I like the people (The women are all hot and the guys are all cool), I like the stories that are told and I like the humour.
All this about the fans being co-opted by the corporate advertising collective... It's Go-Sah. The fans know that if a film/TV show does poorly then there will be no more of it. Thus, if we want to see more of our fictional friends, then the film/TV series must succeed. We appreciate that the studios will only put a certain amount of effort into promoting their product so if we want to enhance the chances of a success, we have to add our own efforts. Be that preaching the gospel of Joss or going to the film 10 times. (I'm only up to 3 so far, but the UK box office is doing OK so that's not such a problem.)
It's like your local bakery threatening to stop making your favourite snacks... Unless you can convince lots of people to ask them not to, then the yummy stuff is going away. And you have to do it. No-one else will.
--
Twelve spheres of unendurable brightness spalled the velvety blackness of space.
The silence on Lester Tourville's flag bridge was absolute
And then the spell was broken as Shannon Foraker looked up from her console from where she had just sent a seemingly innocent command to the main computers of State Security's finest Superdreadnoughts.
"Oops." She said.
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Thank you for the compliment. In truth, I wrote it in fatigue and haste, and it came out kind of incoherent. (Sorry, folks, for writing him directly, if this is just more flogging of a dead horse: I didn't know.) Also, it might have been misleading about my own take on the whole thing. To clarify, I was trying to say to him, in a nutshell, that if he really believes it's dead, and he really perceives us to be in grief, why is he standing around and pointing fingers--and, more than that, how on earth can he be surprised if people get pissed off at him for it?
This does NOT mean that I agree with him that it's dead. In fact, I don't. I have seen many variations on defeatist stances like Devin's, from the whole "all politicians are corrupt" attitude to "why agitate on behalf of the environment/sweatshop workers/the underclass of New Orleans/better sports coverage on the local channels etc etc"--and, without exception, it is always just an excuse for apathy. Or, to be less simplistic about it, I believe that the people who hold these sorts of views are exaggerating individuals' lack of power in order to avoid taking responsibility for the world they live in.
Now, I'm not an idealist at all: I'm the most pragmatic person I know. But even I can see that, besides being morally distasteful, this kind of position is logically invalid. Unless you believe, somehow, that society is not made up of the people in it, it makes no sense to say that the people who make up society can have no effect on it. I mean, we ARE it. It's like being in a car and saying, "Why bother steering, when the car is gonna go in the wrong direction anyway?"
Or, to use the more relevant parallel, it's like saying "I'm not gonna vote for Blah Blah because he's gonna lose anyway," and then standing back afterwards, when Blah Blah does lose, and saying "See? I was right." It doesn't take a whiz kid (believe me, I'm not one) to see that someone's grip on causality is a bit on the iffy side. Both the belief in inaction and the belief in action will perpetuate and fulfill their own prophecies: that's the mathematical reality of it. Really what Devin and others of his ilk are doing is asking us to join them on their side--and why in god's name would we want to do that? No only is their brand of existential bystander apathy objectionable to behold and harmful to everything it touches, but when it does win, it's an awfully Pyrrhic kind of victory. "Lookit: We have no power, nothing we do matters, we may as well not care about anything because our lives are all at the whimsical behest of corrupt higher powers..." God, go jump off a bridge already.
The same illogic applies to Devin's pseudo-rational explanation that this is "not how movies get made". Movies get made however people make them. He's staring straight in the face of a movie that got made the way movies don't get made, and saying that there won't be a sequel because that's not how movies get made? There's a man who has really convinced himself that someone else is in charge--probably by looking in the mirror every morning and repeating 20 times, "It's their world: we just live in it."
And, as one final highfalutin' addendum, I think it is also illogical for Devin to acknowledge the changing nature of media and society in the interactive Internet age and, in practically the same breath, hew to the old line about how things get done in corporate Hollywood. The Heisenbergian principle is at work like it has never been before, now that so many things are in a state of continual observation, and I don't "the way things are" stays put from one week to the next. Change has been accelerated, and you Firefly fans have been the ones to press the pedal in at least one area. So.
On a less abstract note, I went to Serenity again last night (Tuesday)--and I don't know if it was the difference between the suburban theatre I'd seen it in before and this one, in downtown Vancouver, or if word of mouth is starting to take hold, but the theatre was almost full! At 6:50 on a Tuesday night! (It used to be dis
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Thank you for the compliment, Spinland. In truth, I wrote it in fatigue and haste, and it came out kind of incoherent. (Sorry, folks, for writing him directly, if this is just more flogging of a dead horse: I didn't know.) Also, it might have been misleading about my own take on the whole thing. To clarify, I was trying to say to him, in a nutshell, that if he really believes it's dead, and he really perceives us to be in grief, why is he standing around and pointing fingers--and, more than that, how on earth can he be surprised if people get pissed off at him for it?
This does NOT mean that I agree with him that it's dead. In fact, I don't. I have seen many variations on defeatist stances like Devin's, from the whole "all politicians are corrupt" attitude to "why agitate on behalf of the environment/sweatshop workers/the underclass of New Orleans/better sports coverage on the local channels etc etc"--and, without exception, it is always just an excuse for apathy. Or, to be less simplistic about it, I believe that the people who hold these sorts of views are exaggerating individuals' lack of power in order to avoid taking responsibility for the world they live in.
Now, I'm not an idealist at all: I'm the most pragmatic person I know. But even I can see that, besides being morally distasteful, this kind of position is logically invalid. Unless you believe, somehow, that society is not made up of the people in it, it makes no sense to say that the people who make up society can have no effect on it. I mean, we ARE it. It's like being in a car and saying, "Why bother steering, when the car is gonna go in the wrong direction anyway?"
Or, to use the more relevant parallel, it's like saying "I'm not gonna vote for Blah Blah because he's gonna lose anyway," and then standing back afterwards, when Blah Blah does lose, and saying "See? I was right." It doesn't take a whiz kid (believe me, I'm not one) to see that someone's grip on causality is a bit on the iffy side. Both the belief in inaction and the belief in action will perpetuate and fulfill their own prophecies: that's the mathematical reality of it. Really what Devin and others of his ilk are doing is asking us to join them on their side--and why in god's name would we want to do that? No only is their brand of existential bystander apathy objectionable to behold and harmful to everything it touches, but when it does win, it's an awfully Pyrrhic kind of victory. "Lookit: We have no power, nothing we do matters, we may as well not care about anything because our lives are all at the whimsical behest of corrupt higher powers..." God, go jump off a bridge already.
The same illogic applies to Devin's pseudo-rational explanation that this is "not how movies get made". Movies get made however people make them. He's staring straight in the face of a movie that got made the way movies don't get made, and saying that there won't be a sequel because that's not how movies get made? There's a man who has really convinced himself that someone else is in charge--probably by looking in the mirror every morning and repeating 20 times, "It's their world: we just live in it."
And, as one final highfalutin' addendum, I think it is also illogical for Devin to acknowledge the changing nature of media and society in the interactive Internet age and, in practically the same breath, hew to the old line about how things get done in corporate Hollywood. The Heisenbergian principle is at work like it has never been before, now that so many things are in a state of continual observation, and I don't "the way things are" stays put from one week to the next. Change has been accelerated, and you Firefly fans have been the ones to press the pedal in at least one area. So.
On a less abstract note, I went to Serenity again last night (Tuesday)--and I don't know if it was the difference between the suburban theatre I'd seen it in before and this one, in downtown Vancouver, or if word of mouth is starting to take hold, but the theatre was almost full! At 6:50 on a Tuesday night! (It used
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I wish I could make up my mind on what to think - some of Devin's article I agreed with, and then I found myself disagreeing with most of it, and now I'm all confused again. Gagh. Maybe I should wait a few weeks before fixing my brain and enjoy the ride.
What this means is - some of what I said back up there may be entirely guff. I'm new to the world of fandom, and while Firefly is sweet there's a few things that freak me out about these stop the cancellation/guerilla marketing campaigns be they for Firefly, Farscape or anything else.
The only certainty after literally a day of soul searching I came up with was that networks should be forced to honour legally binding contracts in season, regularily timed blocks. Thus we can avoid guff like this happening to series and the creators can get a chance to wrap up storylines to satisfaction.
"If you can keep your head whilst others... eurgh! Ack! I've spilt my ink! Ugh! Ink on my trousers! Agh! Ink on my shirt! My only hope! The window! Aieeeeee!" (Falls to death)
- Jonathan Nash
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Even though fans often have strong opinions and wonderful suggestions, at the end of the day I don’t think that fans should dictate what direction a show or a film takes. They can discourse excitedly about where they’d like a show or a film to go with its characters and plot, but I think that the writer/director should ultimately do what he thinks is best. If it makes logical and artistic sense to, say, kill off a character… no matter how much we love (and will miss) that character (and oh boy, will we ever), we don’t get to quash that from happening just because we’ll find it painful to watch. Isn’t it a testament to the show and the writing and the acting that we feel that way about these characters? Can’t we take a step back and appreciate the storytelling aspect of it? It’s powerful stuff.
I think there are plenty of people out there who get overly enthusiastic to the point of extremism. We’ve certainly seen people get so emotional about a series or set of characters, they become infuriated or distraught when things don’t go the way they want it to. (Let’s not even talk about how friends of mine and I felt about the “afterschool special” flavor of how Willow’s descent into dark magic was presented, in Buffy season 6. LOL)
In fact, I’m sure there could be fascinating case studies written by psychologists, as to why a person "latches on" to a particular show, why one takes it as seriously as one does.
However, to compare the Browncoats fanbase to religious fanaticism... oh my. That there’s some crazy talk, that’s what that is. 
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with enjoying a film. Sez the woman who has seen Serenity three times. 
(Is it who or whom? Aw hell, "If I had wanted schooling, I’da gone to school." – Jayne Cobb)
I’m 33 years old. I haven’t seen a movie this many times in the theatre since I was 12. (The Karate Kid. There was a crush involved. Shut up, it’s a good movie.) 
But here’s the thing. The reason I went three times was to show my support. Support for someone whom I think does it right. I think Joss Whedon is an extraordinarily talented writer and director. I think it’s a gift to see someone so dedicated to his craft, presenting honest storytelling with characters that emotionally evolve. I also think it’s a rare thing to see someone in Joss’ position have an attitude of fun and respect for the work, and for the people with whom he works.
I greatly appreciate that.
In an industry where soulless, mindless, uninteresting films have become the norm, I want to honor the underdog who works hard and does something well.
Maybe my pathetic three tickets (and those of the friends I went with) won’t make this movie a “blockbuster” or even build up the numbers enough to warrant a sequel. But I still wanted to show my support in the way I could. If that meant seeing this movie more than once, then pardon my “fanatical” paraphrasing, but no power in the ‘verse was gonna stop me from going. :D
Sherry
MAL: I tell ya, Zoe, we find ourselves a mechanic, get her running again. Hire a good pilot. Maybe even a cook. Live like real people. Small crew, them as feel the need to be free. Take jobs as they come -- and we'll never be under the heel of nobody ever again. No matter how long the arm of the Alliance might get, we'll just get ourselves a little further.
ZOE: Get her running again?
MAL: Yeah.
ZOE: So not running now?
MAL: Not so much.
--"Out of Gas"
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