Firefly's Inspiration

POSTED BY: Veteran
UPDATED: Tuesday, May 6, 2003 21:14
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TABITHA

Monday, May 5, 2003 8:33 PM

I read the Killer Angels earlier this year. I wouldn't go looking for any deep parallels to Firefly though, it felt to me that for Joss, Killer Angels was a framework for imagining his characters' past. Certainly the all-too-brief flashbacks to the war during Serenity were heavily reminiscent of the book, but there isn't much that follows in the series that has deep roots in the book IMO. The book ends with the war still in full swing, although perhaps much less evenly balanced between the two sides.
I feel that the Feds, and the core Planets in Firefly have been given pretty short shrift so far, we know so little about them, and perhaps a deeper exploration of what life is like for the rest of the galaxy (There is no way Firefly is set in our solar system alone, BTW) might highlight some further parallels between Firefly and The Killer Angels. Having said that - what are the chances? This is a show about life on the Frontier, so there is little real chance of much contact with the centre.

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CHANNAIN

Monday, May 5, 2003 10:54 PM

for the record, not meaning to pick a fight, just offering other perspective...

Quote:
Originally posted by christhecynic:
The shear stupidity of the war effort of the south was what caused them to lose. That said, despite that stupidity (to find it do some research on the war, the south would have lost no matter what unless they had outside help, which they failed to get.) the south did very, very well.

that they did. holding out against superior forces for four years is no mean feat. i don't know that a people fighting for their way of life would be called stupid, however. misguided and futile--sure. As Mal said, "Fought for the losing side, still not sure it was the wrong one."

(stepping away from the American metaphors for a second--ask anyone of Scottish descent how they feel about Culloden and you'll pretty much get the same response. Scotland's bid for independence didn't have much to do with slavery either.)

Quote:
The Revers are based off the Apache (I think) and all of the horrible nasty things they did, but Joss takes it to an extreme and drops out the moral trickiness of the land snatching and genocide that caused the Apaches to be so mean.

heck, you could pick just about any native tribe that was forced to fight for their own way of life (them as survived the deliberate affliction of smallpox, of course) and you'll find a list of the same atrocities as long as your leg--the Battle at Little Bighorn, formerly known as Custer's Last Stand; case in point. as you say, the genocide was left out, but for all we know, the Reavers could have once been a group of people booted off their own colony because someone thought they needed their land more than they did, promised a prettier, shinier place and ended up getting stuck in the far reaches of space. no wonder they went wacko.

my theory is that JW was trying to create that ominous moment in any formula western when the wagon train is going across the prairie happy as you please until someone looks over and sees smoke trails drifting on the horizon. he used the word "Reavers" like western writers used the word "Injuns." I don't think we would have seen them too often since most folks who saw Injuns/Reavers never saw anyone else again--except for the intrepid crew of Serenity, of course!

"I'm still flyin'...that's enough." ~ Mal

CAPTBAGGYTROUSERS

Monday, May 5, 2003 11:35 PM

I agree that the Reavers are the equivilent of Western movie Indians, not meant to represent actual Native Americans. If there was rhyme, reason or redemption to the Reavers, I think we would have seen seeds of it already. I think they are simply the boogeymen; bad news.

To go any further into the Indians metaphor is a bit too on-the-nose for my tastes. Not to mention too Star Trek, which can strip-mine any villains they create with an overabundance of seeing it their way.

Also, I think the "Browncoats-as-the-Confederacy" angle shouldn't be held onto too tightly. Yes, I think that's the inspiration, but I think a case can just as easily be made for "Browncoats-as-Native-Americans" or any other disenfranchised group that lost their bid for freedom.

SAGRILARUS

Tuesday, May 6, 2003 3:23 PM

The Killer Angels is about Gettysburg only (read the book, avoid the movie at all costs), so doesn't provide much of a basis for the here-and-now of Firefly, short of as a history lesson for the Serenity Valley piece.
As for the "confederates had the moral high ground" statement, I'll let that dubious notion blow by as this is not an ACW board (note -- I'm from Maryland, nearly square on the line). What I think you need to look at here is that the poor southern white man who put his life on the line for his homeland was left with little or nothing, disillusioned, and many travelled west to avoid the poverty and martial law of the reconstruction era south (as did many black incidentally). That said, Outlaw Josie Wales is as good or a better parallel than Gettysburg. Any downtrodden group (love the Culloden ref by the way) could fill this bill, but the look and feel of the group is obviously reconstruction. A fascinating period in American history.
Be sure to read The Killer Angels. A good read even for non-CW folks.

J.

CHANNAIN

Tuesday, May 6, 2003 5:07 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by CaptBaggytrousers
Also, I think the "Browncoats-as-the-Confederacy" angle shouldn't be held onto too tightly. Yes, I think that's the inspiration, but I think a case can just as easily be made for "Browncoats-as-Native-Americans" or any other disenfranchised group that lost their bid for freedom.

"Browncoats-as-Jacobites" for instance or "Browncoats-as-anybody-who-resisted-Roman domination." some of the best fiction can often be combed out of the worst history as well as the worst current events.

"I'm still flyin'...that's enough." ~ Mal

CHRISTHECYNIC

Tuesday, May 6, 2003 9:14 PM

Just to clairfy, I'm from Maine, the state furthest north other than alaska, so it's not like I come from some southern "we love the confederates" school, which there are some of. I really take a historical perspective when I say the moral high ground. There were some lows that not even the Nazis stooped to that we (the north) seemed comfortable commiting many times. (never forget that there were many many other lows that the Nazis did stoop to, that go far beyond those.)

If you look at anythings history you find stuff like that, but the truth is that it was the north in the civil war, and those same people belived that they should be alowed economic slavery over the south. None of this seems nice to me. That said you wont see me say things would be beter if the war had gone the other way.

Anyway, the confederacy except slavery, and the apaches except for all semblence of humanity or cause are both examples that JW cited.

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