On Atherton Wing & Companion-ism

POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Friday, June 13, 2008 16:50
VIEWED: 10879
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SPACEANJL

Thursday, June 12, 2008 2:14 PM

Absolutely. The Guild was set up to protect folks in the industry - Joss' own words - 'prostitution (had been) abolished by the legalization and strict federal regulation of the sex trade'

Trade. Government regulated trade, even.

But the Bene Gesserit thing? - I just think they might have some political influence. Again, Joss-quote - 'they often rose to politcial or social prominence when they retired'.

Plus, the circles they move in? They would know a helluva lot of secrets.

'The Guild of Companions takes care of its own. Spread throughout the worlds, the Houses produce young women (and the occasional young man) of accomplishment and culture, fitting Companions for those of wealth and status. They move in the highest circles, mingle with the captains of industry and the policy makers, those people who determine whether whole planets will thrive or die. To provide service is their mantra; to contract with a Companion is to find anything from a perfect dinner guest for a company function, to solace for the loss of a long-cherished spouse. They comfort and heal. But the secrets they know - for some, those who come within a finger’s width of power can feel its infection.

... But the political reality is such that a Guild that wishes to keep its finger on the pulse of life in the ‘verse must necessarily dabble that finger in some murky waters.'

MAL4PREZ

Thursday, June 12, 2008 3:03 PM

Where'd that quote come from, SpaceAngl? Oddly, it's the "occasional man" thing that interests me - I've always thought there should be male Companions, but never heard a thing about them.

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SPACEANJL

Thursday, June 12, 2008 3:14 PM

...er, quote is from Tic Tac Tao: Ch 1 A Game of You, actually...

There's some male Companions in the background/deleted scenes at the Training House in the BDM, though.(At least, that's what I think they are - they might be, er, teaching materials...)

CHRISISALL

Thursday, June 12, 2008 3:25 PM

A post from Serenity Browncoats:

Quote:
(Jerah @ Jun 11 2008, 10:24 PM) *
"I never could believe in the companions he portrays; super elite call girls who are treated as royalty? Nope. I don't believe it."

That's the inner 16 year old in Joss that I can identify with- in our world super elite call girls are the highest of nobility, taking pity on us poor needy mortal guys for mere money.

Some day we might grow up.... icon_wink.gif

The human Chrisisall

The re-printing Chrisisall

PLATONIST

Thursday, June 12, 2008 3:59 PM

Yeah, I think we should exercise caution, when making connections to other literary works, especially for Joss's sake, we don't want him accused of Intellectual Plagiarism. lol

And if I remember my Herbert lore correctly, the Bene ladies were essentially producers of well placed heirs. They married and imparted their wisdom and yielded political power through their offspring. Remember Paul A. and his importance to their continuity.

I always thought what Joss meant by that comment was that Companions could rise to political power after retirement because they are well educated and talented professional people.

SPACEANJL

Thursday, June 12, 2008 9:04 PM

The B.G were very political - and they were breeding for a very specific end ie the Kwisatz Haderach.

Joss has made acknowledgment that Herbert was a favourite author, but the Geisha are probably the closest inspiration.

Of course, the Companions could just have made some very good stock investments over the years, financial tips from grateful clients in the know...

(sorta off-topic - you ever considered that Simon might have been a trial run, genetically speaking, and that the desired result was next time round?)

NCBROWNCOAT

Thursday, June 12, 2008 11:12 PM

I would tend to think that male Companions would be a source of controversy since the Guild was set up for females and in a way for their protection and independence from men.

I would think it the controversy would be analogous to women breaking barriers now, from attending formally all male schools, becoming priests, rabbis and ministers (I'm a proud Episcopolian, we not only have women priests and bishops but our Presiding Bishop is female, the first in the Anglican Communion) and in other areas.

I also want to say I that Joy Davidson's essay in "Finding Serenity" was what caused me to see the parallels from pagan priestess to geisha to Companion. It's a very interesting historical analysis of what we know of Companions. I just thought it interesting that other works showed women in powerful, sexual roles.

And Spaceanjl, I'm sure Companions have the best financial advice no matter how they pay for it.

http://fireflyfaninnc.livejournal.com/

MAL4PREZ

Thursday, June 12, 2008 11:32 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ncbrowncoat:
...since the Guild was set up for females and in a way for their protection and independence from men.

Why do you say this? Really, is there something particular you've read or seen to make you believe that the Guild is so gender specific?

I mean, sure we've only seen female Companions, but does that necessarily mean there are no men? And I don't mean only men for gay men to hire - might there there women in the `verse who'd hire a male Companion? (And wouldn't that make a fun fun episode - a hunky male Companion friend of Inara's who's hired by some high power wealthy woman...)

I guess that, until I get word from Joss specifically saying different, I see the Guild as a protectorate for Companionship, for this Geisha/counselor/sex partner/escort/whatever you call it service. In my mind, it is the service that is taught/sold/protected, not the gender role.

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PLATONIST

Thursday, June 12, 2008 11:37 PM

off topic... no, neither Tam strike me as being genetically enhanced, Simon was top three percent in his class because of hard work and his socio economic opportunities, as we see him studying in Safe, and getting a dedicated source box.

River on the other hand is a gifted Genius, IQ probably over 200, less than 1% of our current population. She was probably identified early through testing and recruited for the Academy. In Serenity, she was shown as a one bright and insightful little girl.

And, I don't know how much more Joss was planning on adding to their life histories. He got a lot of mileage out of their story in the BDM and at some point that can start to get convoluted and lose its appeal to viewers. With the comic series he seems to be moving in a Book and Inara direction. Maybe all these stories converge at some point. Wouldn’t that be cool?

Which reminds me, I have to go and YOUR fanfic.

NCBROWNCOAT

Friday, June 13, 2008 12:38 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by mal4prez:
Quote:
Originally posted by ncbrowncoat:
...since the Guild was set up for females and in a way for their protection and independence from men.
Why do you say this? Really, is there something particular you've read or seen to make you believe that the Guild is so gender specific?

I mean, sure we've only seen female Companions, but does that necessarily mean there are no men? And I don't mean only men for gay men to hire - might there there women in the `verse who'd hire a male Companion? (And wouldn't that make a fun fun episode - a hunky male Companion friend of Inara's who's hired by some high power wealthy woman...)

I guess that, until I get word from Joss specifically saying different, I see the Guild as a protectorate for Companionship, for this Geisha/counselor/sex partner/escort/whatever you call it service. In my mind, it is the service that is taught/sold/protected, not the gender role.

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hmm-burble-blah, blah-blah-blah, take a left

''

I don't know if there are male Companions either. I was just speculating about one gender tying to break into a specific job that look gender specific.

Hey, I'd love to see male Companions too. As a heterosexual single female that hasn't been in a relationship for a while I'd be first in line to hire a hunky male Companion... just for dinner of course.

Companion

http://fireflyfaninnc.livejournal.com/

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