To jump from post-modernist meditations to reflections on soldier-hood to a recent science fiction film may seem frenetic to some, but you should know now that such leaps of thought will frequently occur on this blog. I intend to keep things mixed up in order to satisfy the meanderings of my own brain as well as to entertain the ever changing attention span of you, the reader. It is fitting that this entry, and not my first, should include my introduction as I encountered the film I am about to discuss at the end of a series of events, not the beginning.
Whether you have heard of the movie Serenity or not, it is most likely that you do enjoy outings to the cinema. I myself am a great lover of movies and since childhood have developed an appreciation for the many nuances of moviemaking. Being brought up on the original Star Wars Trilogy and The Adventures of Indiana Jones it is no surprise that I am very fond of well written campy material, that as well as amusing you serves as a prop to submerse you in a much deeper universe, a different world of action and possibilities, a place playing in stark contrast to the immobility of reality, where many times what you most desire is denied to you not by your own choices, but by the behavior of others. Logically we become frustrated with this environment, we want to be larger than life, to emulate the heroes and heroines we witness on the big screen, making the big push to accomplish the ultimate goal. Whether it be to destroy an Empire, best the Nazis or save the world (and sometimes all three) it is irrelevant what that goal is, the fact that these uber-people know what they want, act on it, and then win is all that matters to us, the audience.
Of course all of this has been said before by countless movie critics, psychologists and students of culture. The reason I am bothering to rephrase the observations of the past is to point out the brilliance of Serenity, and its prequel, the television series Firefly. Both of these productions seize upon that feeling of frustration, the knowing of the truth that you are smaller than events around you, and propels you into a world where the main characters, for once, are all similarly frustrated. But wait, maybe you are wondering where is the escapism in that, what reason should I watch something that reminds me of my daily grind?
The answer is simple, although our crew of men and women onboard Serenity are discouraged by their world they make an active choice to make the best of the situations they encounter. They thereby become great not because of a simple contest between good and evil, but by encountering in themselves the conflict between passivity and the unknown and by each time being brave enough to tackle the mystery presented to them. As in the real world this path is seldom easy and often fraught with loss and suffering, but they are able to achieve a sense of accomplishment that even the powerful but distant forces of The Alliance can never take away from them. And though the plot line eventually reaches into the epic, it is of the same epic nature that our lives can become a part of if we are daring enough to acknowledge the conflicts before us. As a result the crew of Serenity becomes our crew of companions in reality, their voyages become our treks into the perils of the future, their successes and failures are on the level with our own ups and downs. By doing this the creator of Serenity and Firefly, Joss Whedon, has done what many writers consider virtually impossible, and that makes him mighty.
Check out the first nine minutes of Serenity at the link below:
http://www.spike.com/video/2684765
For more information on Serenity and the TV series Firefly, please refer to the following websites:
http://fireflydvd.com/wp/
http://www.fireflyfans.net/
4 comments:
What struck me when I was reading this article was the observation that many individuals within our society (indeed throughout the globe) become frustrated with their social environment and turn to fantastical shows and movies with wondrous hero's and heroine's that save the day to escape from the cruel realities of everyday life. I have considered this a part of my given philosophy for a considerable amount of time and was very happy to discover that numerous 'students of culture' have already written books about it meaning my idea is by no means unique or special. But this led me to another train of thought, that being the question considering originality (whether or not it is possible to have an original thought). Since my idea is by no means globally original, I don’t find myself a grand philosopher. This highly obvious fact, however, does not remove all sense of achievement from my inner psyche. Quite the contrary, in actuality, a combination of my mentality, fantasies and philosophies formulated this idea (which may or may not have been influenced by outside sources) that I did not comprehend or grasp before. Thus, I, individually, conjured an original idea. It may have been repeated a thousand times before and will most likely be repeated a thousand times more, but you cannot take away the personal process of actually going from point A and reaching point Z. That is my answer to the question whether or not it is possible for oneself to be original. As long as you reach that point on your own then you have achieved reaching an original thought and even if past philosophers have already discovered that point, it doesn’t make it any less original for yourself.
I am glad to see that what I wrote helped you feel less alone in your thoughts and conclusions concerning life. I also believe your comments on the importance of the originality of the thought process as opposed to whether or not the eventual conclusion is original or not are illuminating as well as encouraging. Since much of our world is permeated by an "its all been done before" mentality it is refreshing to see a take on the dilemma that manages to produce a positive outcome. I feel if more people were focused on their actual journey to enlightenment rather than fixated on the goal they intend to arrive at then we would all be happier and less stressed while we went about our lives. All of what you say reminds me of something Shepherd Brook says in the pilot for Firefly when asked why he doesn't care where the ship he is about to embark on is going, "Because how you get there is the worthier part."
I don't have a terribly intellectual response to this post and little to say about Serenity but I will still make a response. I love Indiana Jones. I watch all three movies every summer when I stay at a beach house. I never really thought about why I liked it so much. To say the least your post has made me think about why I watch every summer and why I've watched it every summer for the past five years.
Indiana Jones rocks indeed. I'm glad to hear my post has started you thinking about the reasons for your interest in those classic movies. I'd be happy to hear any thoughts you come to if you would be willing to share them. And by the way, if you love Indiana Jones you should totally check out Serenity, it won't disappoint you. Thanks for the comment stranger.
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