Serenity

As a Buffy fan, I always felt guilty I didn't watch Firefly, and now that I've seen Serenity, I feel even more guilty. It is really a good movie, although, as is always the case with me and science fiction, there were times when I didn't know exactly what was going on. No matter. The story takes place in the future, when the "old Earth" has become too crowded and the new earths have been established around the universe. There has been a war between the controlling power the Alliance and the Independents, which the Independents lost. The movie centers around a band of former Independents who now roam the galaxy in a beloved but aged space craft, making their living in a less-than-above-board manner. Along with them is a doctor who saved his telepathic sister from the Alliance training facility, where she was being turned into a weapon. The setup clearly owns a lot to Star Wars. While Hans Solo may have been a lovable rougue, however, the Serenity crew is much more complex--charming, sympathetic characters who at times do things that are unpleasant and even immoral. Eventually, the crew finds a higher purpose as they become involved in a dangerous quest to expose the evil-doing of the Alliance. I've read a lot about how fun this movie is and it is fun, especially the blending of sci-fi and western and the fast and furious dialogue. But I found the movie a lot more than fun. First of all, it is has parts that are dark and creepy and upsetting. Joss Whedon is never one to pull his punches--he was willing to kill off Buffy's mother and he is willing to kill off beloved characters here as well. (At one point I though none of them might make it through.) Also, fun as it is, Serenity also really seemed telling about America, our vision of ourselves, and the way we are seen by others. The image of the rag-tag bunch of noble-minded misfits fighting off the better organized oppressor is as American as apple pie and is in fact at the center of our founding myth--how many times in your elementary school years did you read about the valiant, out-numbered patriots bringing the well-funded, well-trained, well-dressed Redcoats to their knees? But, now of course many people in the world see America--or at least the American government--as something more like the Alliance: the sole superpower attempting to control the fate of all of humanity. Maybe that split identity is part of the reason we're in such a mess right now