At the height of his career, Joss Whedon was enjoying the successes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) and Angel (1994-2004) when he created Firefly. Though it only ran one season, it has a HUGE cult following, and that drove the desire for the film. Don’t get me wrong, I love the TV show Firefly (2002), and the movie Serenity (2005), though I came to them late [I saw the movie in 2006, then came back to the series]. However, the critic in me can’t help but examining the premises of the show, and finding it a bit troubling.
Luckily, I have long known about a resource for people like me: How to be a Fan of Problematic Things. In this document, Rachel of the Social Justice League tells us there are three rules we have to follow:
Firstly, acknowledge that the thing you like is problematic and do not attempt to make excuses for it…. Secondly, do not gloss over the issues or derail conversations about the problematic elements…. Thirdly you must acknowledge other, even less favourable, interpretations of the media you like.
So in that vein, I thought I’d acknowledge the problematic elements of this show.
There is a way to read this show as a nod to the Confederate States of America
It’s a well-known fact that Whedon’s inspiration for the show was the Pulitzer prize-winning Civil War novel, The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara, which follows Union and Confederate soldiers during four days at the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. And Whedon modeled his world on the Reconstruction era, but set in the future.
So that brings with it a BUNCH of connotations. We like the plucky “Independents” and “Browncoats,” like Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) [and Zoe Washburne (Gina Torres)], who lost, but “still wasn’t sure” he was on the wrong side. We know that Mal just wants the freedom to “do his own thing,” and live as he pleases, which has always been a veiled defense of slavery, and misogyny, etc., etc. So this further implies that he and the crew are for slavery–and if we support him, then perhaps we do too. But we need not go all the way THERE. We should also look at the differences between the Confederacy and the Independents, and try to avoid binary distinctions. Or as I do with stand-up:
Basically, the idea is to recognize that texts like jokes and even TV shows aren’t closed systems, existing in a vacuum. They exist in a relationship with their audience, and different audiences bring different understandings to the table, and thus read the text differently. I try to recognize that there are positive and negative ways of reading things, and the best jokes and texts, IMHO, are those that have the most positive readings, while avoiding the worst negative readings. So let’s apply this thought to Firefly/Serenity.
Similarities and Differences
1. The Firefly Universe is not the United States
For one thing, it’s bigger–a whole bunch of terraformed planets and moons surrounding at least six stars. But this would seem to be a metaphorical extension of states–both close to and remote from the center of government–with travel between them being difficult, thus they are left somewhat to their own devices (and government).
Second, the government and culture is a combination of the United States and China. Though the Chinese are now having problems with their treatment of the Uighurs, which parallels the U.S. treatment of the Native Americans, so maybe that’s not helping either.
Ok, but it’s in the Future! Ok, maybe that’s not much help, until we dig further.
Why did the Independents rebel? Well, the descriptions of the Union of Allied Planets is that they’re neglectful–they terraformed the planets, and recruited people to go there, but didn’t adequately supply them. I don’t know that you can say the same about the United States.
Also, that they meddle, as River Tam has it in Serenity:
We meddle… People don’t like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think, don’t run, don’t walk. We’re in their homes and in their heads, and we haven’t the right
This is more just “what governments do.” They meddle and ask everyone to follow the same rules, for the good of all. However, there are governments who meddle too much, and restrict their citizens too much–China has been described as one, and the U.S. is currently walking that way…
2. The crew is [somewhat] diverse
Yes, Zoe Washburne (Torres) and Shepherd Book (Ron Glass) are portrayed by African American actors. Zoe fought on the side of the Independents, and is currently in an inter-racial relationship. We also see a couple of Black agents of the Union of Allied Planets–both in “Objects in Space,” and in Serenity. It’s not as diverse as we’d like [if the government is a collapse of the U.S. and China, where are all the Chinese?], but it’s something. So if there is slavery in this future, it might not be centered on African Americans.
3. Mal and the crew never support slavery, and act in the interests of the impoverished
Did you ever hear of “The Hero of Canton?” The man they call Jayne? The Mudders of Canton are basically indentured servants, and though in his backstory, Jayne Cobb (Adam Baldwin) wasn’t trying to help them, he did do better in the episode “Jaynestown.”
Similarly, in “The Train Job,” after learning that what they stole from the train was medicine that helped the miners in Paradiso to live their lives, Mal returns the goods.
In “Our Mrs. Reynolds,” the crew are helping the Triumph Settlement with a bandit problem, making sure their goods get where they need to go. They also help out the prostitutes in “Heart of Gold,” who are being invaded by men in a paternity suit.
Mal also fights a duel in “Shindig” over Inara Serra (Morena Baccarin) being treated as property by her client.
Finally, and perhaps most telling: In the first episode, “Serenity,” when Mal opens Dr. Simon Tam’s (Sean Maher’s) crate and finds River Tam (Summer Glau), he immediately condemns Simon on the idea that he’s human trafficking her–perhaps as sex slave.
4. They can be two different things.
Though it’s obvious, it doesn’t hurt to mention that Firefly and Serenity are not and never were a part of the Confederacy. So, unlike, say, the Confederate Flag, Firefly might be able to co-opt the “Anti-Big Government” and resentment of the Reconstruction era, without having to own up to everything the Confederacy stood for.
Yes, this allows people who like the Confederacy to like the show as well–and for some of the same reasons–it doesn’t mean that ALL of us who like the show have to like the Confederacy–we can make distinctions.
Is this “gloss[ing] over the issues or derail[ing] conversations about the problematic elements”?
I don’t think so. If we said the show was misogynistic, and the female characters were treated poorly, and I said “What about the one female character Mal liked and thus treated well?” That would be derailing and glossing over.
Final thoughts
We don’t have to be perfect, and the things we like don’t have to be ideologically pristine. Rachel of the Social Justice League concludes:
As fans, sometimes we need to remember that the things we like don’t define our worth as people. So there’s no need to defend them from every single criticism or pretend they are perfect. Really loving something means seeing it as it really is, not as you wish it were. You can still be a good fan while acknowledging the problematic elements of the things you love. In fact, that’s the only way to be a good fan of problematic things.
So, admit there are problems–be bothered, explore and think about why–but don’t sacrifice what you loved from the original text. And then move on and find other things you like as much, or more.
Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Things I missed?
