Interesting stuff, though I would hasten to add that Mal has ulterior motives for insulting Inara's work. I mean, really :P That's not a condemnation of Companions by Joss and the writers, thats a character acting passive-aggressively, as Mal does towards Inara. People too often assume that what a character says is what the writer agrees with and its just not necessarily the case.

zeitgeist | September 29, 22:26 CET

I wonder what "The Daily Worker" or the World Socialist Website will think of "Serenity" where, no doubt, the story will be one of workers struggling to free themselves from the yoke of the Alliance's imperialist oppreson.

Whatever your political stripe, there's a "Firefly" for you!

[ edited by bobster on 2005-09-29 21:16 ]

bobster | September 29, 23:16 CET

I agree, zeitgeist. I also wanted to add that the assumption that Inara is miserable is completely wrong. She can handle being insulted by her clients and she knows why Mal gives her a hard time (or at least she has a good idea - remember "Believe me, I've called him worse"?). Everyone has problem clients; some jobs have some, others have a lot. Just a fact of life.

Inara seems happy to me. She is an intelligent, resourceful woman who would not hesitate to change her circumstances way before she became miserable.

Also, it is well known that Kaylee is the heart of the piece, and Kaylee loves Inara. Kaylee's point of view is what the writer (mostly meaning Joss here) believes to be true.

brownishcoat | September 30, 00:10 CET

...swear to god, these people (of which the NRO gang are the "respectable" branch) are friggin' nuts...trying to equate the Alliance with activist libruls and setting themselves up as Our Heroes is batshit crazy. (yah, I'm a librul. but I sure as hell wouldn't try to make an idiot analogy like this!)

still, a ticket/dvd sale's a ticket/dvd sale...

annagranfors | September 30, 02:13 CET

"It will be interesting to see if this movie strikes a chord with an American audience."

I like this last line. To me it infers a couple of major points.

One is that the timing of Serenity's release is perfect. In the climate of ever increasing government stoked fear, injustice, corruption and incompetance, the writer wonders if people will recognise this picture in a wide release pop film.

Two is the hit prediction. It could build into a sizable hit if it does "strike a chord" because the audience who have the potential to get that kind of message is quite large and widespread.

StaffOSimon | September 30, 06:44 CET