Whedonesque : Comments on 8197 : The Politics of Firefly.

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September 30 2005

The Politics of Firefly. A diarist (interestingly going by "Simon") on the popular progressive blog DailyKos takes a look at the politics of Firefly and Serenity, with some Buffy and Angel mentions thrown in for good measure.

From the comments: "Buffy at least was very liberal (Angel was anti-authoritarian at best), I see Firefly as very libertarian."

Jet Wolf | Firefly&Serenity | 08:33 CET | 5 comments total | tags: serenity, firefly

"..one big middle finger to Fox TV executives."
(laughs)

In the UK it'll be two fingers and in Argentina a thumb.

StaffOSimon | September 30, 08:50 CET

Well now, this is a situation: two diametrically opposed political blogs--this one up here, and the National Review piece ChrisinVirginia discovered below, both feelin' Serenity, both on the same day. I lean more towards Kos, but that's my bent, folks. A discussion of the politics of the Serenityverse would be interesting to have, some time. But not today, maybe. Quite impressive, in its way. JW would probably be pleased.

Ok, now I'm off to bed.

The Devil's Robot | September 30, 08:56 CET

There's more discussion on the politics of Serenity -- and a glowing review (with one semi-spoiler) -- at Daniel Drezner's center-right blog:

Serenity is a nice exercise in demonstrating how special effects should serve the story and not vice versa. As for dialogue, one person who saw an earlier preview put it best: "Han Solo wishes he was this cool."

Follow his links to earlier discussions on the politics of Firefly, and to another great review at Jacob Levy's blog:

This is not a genre-buster like Matrix or even a genre-redefiner like Blade Runner. It's more of an ante-raiser like Alien: "See? This thing that we've gotten used to seeing done badly can be done really, really well." For Alien, it was making a monster movie genuinely suspenseful, scary, and visually compelling. For Serenity, it's making space opera morally serious and centered on complete characters with convincing relationships and first-rate dialogue.

wrinkled time | September 30, 10:59 CET

It is official, Joss needs to run for President. Finally someone who can bridge the political divisiveness in America and reach out across all spectrums :)

Note to Joss: please be aware that becoming a politician means that you can no longer sent small babies to hell dimensions, but rather have to kiss them and hand them back. And yes that is kissing babies not babes. On reflection, staying in Hollywood may be the more attractive option.

On a different note, had to slightly chuckle (or wince however you want to look at it) at the Alien comparison. Possibly not the most serendipitous mention one could have thought off. Having said that, he does make a valid observation as he is comparing it to the first Alien movie.

miranda | September 30, 13:31 CET

I love this. Joss, the political bloggers have jumped into things now! Can't say I recall seeing too many other films rating space on Dailykos (my bent, too). What I am feeling more than anything else right now, is the overall goodwill of the reviews/reviewers. Aside from the overwhelmingly positive critical writing, I get the sense that the spirit of Serenity, it's history, its characters and cast and its heart, has the power to embrace if people will let it. It's like EVERYONE is getting behind it, behind all of us, wants it to be a hit,too. I can feel the power of this - and it ain't my coffee, folks! Have a wonderful opening day everybody! Mandy

Equalitynow | September 30, 15:16 CET

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