WOW, that makes a whole lotta sense!

I wonder if our genius creator/writers were actually aware of what they were doing (I mean conciously,,... eh, I mean deliberately.. arrrgggh you get what I mean).

A soon as you get into archetypes, myths and genre, deeper meanings, connotations and hidden truths just seem to pop up. Well, at least when it's done right. Mr. Whedon seems to have it down to a T though. Nevertheless I wonder if there was actually a discussion about this aspect of the characters for example, or if it just "felt right".

I recall in another essay the word "worldbuilding" (In "Finding Serenity" for those who are interested) which seems to be an essential part of science fiction, and the discussion about the careful way it was realized in Firefly. I still remember wondering how one guy, man, genius whatever could conciously choose to show such a lot of details.

[ edited by Harpy on 2006-08-06 00:53 ]

Harpy | August 06, 02:44 CET

Thanks Simon! That was a great read and will make me watch each episode again with new eyes!

Firefly Flanatic | August 06, 04:27 CET

That's an incredible essay. I didn't thought it was possible for Joss to be more of an amazing writer than he already is. I was proved wrong.

EvilFirePixie8 | August 06, 06:22 CET

Great essay, thanks for the link. Joss's writing is especially notable for its characterizations, and this essay (along with other essays at this site and other sites) just confirms that for me.

sari | August 06, 06:43 CET

SoulfulSpike is an awesome site. I love their essays and episode reviews.

TwisTz | August 06, 08:49 CET

I started out rather skeptical, but it does make a lot of sense. Some of them seem to be a bit of a stretch, sure, but that description of the "moment-of-truth scene" in the pilot... That makes way too much sense for their not to be any basis for it.

kishi | August 06, 10:19 CET

Hmm, interesting read. Some of it made perfect sense but I think with these kinds of interpretations it's easy to take your thesis to extremes and forget that a lot of events occur to drive the plot as well as character.

I do have some time for the 'group as character completion' idea (i've seen similar things said about Star Trek: TNG for instance) but it's also worth remembering, IMO, that any stable group must have certain types of people in it in order to be stable (e.g. you need an instigator or two but you also need a peacemaker, hot-heads need cooler heads to balance or else things fly apart pretty quickly) and that drama is about throwing different types into a mix and seeing what happens.

(I also think, ironically for a show ostensibly about freedom, that this interpretation takes a lot of Mal's volition away from him)

Saje | August 07, 13:09 CET