Firefly on the brain.

So I may be the only one lame enough to be on this over the summer but I feel this is something only this class may (or may not) find amusing. Today I was babysitting a 5-year-old and we were watching The Backyardigans. For those who do not spend your time watching Nick Jr., it's a cartoon where these weird animals go on adventures in the backyard. Anyway, in this episode there were aliens in a spaceship and they landed in the wild west. They needed to get their ship fixed and this moose on a horse with a cowboy hat came to the rescue. And because this class has left such a lasting impression on me, the second I saw this I shouted "FIREFLY," frightening the little girl, as well as myself a little bit. So I just wanted to share this with all of you who are still looking at this which is probably no one. Enjoy your summer!

Scratching the Surface

As promised, I went back to the first episode, "Welcome to the Hellmouth." Which, as it turns out, is a two-parter (followed by "The Harvest"), and I couldn't resist watching the second along with the first. The first season is perhaps my least favorite, but like the others, it has its merits. We all have to admit that every story needs an introduction.

Buffy's reaction to Sunnydale is precisely like the one most people have upon their first viewing of a BtVS episode, regardless of where it falls in the trajectory of the show: horror, confusion, frustration. But a few come to regard it with deep affection and love.

After arriving in Sunnydale, Buffy is feeling optimistic, like she's escaped an awful fate. She is eager to begin again. But as someone pointed out to me once, you can't escape yourself, hard as you try and as far as you go. Buffy's identity as the Slayer is, she quickly discovers, just as inescapable. But she denies it until threatened with the possibility that someone she cares about (Willow) will come to harm. She is sucked back in to her role, whether or not she wants to be--there is simply too much at stake (pun intended).

I think the fake bottom in her trunk, filled with the trademark keepsakes of an average teenager's life is especially poignant. Underneath are hidden her less cuddly secrets: cloves of garlic, stakes, vials of holy water. Secrets that, like in our own lives, are less than attractive for others to discover, if we allow them to discover any of it at all. We keep the brighter, happier things on the surface. We appear to be fine and smiling, when inside we have pain, sorrow, hurt.

We keep our darkness buried.

...How Do You Feel About That?

I have decided to watch the entire Buffy the Vampire Slayer series (and perhaps throw in Angel and Firefly as well, but I don't want to be overly ambitious) and blog about it. So. Here goes...

Last night I began with season 2 because I think it gets more into Buffy and the Scoobies' relationships and storylines more, with less standalone episodes. I think, to be true to my word, that tonight I'll start with the pilot episode. One must be consistent, after all.

But for now, it's "When She Was Bad," the first episode of the second season.

Buffy takes her inner bitch out for a walk after undergoing experiencing death...and living. As a result she refuses to allow herself the luxury of closeness when she is terrified of it happening again. The dying. The internalization of her distress results in the externalization of those less attractive qualities every person possesses: sarcasm, meanness, anger, and perhaps the worst of all, silence.

Her role as the Slayer, Buffy imagines, implies that she can't need anyone, can't share with anyone, can't rely on anyone, can't can't can't. It's a lie, of course, since her support network is waiting in the wings, eager to help her through any obstacle. But to admit vulnerability would be to admit that she is just that: vulnerable, an emotion that she already feels in a heightened way, complete with dreams and visions of the Master.

The problem is that Buffy thinks she is being strong by keeping everything stuffed inside and lashing out, but instead she is subconsciously giving the Master power by refusing to give her anxiety a name and a voice. In fact, she never truly divulges what is bothering her; Giles guesses only after discussing the situation with Xander and Willow.

It isn't until she crushes the Master's bones with a sledgehammer that Buffy is able to take control of the powerless feeling she's been dealing with. But after being forgiven (silently) by her friends, Buffy is slowly learning that to be a Slayer doesn't necessarily mean to be alone.

Call for papers!

Sigma Tau Delta is hosting our 3rd Annual Literary Conference on October 8, 2011. I have talked with some people from our class and I think it would be a fabulous idea to create a Joss Whedon themed panel to show off the excellent work we did for Dr. H.

Here is all of the info, but if you have any questions, email me (hhallwilliams@gmail.com) or you may direct any questions/comments to the gmail account listed below.

Think about it... :) It's great professional experience and a great opportunity to showcase your work.

CALL FOR PAPERS
Literary Festival and Conference
Shepherd University
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
October 8, 2011

The Shepherd University Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta invites submissions for our third annual “Literary Festival and Conference,” October 8, 2011. Planned events include:

• Conference panels featuring student papers on all subjects related to English studies
• Workshop on creative writing led by a professionals in the field
• Poetry/fiction readings
• Delicious food and other fun events

Papers written for undergraduate courses on any subject related to English studies are eligible for consideration. All critical presentations should be about 15 minutes long (about 8 pages). Creative presentations should be about 10 minutes long. Presenters are encouraged to bring supplementary materials (handouts, power points, etc) to help engage their audience; however these materials are not required.

Critical Paper Proposals: Email a 250 word abstract to alphagammaconferencepapers@gmail.com

Creative Writing Proposals: Email entire work(s) to alphagammaconferencepapers@gmail.com

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: June 15, 2011.

Presentation Thoughts

I really loved seeing the presentations this week. All the Firefly people really made me feel like I was listening to a class that I knew nothing about (and that's a good thing!)

I loved Corinne's power pt., and how she was wasn't afraid to break away from the Whedon (I was sad about the lack of Eric Dane though...)

The past week had so many fresh takes on vampires, I laughed a lot and learned a lot.

I feel like these presentations have been a really good representation of all our personalities and the wonderful ability we have to take what we liked, didn't like, and learned from this, and put it into eight minutes of hard work.

I feel really proud to be part of this group, and I hope everyone will enjoy my presentation half as much I have so far.

"Like My Mask? Isn't It Pretty? It Raises The Dead!"

In the true spirit of that which is me, I have some awesome funny Buffy moments to share:

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZymsP11JrIo&feature=related
- Willow has a triumphant moment against Cordelia!

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYr0HMz7SeI&feature=related
- Best moment? Andrew: "Stop touching my magic bone!"

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0pgAC1uwfs&feature=related

Enjoy!!

Down with the sickness

Though I've had a rough case of senioritis lately, my paper is really looking good. I've had some trouble with sources, but all-in-all I can't complain about it. I have a habit of never taking peer review sessions that seriously since it never really helped me much before, but I found the review sessions we've had in class to be extremely helpful. Not only does it benefit my paper, but its fun to read everyone else's paper and get a feel for their topics.

I'm not the best public speaker, so I am a little worried about the actual presentation segment of our projects. Everyone in the class is very friendly, so I don't think it will be that much of a problem. I just have to make sure that I put the right amount of work in, and make sure my work is up to snuff.

I have a theory...it could be bunnies.

I am at a loss. With no show to watch, then blog about watching, finding a topic to write about presents a challenge for my weary brain cells. That being said, I'd like to talk about Anya. I find Anya (courtesy of Emma Caulfield's presentation) emminently watchable. The fact that she has no filter and doesn't understand the society and customs of the world she inhabits makes her the perfect means through which to voice Whedon's own questions about why we do what we do. Yes, Anya is harsh at times, brittle and brutal even. But at least she is honest. And as she evolves as a human being, she exhibits a layer of compassion. Her musical sequence with Xander in "Once More, With Feeling" expresses an honest female perspective that is not often vocalized. Even her wedding planning, which she throws herself into, opens up a line of possible discussion about whether all of the elements that make up weddings are really so important and necessary. Anya is herself, and remains herself, throughout all that life throws in her path. Also, she falls for Xander. She opens her heart to him, someone who none of the scoobies would expect to win such a prize...but I'd rather not consider Anya an object to be won. whedon twists the "common schlub somehow rangles an Amazon" cliche by presenting Anya and Xander as equals who offset each other. Even if he doesn't always understand her, Xander helps Anya understand the world and is (for the most part) kind and gentle and patient with her. In turn Anya accepts Xander for who he is and because she requires his aid in sorting out life's peculiarities, he gains confidence. Although they do not receive a "happy ending," there yet remains a deep love for one another, and the dynamic between them is at once startling and immensely enjoyable to watch.

A note on peer-review, and our lovely class

Although I love the idea of peer-review, I haven't always had ideal experiences with the exercise in the past. However, I can honestly say that I enjoyed reading my classmates papers and having them read mine over the course of two classes.

The first day of peer-review, I read two papers (by Anna and Adam) that exposed me to entirely different topics: humor and existentialism! I admired their unique approach to their papers and enjoyed reading them. Both Anna and Adam took an outside concept--both very challenging and broad ones, at that--and applied them specifically and skillfully to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The second day of peer-review, I had the pleasure of reading a different batch of papers. What stood out most to me about the second session was the unexpected similarity of my paper and Adam Otto's. Honestly, I was nervous about Adam reading my paper about Willow Rosenberg since he has vocalized and blogged about his distaste for Willow. My paper stemmed from the idea of Willow being impossible to write off and how she deserves careful consideration. I was pleased to read Adam's paper about Cordelia Chase in which he essentially embraces the same premise--there is more to Cordelia than meets the eye and she also deserves thoughtful examination.

From the beginning, our class has been a huge mixture of opinions, voices, and approaches. The papers have been a great culmination of that mixture. Thanks to everyone who read my paper and gave me helpful feedback; I really appreciate it!

Also, I'll just say that I absolutely loved this class--perfectly organized, consistent/fair workload, and oh yeah--FUN. I've noted progress in my own writing, and that feels pretty darn good. So, Dr. H, thank you!

Best wishes to everyone with your papers. I can't wait for the presentations. :)

Just Call It Bittersweet Sentimentality.

So here we are at the end of another semester. To me it seems like only yesterday I was walking into my first class as an English major not quite knowing what to expect, or if I'd truly made the right decision to switch from Nursing. Honestly, it only took that one day for me to find the answer: Yes. Within the first week I felt my entire mentality shift and noticed an improvement in my mood. For the first time in four years, I am happy and do not regret my decision in any way, shape, or form. I already feel like I've learned more and have been treated like an adult, rather than an incompetent child.

With that being said, I remember seeing the flyer advertising this class last fall. I actually had to read it a few times so I knew my eyes were not deceiving me. An entire class devoted to the works of Joss Whedon?? Jackpot!!! After being an avid Buffy and Angel fan for so long, I finally had the opportunity to be in a class that basically discussed a huge chunk of my early adolescence.

This class was above and beyond my expectations. Yes, I have seen every single episode of Buffy and Angel, but I have never had the opportunity to discuss them in this context. What I thought of as purely entertainment turned out to have deeper moral and ethical values that were definitely worth talking about. There have been so many specificities come up about a few episodes in particular like, "The Body" and "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?" that I completely overlooked previously. For example, the uses of camera angles to affect audience emotions, or the issues of communism and rascism playing a huge part in an outcome. I learned so much from reading articles, looking at blog posts and sitting around a table discussing each episode that it's unbelievable. Writing the response papers was a lot of fun for me too; really getting to dig deeper into the core of those episodes was a blast!

I also appreciate the fact that I was exposed to more genres in Whedon's world like Firefly and Dr. Horrible. I never would have taken the time to watch them without this class. And as I've said before, I am now a proud fan of Firefly. I have bought the series on DVD as well as Serenity. Of course I will continue to watch Buffy and Angel, the latter especially as I continue working on my critical essay. By the way, thanks to those who have provided me wih feedback for my essay, I really appreciate it!

Thanks to everyone for an amazing semester, good luck to all of you in the future! And super special shout out to Dr. H for just being awesome! :)

I shall miss you...

I have always enjoyed being in classes like this - with fellow students who are passionate and vocal about their thoughts and ideas, willing to share even the most borderline-risque comments, and bringing a certain life to class discussions. Though I am usually the quiet one in the back that rarely pipes up in class, I have had many epiphany thoughts during this course (if I could remember them now, I'd share them - I'm sure they'll surface again later, as is usual for my scattered fruit-fly attention span). I learned so much from Dr. H, from Joss Whedon, from Joseph Harris, and from myself that I hardly recognize myself sometimes. *laughs*

Though challenging, in so very very many ways, I enjoyed this class - and my introduction into the Whedon-verse - immensely, and I shall miss it. My biggest regret is that I did not speak up and share more of my thoughts with you, my fellow classmates, and that the class is coming to an end so quickly. I'm sure I shall pass quickly from your thoughts, as new stresses and obligations fill the space of this class, but, as I'm sure is the case with many of us, the memory of the class as a whole and the unique and enlightening experiences we've had will live on and influence our perception of "literature" and our ways of writing in the future.

And so I say, I shall miss you - this class, our discussions, and all that we shared about Whedon. Happy end of semester to all and best of luck on finals.

Fun with Words

I love playing around with words! Just for fun see if you can find the two hidden words in this poem...they are related to the semester!

Just a poetic farewell before we depart
of very simple intent at front and rear
should you attempt to discover hidden
secrets concealed within, any
written words combined with clever placement, never
hiding the mystery to be revealed
every line contains two clues avowed
definitely my attempt to hoodwink
only to be uncovered or later announced
never fear…the answer is near.

conclusions?

Well, the semester is coming to a close and I thought I would blog about my overall reaction to a class spent entirely writing about TV (and one movie, Serenity). I originally took this class for the sole reason that it would transfer to WVU. However, I noticed, after registering for the class, a familiar face on a poster in Knutti. It was Neil Patrick Harris in a white lab coat and weird glasses. I then realized that the advanced composition class that I was getting into was covering the work of Joss Whedon. Surprised (and somewhat pleased) at this new information, I began to sincerely look forward to this very untraditional experience (it is important to note that I my only familiarity with Whedon at the time was Dr. Horrible). I was not disappointed. The class was awesome, giving me some time to sit back and enjoy literal shows before the exhausting hour and fifteen minute "Women in the Arts and Lit" with Dr. Shurbutt that would follow. As I became fully aware of the quality of Whedon's work, I decided to give in to some of my friends demands and watch Firefly (this is mentioned in more detail in an older post and I shan't go into it here). The end result of this (watching Firefly, mourning its cancellation, and cursing Fox) being a compulsive desire to watch Castle until I found the scene where Fillion is Mal for Halloween...

In addition to helping turn me into a bit of a Firefly nut, English 372 also gave me the unique and thoroughly enjoyable opportunity to write about contemporary entertainment (definitely a college English first for me). I must say that writing about Buffy, Angel, and Firefly was a wonderful experience that (at least most of the time) came much easier than writing about, say, Samuel Richardson's Pamela. In short, it was nice to be able to write about something I enjoyed for a change and be able to watch TV in class. Thanks, Dr. H!

Love Fest: Joey and Cait

Working on these Rough Drafts have cemented my love affair for the unsung hero of this class: Joe Harris. I know most people beef about these kind of texts, and I know most of the deep discoveries within this class have been Whedon related, but I would just like to take a moment ( no shock to all of you :) to mention how much I feel as though Joseph Harris and Rewriting has helped me, and all of us.

1. The vocabulary.

Harris writes his ideas, forwarding, countering, revising, coming to terms, taking an approach, in a way that makes sense. Most of the time in my experience, with English and History concepts, the hardest task is understanding what they are telling you to do, let alone actually trying to implement it. Harris bypasses this, leaving the reader more time to process and learn his actual method, not his long winded or complex explanation of it.

2. His modernity.

All the examples he used within the book were not only things, we could understand, but interesting things that we as young writers, might actually be interested in knowing about. This book as much as a guide, was also a little bit of a survey course in "Interesting Topics You Never Knew You Might Be Into." I was inspired by his clear love of knowledge and the variety of topics that he mentioned in examples.

3. His exercises.

I'll admit, I didn't try out the full exercises. But If I am ever a teacher I swear I will implement them. Yet, even though I didn't sit out and go through an exercise, the elements and ideas behind them became part of my revising process. Like, learning decent grammer as a child will always help you, or learning how to structure an essay in middle school stays with you, these exercises can imprint on your brain and pop up when you are at an impasse in your work. I for one know that sometimes a good exercise is the only existing cure for writers block, and Joe Harris offeres a sexy arsenal for our use.

I would, and have recommended this work for all people who fancy themselves writers or literary enthusiasts.

(creeper details for Harris's career here.)

Some final thoughts

After reading two other people's papers today, I got a lot of insight into what I need to do, things I could add, and some new ideas for my own paper. It was great to see what other people thought of and what they found for sources. I also really enjoyed reading Cait's paper because her topic, heroes, was similar to mine so I felt like I was able to help her more. (I put those peer tutoring skills to work today Dr. H!) On another note, when I first came into this class, I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into. I remember thinking the first week or two that I did not belong in this class. However, as the class comes to an end, I can honestly say that I have enjoyed it. While I didn't love every show we watched, I did like the majority of them. I had never taken a television or film based studies class, but I am a fan. I like writing about television because it is so different than the normal classes. I also liked the discussions in class, and while I didn't take part in many of them, I enjoyed hearing true fans ideas and arguments. This class has opened my eyes to the world of Whedon, something I didn't know existed until this semester. I often see Buffy or Firefly on the guide on my television and the thought of putting it on crosses my mind.

Dr.Horrible: Worth Every Penny

I was thoroughly impressed with Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. I especially enjoyed the tension between Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer over the affection of Penny, who still seems to be underestimated in her importance in the entire series. Without Penny there would be no reason for Dr. Horrible to exist in the first place.

I understand that this past statement is a bit outstretched but there is some logic behind this:
1. Without Penny there is no point for Dr. Horrible to maintain further significant competition with Cpt. Hammer because things between the two would already be the same. Hammer would continue kicking Horrible's ass and Horrible's inventions would continue to be a failure. Furthermore, his test to be part of the ELE would be a complete failure because without penny there would be no motivation to outdo himself, especially if Cpt. Hammer is continually getting in his way.

2. Without Penny most importantly there would not be the powerful contribution to one of the themes of the entire series, that there is an obvious social stigma about the "badass" and the "nerd" and the stereotyped view that the "bad" boy gets the girl.

Cut off the head of the human race?

I found it really amusing that bad horse was actually a literal horse. When the movie is wrapping up and Dr. Horrible enters the room of pale bad guys there is an actual horse at the head of table. Symbolism of actual horses? First thing that comes to minds is the four horsemen of the apocalypse. When bad horse is actually revealed it is a black horse. The black horse is supposedly represented as famine in the coming of the apocalypse in the book of Revelations.

As far as actual social change the only thing brought up is homelessness. Penny and Billy have a interesting conflict of typical humanitarian vs. delusional idealist. Billy call the homeless, "a symptom" of a symptom that has deeper corruption and he wants to fix the corruption at the root. Some idealist will tell you the homeless and hungry need to be straved off so they don't reproduce more homeless and hungry people. Dr. Horrible would "cut off the head of humanity" to attempt to make the world a better place. While average, good people like Penny will try to collect signatures to save a few, which it turns out without Captain Hammer's help the signatures wouldn't have made a damn anyways.

Bill and Penny atleast ideal wise are not a good match. Billy sees her through some sort of lense that is actually just a lustful want for her in some sort of vague way. This is visually portrayed in the scene at the laundry mat. We seen an image of Billy looking through several transparent washing machine doors. It is as if he doesn't see her because from that conversation you think an evil mastermind would lose interest and pursue an evil counterpart as his chick.

Whedon's use of Hulu during the Writer's Strike

After watching Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog for the first time, I can say that I enjoyed it. I wasn't especially moved by it, but it was pleasant to take in. One thing that I found remarkable about this Joss Whedon production was the context in which it was developed. The 2007-2008 Writer's Guild of America strike suspended a large variety of shows, leaving many fans waiting in suspense and providing them with an inconvenience that was unexpected. In response to the suspended programming on television, Whedon comes in with this brief undertaking, and manages to acquire awards and notoriety despite the strike. Though I wasn't especially taken with Dr. Horrible, I found it pretty creative how Whedon was able to put together a show like this and present it through Hulu. Despite the holdup with the strike, Whedon and his remarkable talent came up with something worthy of praise, and I commend him for that.

What the Hell is Wrong with Us?

Is there a chance that maybe we don't like Penny because her intense (and somewhat "trope-y"/archetypical/stereotypical) self-less-ness is something that we as inherently selfish people cannot identify with?

There have been countless posts avowing Dr. Horrible and even Hammer as legitimate characters, and this is not wrong, but have we at all stopped to think about why we are so quick to come to the defense of the "bad" guys?

We have taken the opposite of whats easy (loving the Hero), and in trying to backlash this (loving the Villain) we have almost pulled a 360 to the point of losing what is truly "good" in the Horrible Whedon world.

I know I found myself really hating Penny. Then I felt kind of bad (after Anna's post and a few re-watches of the Blog), I just totally pulled a Capt. Hammer and hated on the chick who loves the homeless.

Dude, how heartless am I?

In the same way that the Blog is the method of the new generation, maybe finding flaw is a nasty-side effect of a World/'Verse(Television world/'verse) that has given us so many good examples.

We still have Buffy, and Willow, and Angel, and Mal, and River, a variety (and only a few of many!) of Heros and excellently crafted characters. We worked so hard to find the good in them. Sometimes it was easy, and sometimes it was not. Sometimes they were perfect in their abilities, and sometimes they found 'perfection' in their failures. But not matter what we always got back up with, and stood by them.

A newer generation of writing and characters has great opportunity, and viewers have great responsibility, to find the good and the bad in the future of TV examples and role models and make something out of it, form an opinion, protest, identify with or even bitch about.

Just keep the dialogue going, and maybe ease up a little on the hate.

Dr. Horrible

Dr. Horrible is great. It is funny and clever and entertaining. So why do people get so upset about it? As a female, I was expecting to get all worked up over the feminist controversy surrounding Dr. Horrible, but after watching it, I had the same feeling I get after I watch a Seth Rogen movie. I felt like I had been entertained, could repeat funny lines from it, and would recommend it to my friends, but nothing more. I do understand that the only female character was terribly written and annoying and ultimately killed, but I think it kind of works with the entertainment factor. If Whedon wanted to, he could have made us love Penny. He could have developed her character and made her funny and wonderful, which would have made her death tragic and created even more controversy. But he didn’t do that. Whedon kept her as a slightly unlikable, shallow character whose death I did not really care about. That sounds bad, but I think many of you may share my feelings. Just because Whedon did not make Penny a deep character does not make him anti-feminist or smart or bad or brilliant. It doesn’t make him anything. Whedon created an ass-kicking, female vampire slayer so I think it is safe to say he is not anti-feminist. Anyone can find problems with any show, movie, or book if the work is analyzed hard enough. I just think Dr. Horrible is what it is: a fun project that actors took part in for their fans. But look what some of those fans have done to it.

Iconic T-Shirts in Dr. Horrible

While watching Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog for what must be the 368th time, I noticed something I'd never noticed before- the frequent use of t-shirts with pictures or symbols on them. Captain Hammer sports a t-shirt with his iconic hammer symbol on the front. Captain Hammer's fans wear various kinds of t-shirts with his face branded on them. Dr. Horrible's white coat sports a sinister looking Hippocratic symbol on the left pocket. Penny, as a common, non-hero/villain character, frequently wears shirts that appear to be either symbol shirts or band shirts. This got me thinking about all the other "heroic" symbols that end up as pop culture advertisements on the chest of every nerd in America. I am reminded of the infamous Green Lantern t-shirt, a leprechaun green colored symbol on the same colored shirt, that at least a quarter of my high school class owned. My annoyance at the abundance of these particular shirts is dampened by the realization that I'm guilty of it myself. My batman t-shirts that I shamefully collect from Goodwill are no different from the Green Lantern ones. This leads me to ask why. Why do we idolize not only characters, but characters who are superheroes, who could not possibly even exist? I'm not a psychology major, so I have no answer to this, but I do find it interesting that most of us find ourselves at one point or another living, walking advertisements for people who do not exist.

(By the way, Team Hammer and Team Horrible t-shirts are available at the Dr. Horrible site.

Penny for Your Thoughts

I probably came off as sounding terribly pathetic in class when I said I felt humiliated by Penny. But the reason behind that is because Penny strikes such a personal chord with me. I was Penny. I still am Penny, underneath my skin. For many years I remained in the background of life, my voice barely raised above a whisper, soft and thin like Penny's. I appeared happy and pleasant, and I suppose at times I was optimistic so that I didn't despair entirely. But, like Penny, I was wistful and sad and felt as if I could never quite make an impact on anyone. That I was doomed to disappear, as she does, in a chorus of much louder voices. Penny does her best to keep her head above water, seeking the worth in others that she feels lacking in herself. She is shocked that Captain Hammer saves her, shocked that he notices and takes an interest in her. I was shocked too, when someone I was interested in was actually interested back. Penny is so pleased to be with him that she ignores the significant misgivings she feels about him as a person and continues to hope for the best, perhaps believing that he will improve, that he's worth the love she gives him. As viewers, we all see that he's not good enough for her, that he doesn't truly see and respect her as a person. Because it's all about him. He kinda likes her and thinks maybe he'll hang on to her for a little while longer, but beyond acting as a vessel through which he fulfills his own desires Penny means very little to him. Been there, Penny. Girl, I feel ya. I can see a heaviness, an anxiety in her face when she's talking about him. She knows she shouldn't be with him, that she deserves more. But she can't let go. She doesn't want to let go. And he kills her. Literally. But maybe he was killing her before the moment the shrapnel entered her body. I'd like to believe that when she was running out of the auditorium (which is an act of agency, by the way) she was running for her life. A life separate from Captain Hammer. And she almost made it. It's not a criticism that she fails. It's real. It's human. So I suppose I've made my peace with Penny. And myself.

Captain Hammer-- He's not just a pretty face!

Dr.Horrible's Sing Along Blog appears to be an exaggerated aspect of all human dimensions. There is the "evil" Dr. Horrible who represents the desire for power, success and recognition. I would be curious to know what led him to pursue this avenue of "horribleness". He was probably a weakling, picked on by others, who has decided to seek revenge. With that said, he is still sympathetic towards other weaklings, children and elderly, that he refuses to kill. He attempts to grasp onto characteristics the media has assigned as "evil" (the evil laugh) which shows that he is merely an evil copy-catter.

Captain Hammer represents the ego we all have. He also symbolizes the person we envy, the person who seems to have it all, and the person we'd love to be and hate that we're not. Very few people are truly comfortable in their own skin the way Captain Hammer is. Even though he is vain and obnoxious, he is the envy of many. He appears to have it all. Most of us could find at least one thing that we love about ourselves but would never state it to others because that would be viewed as boastful. Captain Hammer doesn't care, he boasts about himself all the time and people do nothing but agree with his grandiose opinion of himself. Dr. Horrible envy's Captain Hammer too and that results in a love/hate emotion that fuels his need to destroy him.

Penny represents the goodness in all of us. She spends her life getting dismissed, ignored, and passed by unnoticed and yet she still has a motivational song to sing. As optimistic as she may seem she has a pessimistic view of her own capabilities. Even though she passionately believes in helping the homeless, she feels unable to make a difference on her own. Consequently, she relies on Captain Hammer. Unfortunately, Captain Hammer has his own agenda (and it's not helping the homeless). People like Penny can get taken advantage of because of their need for others and their belief in the goodness of humanity.

Although this is Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, I would argue that the most influential character in this blog is Captain Hammer. He is the reason Dr. Horrible has endeavored to transform himself into someone more powerful, and more evil. Captain Hammer is also the reason Penny accomplished her endeavors to open up a homeless shelter. He seems to be the key element for both Penny and Dr. Horrible.

Lastly, I wanted to make mention of the shift in the characters at the end of this blog. Dr. Horrible is finally able to descend into the pits of "evil" and Captain Hammer is left crying on a psychiatrist's coach. This shows that Dr. Horrible is finally able to steal the spotlight from Captain Hammer and Captain Hammer is feeling the pain and torture of inferiority in the way Dr. Horrible used to feel. I found it to be an ironically humorous conclusion to this story.

"Sometimes people are layered like that." --Penny

...Captain Hammer is not one of them.

Can I just say how hilarious Nathan Fillion is in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog? Of course Neil Patrick Harris is his reliably fantastic self, but Fillion took me by surprise with his comedic performance. After watching Firefly with Fillion as the forthright and tough captain Mal Reynolds, he gets to take the captain role to a very funny place with Captain Hammer.

In the Firefly role, Fillion does get several funny moments and proves his skill with humor, but I feel like Dr. Horrible is a bit more challenging as far as executing the humor is concerned. Captain Hammer's humor is often over-the-top and exaggered (most obviously through the character of Captain Hammer--need I repeat "the hammer" joke?) rather than the quick/implied/astute Whedon humor we've all come to love or hate (most obviously through Dr. Horrible's character). In the brief sing-along blog, I feel like each of Captain Hammer's joke gets one shot, given with lots of exaggerated gusto, and that's it. There is still the touch of sharpness, of course, but I felt like Captain Hammer's humor was about employing a consistent bravado. Fillion did an excellent job being so ridiculous. And I mean that as a huge compliment.

"Wow, Sarcasm. That's Original!"

Followed by..."The world is a mess, and I just need to rule it." I truly thought Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog would be a brilliantly comedic performance, strictly sht to entertain die-hard Joss Whedon fans. But I sould have known better...Whedon has that way of sneaking in unexpected endings mixed with unexpected emotions that make him a pure genius. Of course the comedy was spot on but as the story progressed, the humor became darker. The tagline of nerd loves girl, nerd loses girl to cooler guy, then someone inevitably dies tragically was there, but seemed to be worked in differently to make the plot more interesting.

Overall, I found it very entertaining, another fantastic brain-child of Joss Whedon that I'm glad I watched. However, I love/hated the ending. I think I can honestly say this for the first time regarding a work of Joss Whedon's. Why does the girl have to die?! Seriously, it's almost as if Whedon flipped his original premise of Buffy and kicked it until it was dead. I honestly wanted Penny to come out as the strongest character and reveal herself as a closet superhero, hit Captain Hammer with a permanent freeze ray, save the day, then marry Dr. Horrible and have a lawn-mower and some babies.

On the other hand, I felt the audience got a taste of why the character is called Dr. Horrible because in the end, he becomes evil. Neil Patrick Harris is so great for being able to successfully pull off so many different eclectic roles as an actor. The transformation Dr. Horrible goes through is incredible fast for a short film, but he pulled it off perfectly. He wasn't bad to listen to either; the musical aspect of it wasn't too bad. I actually liked this musical a lot better than "Once More, With Feeling," so hats off to the cast. :)

Damn those nagging feminists

Forgive the title of this post for it is strictly an attention getter.

Frankly I agree with what Josh posted. Everybody concentrates on Penny's character, how she's not developed, a push-over, etc, but nobody pays attention to the characteristics of the two male leads. As Josh says, they are both buffoons in their own ways. Yet, nobody is complaining about that. Actually, this type of characteristic is seen all over television and film. The men are the dumb ones while the women always look on thinking how stupid the men are. Look at most commericials, they do this all the time. Think of those Miller Lite ads where the woman bartender always insults the stupid guys. Where' the outlash? Sitcoms are great at this too. Think of Home Improvement, The Simpsons, Everybody Loves Raymond. Male characters are always looked at to be idiots but there is not a outlash against that.

I'm not saying women aren't treated unfairly in media, cause they are. However, I don't feel every show/movie/whatever should be dissected over how women are percieved. I personally never thought Penny was an object in the Dr. Horrible. She might have been the only noble character in the episode and that's why she died. It's always the good ones.

Finally, I think people should go easy on Whedon. He's given everyone for series full of strong female characters. He only had 40min in Dr. Horrible. Besides, Horrible is the focus, not Penny. If you wanted to dig deeper what about his sweaty roommate? I'm sure people could come up with complaints for that.

Inspired Treats

Courtesy of my sister, who watched the blog a year and a half ago and found this nifty little site with Dr. Horrible inspired treats:

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2009/08/dr-horrible-sunday-sweets.html

I got a kick out of it; felt I should share. Enjoy!

With my freeze ray I will stop ...

... having Dr. Horrible stuck in my head - as it has been for the past week ... not that this is an altogether bad thing.

Right, so after watching Dr. Horrible in class - and then going home and watching it once on YouTube, then again with my boyfriend, and again with my Mom and Dad (no wonder I can't get the songs to go away), I have some thoughts on the show. I also want to share some points my mother made after watching Dr. Horrible as well (she may not be an English nerd, but she is a sci-fi nerd, and she got a kick out of the blog, too.)

So, some thoughts on symbolism first:

- After watching the first time, I noticed something significant about Dr. Horrible's outfit. The entire show, he's wearing solid white: white boots, white lab coat thingie, white pants, white rubbery gloves - until the very end. After Penny died, he looses the pure white (double meaning intentional) garb for black and red - perhaps a symbol of the loss of his innocence? I didn't see him as an actual evil character at all, though; sure, he was playing at evil, but it's sorta like kids who pretend to be a goth or a freak or something to be accepted by people they think they want to receive approval from.

- After the second time viewing, I noticed something that happens in the laundromat during the first song. After Billy's line "makes me feel ... what's the phrase," a series of dryer doors open, creating a tunnel-effect through which we see Billy, and the last door makes a "frame" of sorts for Penny's character. We are removed from her, as Billy is removed from her, and her profile appears picturesque through the created frame of the dryer door. I can't help but wonder if there's some deeper significance to this?

And now some general observations about the Sing-Along:

- I told my mother about the discussion we had in class about Penny's character, and she shrugged at it, much as I did. Sure, it can be construed that way, but she commented that "[Dr. Horrible] has a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor, like Buckaroo Bonzai and the old sci-fi B-movies. There's a lot of 'I'm doing everything very seriously, but everything I'm doing is ridiculous.'" I cannot help but agree - some parts of the blog are fantastically ridiculous, part of the appeal for me - and it made me rethink how I view the blog overall.

- About an hour later, Mom came back and told me that it reminded her of something else: a incident that happened right after D&D came out and was still big. Back in the late '80s (I think), a group of kids took D&D too seriously, found some catacombs or something to act out their RPG in, and someone got hurt - died, actually. "That's what I think happened to Dr. Horrible," Mom continued, "he was playing a game, and someone got hurt, so he lost his innocence and didn't want to play anymore. At the end of the blog when he says he doesn't feel anything is when he decided to stop playing - he's no longer Dr. Horrible, just Billy." Mom's are great, aren't they? This one really made me think, too. I could easily see the blog being either a dream sequence that ended like a nightmare or a group of friends playing around until someone got hurt.

- Remember my paper about BtVS, the one where I wrote about how the music can have meaning? Well, I think this entire blog is similar to that musical episode of BtVS, where the upbeat songs have more to them than pleasantries that would normally come to mind and the darker songs have more light and depth to them than we intially assign them. For instance, Billy/Horrible's song in Act III, after meeting Hammer in the laundromat, where he sings "Penny will see the evil me, not a joke ... not a failure" - he considers evil something that will be taken seriously, be considered as a success where all else has failed. But there's more too it than that, no? What are the implications of phrasing that the way he did, beyond the surface point?

- And finally, Penny. She is more than a "weak female character." I think she is a symbol, as I mentioned in my comment to Josh's post, of the social acceptance that both Hammer and Horrible crave and try to receive continually throughout the blog. "Penny will see the evil me, not a joke ... not a failure" is one of the prime examples of Horrible's quest for her approval. If he does something serious and successful enough, she'll approve of him. "The only danger is of you loving me to death" that Hammer sings when he comandeers Horrible's "A Man's Gotta Do" song is his own quest for social approval. He has to feel loved and accepted and approved of by society, and he tries to achieve that by saving lives (albeit in a jerk-ish fashion - I mean, c'mon, he shoved Penny into the trash!) and having an inflated self-impression.

Ooh, my, I've had a lot to say about this one ... I really liked Dr. Horrible - can you tell? I have already hooked three new people onto the blog that will watch it multiple times. There's so much going on, and so many layers here, that you just have to watch it more than once to catch everything.

By the way, thinking of that, did anyone else notice that Jeb Whedon is actually in the blog? He's part of the bad horse chorus (top left corner), and the gal (can't remember her name) that also worked on the music is in the groupie chorus that's obsessed with Hammer (and ends up becoming obsessed with Horrible by the end - so what does that say about the groupies, since they changed sides? - an excellent point told to me by my boyfriend) and shows up in the second act. Anyway, hopefully some of the above is some food for thought!

At the very end of class today, I heard someone mention that if Doctor Horrible had three male characters (a gay love triangle) instead of two males and a female, some of the feminist issues wouldn't really come up, or something along those lines. Problem solved. I was mildly offended, actually. So that's your panacea? Because gay people don't have to worry about love triangles or damaging tropes, they can just have a threesome and get over it. I'm exaggerating for dramatic effect, as that obviously wasn't the intent of the comment, and I'm not even sure if I'm getting the original point right, but I figured I could just take the idea and run with it.
So, what if Doctor Horrible was about three gay dudes? Well, that would simply cause a whole other host of problems. Not only are you excluding women completely, but now you're creating three offensive gay characters instead of one offensive female character. Apart from feeding into the gay villain stereotype with the Doc, Hammer would probably be a macho closeted homophobe, and while the male Penny would definitely be something new (but just as boring), his death would be taken pretty badly, not only because of the relative scarcity of gay characters, but also due to their unfortunate tendency to die. And that's just for starters.

A Man's Gotta Do

I have things to say!

I was not able to succinctly gather my thoughts today in class. I was flustered! My issue with the articles that we read was that they were distressingly narrow in their focus. I accept and agree that Penny was portrayed negatively from a feminist standpoint. That is fine. What is important to remember, though, is that she was not the only character portrayed in this manner.

Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer were both presented to the audience as utter buffoons. Captain Hammer, in particular, is the exact image of the stereotypical "masculine" figure that dominates much of the history of the superhero genre. Dr. Horrible is no better -- though he does have a sweet side, his BillySelf is not enough to overcome his innate crazy. He is a loose cannon. Literally.

In the end, all three of the main characters are failures. Penny dies because she has been too passive. Captain Hammer falls apart because reality, in the form of death, struck him personally. His facade crumbles. Dr. Horrible loses the only positive influence in his life and falls toward his "dark side" as a result.

They all lose. When, then, do we have to view this series in terms of gender? If, in the end, all of them are brought down by the actions that took place within the series, why does gender have to play a role at all? Some people are female. Some people are male. The men didn't win. The female didn't lose.

After scouring the internets, I was able to find a quote from Joss Whedon responding to the feminist backlash from this series:

Langley Air Force Base, Va.: I’ve been reading some criticism (insert audible gasp here!) of “Dr. Horrible” about the lack of a strong, empowered female lead. They claim that Penny is merely a prop for Dr Horrible and Captain Hammer to fight over.

What are your thoughts on that?

Joss Whedon: Hi! Here goes Typomania! If I don’t get to a question, forgive. There are many, and I’m dodging the tough ones.

But, yeah, Penny is not the feminist icon of our age. And yes, she does exist in the narrative as part of Doc’s fate — but everyone in the story is there to move the story. Is she less real than Hammer? (Is ANYTHING?) We gave her a cause so she wouldn’t JUST be the Pretty Girl but the fact is, neither Doc nor Hammer gives her the attention she deserves — Doc’s crush comes before he has the slightest idea what she cares about. Which is not uncommon. It reminds me of “Sweeney Todd,” the Judge and Sweeney singing “Pretty Women” — a beautiful duet with no insight whatsoever. Just images.

Here is a quote from Felicia Day (Penny) responding to the same issue:

Some people have criticized Penny’s character saying she’s not strong enough and doesn’t live up to Joss Whedon’s usual portrayal of strong women characters, do you have an opinion on that issue?

FD: Does every woman character have to be “strong”? What does that mean anyway? To me Penny represented the normal life that Horrible craved, someone who didn’t judge, someone who cared about others before she cared about herself. She wasn’t kicking people in the face, but she was true to herself and brave enough to be “good” in the face of a cynical society. Just because she was naive doesn’t mean she was weak. Personally, I loved playing her.

Take those for what you will. Personally, I think Dr. Horrible had a point when he was describing Captain Hammer to Penny: "And sometimes there's a third, even deeper level, and that one is the same as the top surface one. Like with pie."

Maybe we're all digging too deeply. We have hit the third layer, and it is exactly like the top layer. That second layer full of nice criticism?

Eh.

Please don't hate on the doc!

After reading the blog posts for class today and realizing that Dr. Horrible did not make a lot of people feel warm and fuzzy, I have decided to use this blog post as a long belated response. Dr. Horrible was good. In fact, I would venture to say that it was great. The dialogue was, as it is in everything Whedon, smart and hilarious, the songs were (unlike many selections in the Buffy musical) catchy and effective without being annoying/ embarrassing to listen to, and the acting was stellar. So why complain? Why are people, even big Whedon fans, throwing dirt at Whedon's mini TV drama? The answer, as illuminated by the blog posts that I read, is simply Penny.

Penny comes across as passive, naive, and angelically good as she strives to help homeless people and, even when at death's door, refuses to condemn the jerk who took advantage of her, publicly humiliated her, and then effectively killed her. In short, she is a weak female character, an anomaly in the writing of Joss Whedon. So, before coming to Whedon's defense, I will say that I understand where the feminists/ other outraged viewers are coming from. However, I want to use this post to make several important points in Dr. Horrible's favor. Firstly, Penny's flat character can be read as a purely representative role, symbolizing Billy's connection to his "good" side (Penny is, after all, an emblem of perfection). When Penny dies, Dr. Horrible looses all restraint and Billy, as shown by the swift scene at the productions end "doesn't feel a thing." Secondly, yeah, I get the fact that Dr. Horrible features no other prominent female characters, making Penny's flatness somewhat of a blow to Whedon fans who watched shows like Firefly (full of butt-kicking females). However, the production, as I've already mentioned, exhibits so much excellence in literally ALL other areas that I believe we should cut Whedon some slack. Heck, change that to a lot of slack. This is the guy responsible for characters like Buffy, Zoe, and Saffron, all females of immense fortitude. I think we can forgive the guy for ONE weaker, more symbolic female character in in Dr. Horrible, especially seeing as the production lasted less than an hour!

In summary, Dr. Horrible is awesome, Penny is a symbol, and can we forgive Whedon (the champion of female power in TV) for one case of inconsistency in an otherwise unapproachable production?

Believer

I am beginning to think I might be a believer in musicals. For once in my life, I really thought something was made better (not more annoying) by song. I have always been someone who was not a fan of the idea that characters mind sing and dance about randomly breaking into song. Yet, in this sense it worked

Watching Dr. Horrible, one can use the singing and dancing as a metaphor for the expression we wish we could make. The smart cheeky lines came from the dialogue, and the deeper character driving “stuff” came in the music. This was a show that was able to pull off the idea that bursting into song was normal, and did not make it awkward for the viewer.

Also, there is the idea that the title says “Sing-Along Blog,” that gives the viewer the idea that Whedon is not just intending to write some catchy lyrics you might hum in the shower, but that he is wanting his viewers to express themselves, because in the world of Dr, Horrible & Capt. Hammer, expression and truth comes in the form of the song.

We See Dr. Horrible’s most honest moments, endearing, painful, and terrifying, when he is singing. His original feelings for Penny in the launder mat song are what endear us to him, and make us pull for him as not just a cheeky villain, but also a person we want to see happy.

In the scariest parts of the episodes, Dr. Horrible sings of showing Penny his true power, and “evilness” and in his song sung as he freezes Capt. Hammer, we see the loss of “Billy” and his beginning to focus only on his quest to join the evil league.

And,----In the final song, we hear his last line, sung at the camera in a haunting line that drags us back to Billy, and makes us see what he has lost. The cracking of his voice and the non-tonal quality express the visceral feelings that come when we sing about things that mean something, or in his case, the fear and realization that he can feel nothing.

Singing is his honestly, good or bad, evil or not, it always comes from a place of truth.

I Return!

Alright, so Joss Whedon is the man. Just as Michelle talks about her post, Whedon once again found opportunity and ran with an idea faster than you can say $200,000 budget. With one fell swoop he essentially accomplished a million awesome things at once. He gave production crews some work during a brutal strike, he helped studios make money during said strike and through this made some important friends I'm sure, and he helped show fledgling filmmakers (like myself) that things can still be brilliantly executed without forking out ten million dollars. This man is unstoppable. He reminds me of a classic Hollywood producer always seeing what is presently the most popular kind of film, and subsequently diving into that beast without anything but a tiny speedo on. It's unbelievable how well he knows the market and how well he takes risks because of this knowledge. I mean next he's not only jumping on the "superhero movie" train but he's now leading the charge by directing what will be the most ambitious and epic superhero movie to date! Somebody get this man some sudoku puzzles! He needs to chill the f$@& out!

television and blogs

Blogs have become a new way to get information out into the world. They are a way for people to come together and share ideas. While most blogs I have seen have been written, you can put anything into a blog. There is Youtube that could be classified as video blogs that has made an impact in almost everyone's lives. Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog is like a television show but aired only on the computer. While this makes sense because of when it was done, I was thinking about the pros and cons of having it as a blog. A blog seems to be more free, allowing them to say and do almost anything they want. Likewise, it allows the actors to talk to the audience. However, blogs don't get as much publicity as television shows. I think that the viewing of this blog was more limited than if it were a television show. Do I think that this could have been anywhere near as successful on television as it was on the web, no. I do think that it works great as a web based video though. It's short, funny, and different.

Links for Thursday's class

Print these out, read them, and bring them to class with you on Thursday.

1) Sarah Dobbs: "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog: Why Penny Matters"

2) Rebecca Allen: "Horrible Thoughts"

3) Purtek: "Doctor...Horrible?"

The Death

So. I strongly dislike the ending of Serenity. It is a good movie! It was well made! It does, however, feature the death of what is my favorite character on the show. I was in shock the first time I saw this movie as a result of the unexpected death of Wash. Why did Whedon do this? I scoured the internets and found this interesting quote:


"Regarding Wash’s death in Serenity, “The fact of the matter is that it’s a great point of contention with many people. Without it, the movie would have been two hours of blather. I made a whole big thing about heroes getting people killed and the dangerousness of Mal actually becoming somebody who believes in something and how much laying they were laying on the line. And, I didn’t want to kill anybody. In my first draft, I didn’t kill anybody, it was 200 pages long and it was cute, but it was the second season, it wasn’t an actual film. It cam along and I realized, you do this one thing, that nobody’s sees coming, the rest of the movie has enormous resonance and then you can just cheat the rest of the time. ‘Oh look, Simon’s dead ! Oh, not really. Oh look, River’s dead ! No, not really. Oh look, clearly Mal’s... not so much.’ And it works because you know, I might, cause I just did. You take anyway someone you love, and then every card is on the table. It’s not pretty, but it’s the way to make something creative. I hate movies that lie. I hate movies, like Jarassic Park where just the bad people die, because I don’t believe a just and all-knowing dinosaur. I believe it should be more random than that. The only way to really sell the sacrifices they are making is to make one.”

Yeah, it's a big block of text. I apologize for that. It does provide, though, an interesting view into the creative thought process of Whedon. Do you guys agree with his logic? Personally, I think he makes a solid point. That does not mean, however, that I have to like that point.

What if I wanted a happy ending? Not every story has to have death and destruction to create a meaningful piece of art. Are happy endings perceived as somehow worse than tragic ones?

Firefly the movie

I wasn't sure what to expect when we started watching Serenity. I've seen the whole tv/movie experiment before and it typically does not end well. However, I think the show was able to make a smooth transition in this instance. Part of this may be the fact that the series was so short, it seems like when a show has been around for awhile people just become use to seeing it for a specific amount of time, with its typical story arch and that makes it seem a bit awkward when the movie breaks away from that. When you're used to seeing a show focus on a specific theme it becomes weird when they try and focus on several ideas.

I thought that watching the show helped with understanding what was going on in the movie though the movie did a good job explaining the characters and the main idea. Again, I think the fact that the show had such a short life span helped make it a successful movie.

“I hope we never live to see the day when a thing is as bad as some of our newspapers make it." Will Rogers

Tsunamis, massacres, earthquakes, booms in bomb shelters, civil unrest, etc. Any given day scanning various news sites and reading newspapers one learns to feel almost detached from the constant stream of information of either humans messing up or the earth messing with humans. For days after tsunami and earth quakes shattered Japan one can watch all the coverage but what does this do? Somehow the news channels manage to spin it into a fear mongering of nuclear power and a bunch of people go and purchase iodide. Not to send over to Japan mind you but to take themselves due to sensationalism in the media. It seems the media learns to instill fear more than compassion or passion.

As a news junky I did enjoy that the ultimate goal of their mission ended up informing the masses about a society effing up trying to make a uniformly happy society. It reminded me of the use of Soma in Brave New World minus the generating evil creature thing. Like previous post and comments I concur that as soon as someone thinks they know the "right" way for things to be done to create an "ideal" society one should be frightened. Then again this narrow way of thinking is very easy to relate to because don't we all know what is "right", at least on some issues if not a full blown model for society.

So the video of the lady explaining that the Alliance has done something wrong. What will change? My guess would be nothing. Maybe people will build bomb shelters in their futuristic housing. Which by the way I was reading that the bomb bunker trend is coming back. It was briefly in fashion during the Cold War, but now has made a tremendous come back this season. Paranoia is in, analysis is out. So go buy your guns, gold and Potassium Iodide people, because as usual the end times are coming.

To Be or Not To Be, That is the Question...To Be. Duh.

In the world of Serenity everyone is fighting to survive. So much so that survival achieves the status of almost religious dedication.

Thus, to die of ennui is just as unthinkable and tragic as becoming so aggressive that you seek to consume another person wholly--a state of frenzy propelled by the desire to dominate by physically demeaning others and eating them, as if by that act you take their soul too, via their screaming voices and screaming wounds.

The look of horror on the faces of the Serenity crew as they observe people who have simply ceased to have the will to live is nearly identical to the look when they discover the origin of the Reavers. They are presented with two extremes, and can accept neither. What's more, these people appear to have had no choice in the matter. The government decided what was best for them and took their will to choose as well as their will to continue to exist. The two acts are linked.

Life possesses the meaning you give it. And how much it is worth is directly proportional to the amount of meaning you give it by living it a certain way. Take that away, and you have nothing. There is no reason to live if you are unable to care or find meaning in living. I apologize, but I'm going to go down a rabbit trail and state that one of the things I hate the most about Star Wars: Episode III is that Padme gives up. She just refuses to live and dies from an extreme lack of caring. If that's not depressing I don't know what is. To me, the worst way to die is exactly that: to die from lack of passion for living.

Dying from a chronic state of not caring is quite different from being willing to die for what's right. Even when most of what you do with your life is wrong. Mal and his crew represent this concept. Do they value their lives? Yes. Do they want to live? Yes. Do they want to live at the expense of others and capitulate to an oppressive regime? No. And that, my blogging friends, is the very epitome of bringing meaning to your life.

This post is dedicated to the characters of Wash and Shepherd Book.

Fleshing out the origins of the Reavers

One thing that I really appreciated about Serenity is the explanation the movie offered concerning the Reavers, a topic that I feel the television series did not touch upon enough. Though I haven't watched every episode of Firefly, the series really didn't present much concerning this dangerous group of cannibalistic humans gone mad in the episodes we watched in class, other than the fact that they are to be avoided at all costs. One thing I really enjoy about any television series is the introduction and thorough explanation of how given groups in a series operate or came to be. It was very satisfying for me to see Serenity integrate the Reavers into the main plot and flesh out a vivid explanation of how a large group of humans managed to lose all sense of civilization and resort to an animalistic state.

Though the Alliance could perhaps be seen as the ideal form of intergalactic unity in the Firefly universe, this movie advances the counter-argument that such a government can lose control and become a problem more so than a solution. The fact that the Alliance conducted a scientific experiment with such disastrous effects on a large population and attempted to cover it up raises quite a few eyebrows, and calls into question the accreditation of such an intergalactic governing force. Allowing a whole population to die or become wild space cannibals in a science experiment is pretty irresponsible, and the attempt of the Alliance to cover it all up is extremely shady.

"To Hell With This, I'm Living!"

This line solidified Kaylee as my favorite Firefly character next to River Tam. With being only slightly exposed to her fun, bubbly personality within a couple episodes and Serenity, Kaylee revealed a stronger side with cute determination; her will to be with Simon outweighed any fear she had. River, on the other hand, completely revealed what she was capable of. I was sure that she was Reaver food after she jumped through the doors. The scenes of her fighting and killing every last Reaver to ultimately save the day was beyond amazing! At this point, I thought everyone was going to die, so to see that ending shot of River holding the blade dripping with blood? Very badass!


Ironically, after seeing Serenity and knowing that the Alliance’s main goal for recapturing River was to prevent her from spilling the secret about how the Reavers were created, I thought about the similarity of names between River and Reaver. Both are just slightly modified. It made me wonder more about River’s so-called “training” with the Alliance and if there may have been any similarity in the future. If River would have shown the same aggressiveness that the people on Miranda showed, would they have accidently made her a Reaver too? Maybe that doesn’t make any sense, and I don’t know much more about Firefly aside from two episodes and a movie, but the concept seemed interesting.


Also, after seeing Serenity, I am definitely interested in watching the remaining episodes of Firefly. Even though I know how it ends, I’m still interested in the beginning and how they got to the episode, “Objects in Space.” I’ve become invested in the characters (blame Joss Whedon for that) and I want to know more about them. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad we moved onto Firefly!


Another great scene!

Summer Glau - "River"

Summer Glau is an unbelievable actress. I don't know of any other actresses that could play River as well as she did. I think she played the role perfectly. Every movement and expression was totally believable and she had that sort of eery undertone that made me just slightly uncomfortable. Then, when she was in her more normal state, she was kind of a sweet, innocent girl, who just happened to read minds. I just really love the way she is able to make River such a likable and feared character all at once.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHtSD4oU2Ro

Summer Glau on The Big Bang Theory

Why I Hate Joss Whedon

I don't hate him, exactly, I just have a deep contempt for him. And I'm not sure why. Is it his insipid moralizing? His overly snappy dialogue? Could it be that thousands of people worship him like a god? Probably that last one. Whedon is a charismatic leader à la Hitler or Martin Luther King (not a slam on Whedon or MLK, just a simple fact, Hitler was persuasive. Charisma can be very problematic), and I find people who can manipulate others so completely, completely irritating. I feel like I'm being told what to do or feel, and I do not like either. It's similar to his pseudo-moral dilemmas. Let me make my own decisions about right and wrong, buddy. And his really witty writing isn't winning him any points with me. Humor and wit are useful devices, but Whedon overuses them. Humor is supposed to create a bond with an audience, but it only serves to create distance by sacrificing some of the emotional honesty that would normally be in many lines (anytime there's one of those pauses and you expect them to say one thing, but they snark their way out of it, or in uber-serious episodes like "The Body"). It starts out being disappointing, then frustrating, and finally you just feel contempt that you will never get close to these characters because they hide behind their snark. At least, that's how I feel when I watch anything that Joss Whedon produces, writes, directs, etc.

A Few Serenity/Firefly Thoughts

If I hadn’t been in this class, I don’t know if I would have ever seen Firefly or Serenity, which is a shame because I think Firefly is one of the most interesting shows I’ve seen. The only episodes of Firefly I saw before watching Serenity are the ones we watched in class. (I used the better part of the weekend to watch the entire series.) Even with only that little bit of knowledge about the show, I was able to understand Serenity. Even the parts I did not totally comprehend, like the Alliance stuff, I was still entertained by it. I feel like the movie could stand on its own and be enjoyed by people who have not seen Firefly just fine, however I think Serenity is greatly more appreciated by Firefly fans, mostly because of the emotional attachment that forms between the viewers and characters. To viewers who don’t understand the trouble that the crew has gone through to protect River, Serenity may seem a bit dramatic. I know if I hadn’t seen any episodes of Firefly I probably would have been egging on the characters to hand River over and move on. Thinking about this made me wonder if movies I have seen and really disliked would have been better if there was a TV series attached to it. Sure, it doesn’t work in all cases. I don’t know how many of you have seen the Growing Pains movie, but it definitely doesn’t work. I know I’m not making any solid points I just think it’s very interesting to think about the idea of making a movie out of a TV show. I think Whedon knocked it out of the park with Serenity.

Serenity : asianess in a not so asian show

Okay so after watching Serenity I am more impressed with the Firefly series. The movie brought with it more visible Asian aspects of the show, regardless of the fact that there is not one Asian person in the ENTIRE series. This Asianness is more represented in River Tam, who in my opinion was totally B.A. for demolishing what looked like an entire armada of reever cronies, set on devouring the flesh of her and her companions.

The anonymous agent of the Alliance also was particularly "Asian" in the sense that he believed in the purpose behind the Alliance, which is to bring unity and stability to its subjects, which is a very common Asian concept to sacrifice the liberties of one's own life for the good of the state.

Over all I was pleased with the way the movie took place, and for me it provided me with a sense of closure for the abrupt ending to the entire series.

My Sister's Keeper

Simon and River are two of the most interesting characters for me. In the opening scene of the film Serenity, we see that Simon has gone to extreme lengths to get back his little sister, he has stolen a uniform, clearly done some research, and excellently b.s’d his way into a top security area to steal back his sister.

Take a moment and remember the first time we saw Simon. Looking like your standard creepy thin-man, he had the Cillian Murphy-suave, mixed with a Michael C. Hall dementia, and my first thought was “Oh crap, another creepy-thin man bad guy I am attracted to.” Well, not exactly.

Firefly sets the viewer up to think that anyone dressed in a nice suit, and is rude to the captain and crew must be a danger. This stereotype is nicely expelled in the Pilot, yet the viewer is still left jonesing for more when it comes to River and Simon. I felt as though Serenity, to a large degree filled that void for me.

In the well done, attention grabbing first scene we are treated to this very interesting aspect of the Character (in both senses of the word) of Simon. The way he interrogates the officer/doctor who is in charge of River shows something that is very reminiscent of the first time we saw him, the time when we were not sure if he was a “good guy” or a “bad guy.” He asks the man for details, almost painfully specific about what is happening to River, and what has been done for her. Granted, he is a doctor so he, to at least some degree, is asking so he can know how to help her, but he also seems to be asking because he wants to know the details in all their painful detail.

It is like he needs a justification for what he does to the man, and it is also as though he needs to know what River went through so he can be fully penitent for not being there for her when he should have been. Simon clearly has a desire to protect his sister, and he also clearly has guilt for not having done a better job. In the show, we get the impression from some of his dialogue that he was busy, happily furthering his career, and not paying as good attention to what was happening to his sister while she was away being “taught” i.e. being experimented on.

A catholic teacher I once had said to be that the first question of the Bible is “Well am I my brothers keeper?” and that supposedly the rest of the Bible is meant to prove that the answer is yes. This is what I feel from Simon, the rest of the show, and finally culminated in the movie is the image of Simon, trying to take care River, trying to love her and keep her safe because a long time ago he failed at that for selfish reasons.

Because of this the end of the film means so much more, in his last speaking moments, when the audience thinks he might be dying his last words are not for Kaylee, who wants him real bad, or for anyone else who might be able to physically help him, they are for his sister, the one person he loves more than anything. It is as though in the moment he might die, he is most worried that he might leave his sister alone.

River knows he loves her, she was not hurt (un-recoverably) by his un-tethered thoughts in “Objects in Space” she loves her brother for the thing that he has most tried to do, and the thing he fears he failed to do, that is, for taking care of her, loving her, and being one of the only people to not think she is a freak.

Harkening back to the moment when he asked her “am I speaking with Miranda now?” and we saw the classic sister eye roll, we were shown the idea that they had specific brother and sister roles. This makes it even more perfect that in the end, River becomes the “keeper” not just for her big brother, but also for the entire crew.

It is Simon’s sacrifice that saves them all, it is his putting all on the line to save and love his sister that inspires her, that recaptures her focus and makes River realize, in the end of the film, that she must act in order to save those she loves.

"People Don't Like to be Meddled With"~ River

Serenity is another movie depicting the destruction of civilizations when the government/ruler attempts to decide what is best for its citizens. Why is it human nature to desire a perfect world? Perfection is subjective in the first place because we all have different ideas of what would be considered supreme. The German Nazi's considered a certain heritage, beliefs and looks as supreme and murdered those who were not in possession of those traits. The Egyptian rulers considered Hebrews inferior, and held them in bondage, in the same way caucasions treated African Americans. Does this make Nazi's, Egyptians and caucasions evil? No, it just makes them people with a desire to create a perfect world, from their subjective view of perfection. I am glad that the Serenity crew suceeded in holding the Alliance back and would compare it to the defeat of Nazism, slavery, and discrimination. It brought freedom from government oppression. I think Wash said it best when he stated, "I'm a leaf...watch how I fly." A leaf is a free object on the breeze and when you're truly free there is no limit to how high you can fly.

Mal reads poetry!

Operative: "That girl will rain destruction down on you and your ship.

She is an albatross, Captain."

Mal: "Way I remember it, albatross was a ship's good luck, 'til some idiot killed it."

(to Inara) "Yes, I've read a poem, try not to faint."

--Serenity (2005)

The above exchange is one of my favorite moments from Serenity (which is expected from an English major, I suppose). The poem they're referring to is "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. I think the Operative's literary reference (and Mal's reaction) is a really smart way to talk about River since there are varying opinions among Serenity's crew about whether keeping River on board is a good idea or a completely terrible idea. When the Operative suggest she's nothing but bad news, Mal quickly points out that River has become a problem mostly because of guys like him. In this case, The Operative would be the "some idiot" who "killed it" (or at least really, really wants to).

Though the exchange is quick--and still packed with Whedon-esque humor--there is a lot happening within the dialogue. The Operative deems River capable of destruction, and Mal is in a tough spot where he could easily agree since he's been struggling with Simon and River's involvement on the ship for a while. In this moment, however, I feel like he realizes River may not be at fault and there is a much deeper darkness out of her control. Mal uses his famous humor to not only snap back at The Operative but also defend River and claim (or perhaps reclaim) her as a part of the crew--for better or for worse. (Also, I think it's a pretty funny moment for Mal to try to point out to Inara that he is well read.)

Here's an excerpt from Coleridge's poem (it's pretty long, so if Mal did in fact read it, good for him!):

And I had done a hellish thing,

And it would work 'em woe:

For all averred, I had killed the bird

That made the breeze to blow.

Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay,

That made the breeze to blow!

Nor dim nor red, like God's own head

The glorious Sun uprist:

Then all averred, I had killed the bird

That brought the fog and mist. . . .