Sunday, March 27, 2011

Challenging Perceptions in Firefly

So, I just finished watching the entire series and rewatching the final episode - I saved the movie for class (but then, I've already seen it two or three times already).

After having seen everything in order now, I found a certain level of depth and seriousness in the series that I hadn't realized existed before. In every single episode, I noticed something very interesting that begs consideration and revisitation while rewatching the series in its entirety: in every episode, Whedon seems to challenge something taken for granted - something about the series, something about the characters, or something about life in general.

My personal favorite is the character of Jayne. My concept of Jayne completely changes in this episode, only to be challenged two episodes later when he betrays Simon and River – and ultimately Capt Mal in favor of earning some extra cash. Though Jayne seems to be a simplistic character, my perception of him is constantly challenged and reaffirmed which makes him a surprisingly complicated – if not always surprisingly deep.

1 comment:

Heidi said...

You make a great point here, Shaunna. I think Jayne's character is deeper than we believe at first, but that depth doesn't necessarily equal goodness.