Serenity

Over the weekend I watched Serenity, a sci-fi action movie that is a sequel to the television show Firefly. It is directed by Joss Whedon, who has also directed Buffy, Angel, and Dollhouse.

The movie picks up where the show Firefly ended. There are six members of the crew on board now (two members have left but make appearances in the movie). One of them is River, a teenage girl. River was kidnapped and trained by the Alliance (the government) until she was rescued by her brother. Now the Alliance wants her back. Mal, the captain of the ship, decides to help her by continuing to hide her on his ship. Because of this, an assassin has been sent in pursuit of Serenity, and its crew. They realize that they must discover the secrets that River has learned about the Alliance while in their possession. They can use these secrets to save themselves. They go to the ends of space to find answers.

Far out in space, they find a planet that only River knows about. All the people are dead. It looks as though they just lay down and died. They crew finds a recording made by the last sane person on the planet. The recording reveals the Alliance put chemicals into the air to control the citizens’ behavior. It worked so well however, that everyone stopped caring about anything, including living. A few people had the opposite response and became insanely violent and aggressive. The crew realizes that this was the creation of Reavers (cannibals that are present throughout the television show). The crew broadcasts these findings all over the universe, destroying the Alliances creditability. Then the crew leaves immediately and is chased by both Alliance and Reavers.

During the final battle, members of the crew are killed. In the end, Mal and River save everyone they can. The movie ends with the funerals of their lost crew members, and the rebuilding of the ship. Fans of Joss Whedon believe that there may be another installment of the story someday.

I think the biggest issue in this movie is the stereotype of sexism. All of the women on the show are made to seem weaker than the men. Even though they are depicted as being strong, they still rely on rescue from the men. River is depicted as being extremely physical capable but mentally unstable. She relies on her brother to keep her safe. Zoe, the assistant captain, loses all will to carry on when her husband is killed. This is understandable, but I found it cliché that it was Mal who had to pull her through. Kaylee, the engineer, spends the television show and movie pining away for the doctor (River’s brother). I don’t think this movie is overtly sexist, but after watching it a few times along with the television show, I began to notice a pattern. I think however that if I had to pick the movie apart to find something remotely discriminatory, the movie is worth watching and I would recommend it.

Niki Habbe