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Originally posted by Agatsu:

Additionally, on June 23rd this year Browncoats are planning worldwide theatrical screenings of Serenity. If you haven't seen it on the big screen before, or want to see it again, now is the chance. Head to www.cantstoptheserenity.com to find out more. The money raised from that event is also going to Equality Now, amongst other charities.

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it was incredible--that's the only way I can describe it. At one point, I was less than 10 ft from Joss and I was too shell-shocked to say hi! The jazz music was wonderful, the actors reading the testimonies were heart-breaking and power.

But Joss was the show-stopper of course. His section began with Mammie Gummer introducing Joss as the creator of Buffy and then there was a set of clips of Buffy and all of the other strong women characters Joss created. It started with the scene from Becomming pt 2 ("take that away and what's left?" "me"), had Wash's humorous "have you ever been with a warrior woman?" along with Xander's WWBD? speech, clips from The Gift and Chosen, and of course River (especially her Reaver-slaying scene). After that Meryl came out and gave an introduction to Joss. Once he came out it was just magic--I wish I had it on tape. He talked about the question "why do you create such strong female characters?" that he is asked during almost every interview and he wrote his speech in such a way where he would imitate a reporter asking the same question over and over (in different accents) and then would give a different response each time. He began talking about his mother (whom they paid a small tribute to), about his father and step-father and how they inspired him to create characters like Xander who were not only open to the idea of these women, but who embraced and were attracted to them, about how equality is like gravity which keeps us grounded, and how equality needs to be a reality and not an ideal concept. He expressed his shock that people would be dumb enough to ask him why he would create strong female characters instead of asking "100 other guys why they dont'"The most power thing he said was in response to that question was "because you keep asking." And because the concept of strong women shouldn't be rare or unheard of. It's what our society desperetely need more of.

I only wish that this event could have been televised so that more people could have experienced the power in hearing what these men and women are trying so hard to accomplish. I was brought to heavy, embarrassing tears near the very end hearing about Dr. Shazia and Amanullah Khalid (read about here: http://www.equalitynow.org/english/actions/action_2601_en.html) because while I had read that article several times before, hearing about the secluded lifestyle they were forced into as well as the continuous pressure from their government and constant threats to their lives was almost too much to handle.

The message that this show provided last night traced back to the very basic idea as to which Joss' work is based. I only wish you all could have been there (or at least have access to a transcript). I encourage you to visit Equality Now's website when you have a chance. They cannot progress without our help.

MySerenity | May 16, 22:22 CET

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