A Great Piece of Writing--The Serenity Script by RiverGoddess

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A Great Piece of Writing--The Serenity Script

POSTED BY: RIVERGODDESS
UPDATED: Wednesday, August 30, 2006 04:14
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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 5:00 PM

So, my assignment for my creative writing class (due tomorrow, but I'm all over that

) is to find a great piece of writing and write why it is so great. So, naturally, I picked the script for Serenity. Lots of material to work with! So, my question, why do you think Serenity is a great piece of work? (writing-wise, screenplya-wise, etc.) What makes it so appealing on it's own? Discuss!

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 5:17 PM

LISSA37

I would have to say that (one of) the reason(s) it's a great piece of writing is the excellent characterization.

I think the main reason I love Firefly and Serenity so much is that I can't get enough of these characters. I'm attached to them and I feel like they're this second family that I get to visit whenever I watch a show or the BDM. And, Joss Whedon does a fabulous job of showing who they are and making all of them distinct, unique individuals. Her does it with little lines and The little details that show this are the best.

Some of my favorite (bits of characterization):
*The entire opening sequence on Serenity where we see most of the characters for the first time. The script manages to show us quite a lot of information about those characters in a considerably short amount of time. We sense the humorous tendencies of Wash, Mal, and Jayne (through Wash's "Oh god, oh god, we're all gonna die?", Mal's "we may experience some slight turbulence and then explode", and Jayne's "I don't wanna explode"). We see Wash's skills as a pilot through Mal's lack of a reaction. Does he panic that the ship's in trouble? Does he worry? No. Wash will land them safely. He always does. We also quickly learn of Jayne's job and his love for weapons. We see Kaylee's cheerfulness ("everything's shiny, Cap'n.") and her talent. (Again, does the ship crash? Nope. She and Wash got it all under control, no matter what happens.) We establish Mal as the one in command and Zoe as his second through their brief conversations, which also show Zoe and Wash's relationship ("nobody flies like my mister"). It's amazing. You immediately have a good sense of who all of them are.

*The scene before the crew fights the Reavers on their way to reach Mr. Universe. The strength Zoe shows -- how quickly she recovers herself and dedicates herself to her job, all grief aside ("Wash ain't coming") -- is amazing. Not to mention, the incredible little bit where we see the anger and grief in her eyes as she prepares her gun for revenge on the Reavers. Unbelievable. These almost aren't writing anymore... they're a little more acting, at that point. But, it did take "stage" directions, I'm sure, and that's part of the writing in a screenplay, too, right? I would think so.

Yeah... I've rambled enough. Ha ha. But, among other strengths, I think that's what makes Serenity so amazing: its rich, well-developed characters who are so easy to identify with and care for.

Credit for screencaps belongs to: http://still-flying.net/ and http://www.leavemethewhite.com/caps/index.php

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 5:22 PM

KANEMAN

Well, The screen play sucks! I'd start with FF

Love always kaneman

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 5:36 PM

EMBERS

the script works on three levels

1. story driven: the action goes from peak to peak with building excitement to the end...

2. character driven: both Mal and River have clear character arcs where they dramatically grow in the space of the film

3. idea driven: the political satire of a governemtn trying to 'legislate morality'/make the population better more peaceful without telling what they've done before hand and trying to cover up their mistakes afterwards.

There is a lot here to write about, just the concept of the American & Chinese cultures being the only to survive would make an interesting paper...

er...good luck on the late night writing!

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 5:55 PM

RIVERGODDESS

Thanks for the responses! And holy go-se, am I glad this is a relatively short paper (1-2 pages, single spaced) I have to say it "creatively" instead of just saying that it rules. Anyway, I think this would just be a good thread for discussing (or gushing on how much we loved Serenity and tote along the movie guide everywhere)and such. I'll post my paper when I finish!

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006 7:24 PM

EDISON

A couple of the things that impressed me about the story were the central theme of belief and the inverted-mirror relationship between the hero and villain. Is it harder to believe in nothing than to believe passionately in something that turns to dust in your mouth? The hero had lost his belief in any cause beyond his own makeshift crew and the desire to be left alone, certainly in any cause worth dying for. The villain believed so hard in building better worlds for the progress of his entire civilization that he was willing to kill and order the killing of innocent people to protect that progress. It really jazzed me that--after all the killing, shooting, fist fighting, and screwdriver/sword-play that you might expect of an "action movie"....OK, maybe you wouldn't really expect the screwdriver...but after all that--the hero's solution is NOT to send the villain to the fireball-spinningblade-electrocution-spacevacuum-decapitation-defenestration-falling death that he so richly deserves, but rather to force the villain to re-examine his beliefs and to change... his... bloody... mind. And then just let the villain walk away. I think that "betrayal" of the action formula is one thing that elevates Serenity. What's great is that Mal's solution is still about the harshest thing he could do to this particular villain, to paralyze the man's belief, leaving him without the purpose that so strongly sustained his prior actions. It doesn't feel like coincidence that Mal's decision ultimately saves the lives of his entire crew when the Operative directs his men to stand down. At the end, it's the villain who is the empty man, while Mal has regained something of what he'd lost since Serenity Valley. Something, but at a cost that would have to be dealt with: "You know what the definition of a hero is? It's someone who gets other people killed." That's why I want a sequel. I really REALLY want to see how Mal and the crew deal with that. (And, uh, preferably in a way that leaves everybody standing at the end :-)

Edison

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Wednesday, August 30, 2006 12:22 AM

MARINE

I was upset that Mal lost some of his crew. How is this going to effect our second season of firefly? In the movie it talked about how the Dr. was only one the ship for 8 months. How can the story play inbetween just those 8 monthes? Or can they bring them back to life after they already buried them? I like the crew, and I'll like them in season two :)

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Wednesday, August 30, 2006 3:00 AM

CAUSAL

Unfortunately I have to run, so this will be brief. The thing that impressed me most about that film was how well the plot exposition worked. Introducing characters in the opening sequence, explaining that Inara used to be on the ship, that Mal was a decorated veteran of Serenity valley...all of it done in a virtually un-noticable way. I wince whenever I'm subjected to bad exposition--but in Serenity it was just brilliant.

________________________________________________________________________
Grand High Poobah of the Mythical Land of Iowa, and Keeper of State Secrets

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Wednesday, August 30, 2006 4:14 AM

LOSTDOG

I have definitely have never felt this way about a series before. "I think I might cry." For me, it is hard to explain. The writing is beyond excellent. Everything seems to come together at some point or another. Joss just seems to have the genius ability of telling a great story. I can just watch these episodes over and over. Also, the characters are so extremely easy to connect with and they are so damned appealing. The casting job was well done. I mean, take out any of those characters and it would not be the same. I just don't see another show ever being able to take the place of Firefly. EVER!

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