why i'm still here (power of serenity vs./mixed with 100th monkey concept) by pepperg

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why i'm still here (power of serenity vs./mixed with 100th monkey concept)

POSTED BY: PEPPERG
UPDATED: Saturday, May 3, 2008 04:35
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VIEWED: 1166
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Thursday, May 1, 2008 8:10 PM

ok, so this is a deliberately binary/vague thread title. i admit
my essential confession/question is this:

i check these boards, the whedonesque site, and the fireflyfan and universal forums, maybe once a week. why? well, an objective/dismissive outsider would say i'm a fanboy, and they'd likely be right. for me though, it's about the POWER and IMPACT of this film, which was immense to me, which keeps me coming back to check in/discuss. i enjoyed buffy but not angel, and really enjoyed firefly, so i was already a fan of the whedon style, but serenity affected me on a greater level. basically beginning with the haunting cello theme as i was reunited with the ship and crew, it affected me like no other film had before, possibly b/c it was like being reunited with old friends. even rewatching it now and observing some of the weaker moments (innara's last minute bolt thrower substitute, michael hitchcock's less than great acting, the guilty cheesy pleasure that is river's final buffyesque battle), i can't help but love this film and feel a connection to it that is largely unlike any other film i've watched.

this leads to my essential question (not one that i expect anyone else to answer for me): do i feel this way b/c i am part of the whedon fanbase and thus affected by the momentum of the "cult of whedon" and further influenced by the tenacious fandom that has sprung up around firefly (browncoats)? in other words, has the concept that once a certain amount of people like something it crosses over to a larger portion of the populace (ie 100th monkey notion), and thus, since a core group of however many tens of thousand people won't let this franchise die, i am similarly affected (ie, had the film came and gone without little fanfare, i'd not be writing about it now)? or is it the power and artistry and sometimes beauty of serenity that has this hold over me? i'm fully aware even in posing this question that it's not a binary situation or either/or, and it's likely a mix of both.

i have to say though, when this film opened in september of '05, and my girlfriend and i saw it after having viewed firefly twice through on dvd a year before, that i freaking cried a few tears during that cello theme when serenity proper is introduced after the super creepy (and superbly acted by chewetel--so cool, rational, and cultured, yet so tenacious and sociopathic! ) intro. i felt like in some way, i had come home again, to friends i hadn't known i'd missed but that i had. make no mistake, i have a full and satisfying social life, so i was not some unbalanced fan who used tv characters as substitutes for real friends. but i am also old enough to have seen star wars in 1977 when i was a little kid, and i have to say: mal and crew, and serenity, felt like a long long overdue 2nd coming: a set of scifi heroes like han, luke, et al. that no scifi filmaker or writer had had the vision, tenacity, and sense of adventure and humanity to create in the almost 30 years since (all the more baffling how lucas so completely screwed the pooch with the most recent three films- did he turn himself into a droid?!)! here i was, an adult at the movies, feeling that i had a "fine bunch of (space) rubins" and tarnished heroes for my adult self to live vicarious adventures through. how come it took almost 30 years for a suitable replacement?! other scifi masterpieces i loved like blade runner or man who fell to earth were too dystopian, cold, or decadent (decker is a total wreck and quite the solipsist), too surreal (eraserhead); and the much hyped lucas return was an almost total dissapointment to the adult me.

even today, some 2 years and 5 viewings later, there are several scenes that just grab me in the same emotional way as on my first viewing: the powerful transition from chewetel's masterful, and almost innocently wondering delivery of "where are you hiding, little girl?" with that musical build contrasted against the dead silent black and david newman's haunting cello/guitar harmonics underneath serenity gleaming, $40 million dollar profile, which whedon then quickly takes away from us as the turbulence overpowers it and we meet our "not quite in control/seat of their pants" heroes (i can't even imagine how much less powerful a viewing experience it would be to have seen this w/out having watched firefly. i have to say that, had i seen this w/out watching firefly, i would have enjoyed the film but it ultimately wouldn't have mattered to me. thank god for dvd.). and the trade station robbery, which i love for its mix of western bank robbery "badassness" coupled with the enoesque (brian eno, for those not in the know) style ambient eeriness as we see river's psychic abilities at work. again, david newman's score elevates this from very good to very very great. or the funeral/serenity rebuilding scene, with more of newman's haunting score (so good to use the guitar again for harmonics!) and the lump it put in my throat knowing we'd lost book and wash.

there is a great amount of heart, humour, adventure, and artistry in this film, and it keeps me interested in it even two years later. but it's bittersweet, seeing that, without headline stars, a AAA budget & marketing push, scifi cultural ghettoization, and existing backstory, the film hadn't a snowball's chance of hell of being a runaway hit in a conservative and generally culturally stupid market. even though i still hold out a bit of hope, i fear that serenity might have been my big damn hero's swansong. but what a glorious one it was!

it's just strange that some two years later some thousands or possibly tens of thousands of people are still discussing it. i guess this is what the internet is for? how self-reinforcing is it? i mean, as much as i love this film, i doubt i'd be writing this if i wasn't the 101st monkey.

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Saturday, May 3, 2008 4:35 AM

KATESFRIEND

I hadn't thought of the 100th monkey concept as applied to Firefly. Wonderful concept! But I'm not sure that the numbers are there yet enough to impress the PTB. But I think we get closer every day and with every new exposure the stars get to the public. And hopefully Dollhouse's success will add enthusiasm. I was there when the Star Trek momentum finally caught on in the 1970's, but only after the financial push of Star Wars's success did the suits decide to go all out with TNG. Then the fans were already in place. I'm sure the suits just want to be sure they have enough monkeys in place first before the next Serenity is made.

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