Research Paper by CortexOverride

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Research Paper

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POSTED BY: CORTEXOVERRIDE
UPDATED: Tuesday, March 1, 2011 00:35
SHORT URL: http://goo.gl/FUFec
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Friday, February 18, 2011 9:58 AM

In my Humanities Class, we're expected to complete a research paper on a Movie and some how tie it in with mythology.Since I chose the BDM, I'm puzzled as to how to relate it to myths. Any suggestions would be much abliged.

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Friday, February 18, 2011 10:33 AM

MENDUR

That depends: do the "myths" of the ca: 1870 American West count? Or does your instructor want "classical" myths, a la Greece or Norse or Chinese?

There is, of course, the Hero's Journey myth which fits the movie rather well (and you could use the parts where it departs from that myth to show your knowledge of it).

If you can provide a bit more information, I think the Browncoats could provide you with a bit more guidance.

The Codex Menduri: http://mendur.blogspot.com

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Friday, February 18, 2011 11:13 AM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht

Well Bytemite always is talking about this TV tropes website, I think that would have a lot of info about how Firefly pertains to myths, and if Firefly does then you can extend that to the BDM.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

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Friday, February 18, 2011 11:15 AM

THEHAPPYTRADER

It all depends on how you, or your teacher rather, defines 'Myth.' In my anthropology classes, 'Myth' was used to describe stories central to cultures and the like, whether it was true or not was irrelevant for the purposes over understanding the culture.

For example, the Christ myth, which I happen to believe is true, was a myth for the purposes of understanding the culture and it's a myth repeated throughout many legends, stories, and movies from King Arthur to Star Wars. (Arthur being the Christ like figure, Luke in a sense doing the same).

You could possibly make a case there concerning River's 'awakening' and Mal finding faith in something.

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Friday, February 18, 2011 1:18 PM

BYTEMITE

*cough* Assuming he found faith in something...

(is one of the few who argues he's not quite there yet).

I'd try comparing it to The Odyssey, by Homer.

For example:

Quote:
The name Odysseus is derived from the verb odussomai (oδύσσομαι), meaning "to be wroth against', 'hate",[6] suggesting that the name could be rendered as "the one who is wrathful/hated"

The movie is the culmination of a many year journey after the end of a brutal war (though Odysseus won that one).

The Roman empire considered Odysseus a villain and a falsifier, like the Alliance would think of Mal. There's also the greek's admired cunning (Independents), while the Romans were focused on honour (Alliance).

Where it departs is that Odysseus is considered diplomatic... However, this could translate to Mal's speechifying inspirational abilities.

Book is Aoelus.

River Tam is an Oracle.

Penelope is Inara.

It's obviously not the whole of the Odyssey, it's really just the part of the story up to the lotus eaters and the cyclops, but there's probably plenty here to compare.

Miranda is the land of the lotus eaters.

Reavers are the cyclops.

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Friday, February 18, 2011 3:01 PM

CORTEXOVERRIDE

These are the Parameters for the paper:

Quote:
]I.DESCRIPTION OF FILM
-Title
-Date
-Producer
-Actors

II. MYTHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF FILM
You Must Discuss 3 Specific Major Elements Of Creation, Destruction, and/or Hero categories in the body of the paper. As you analyze the film, you are to connect these to specific correlations with myths from your text(i.e. Prose Edda) by using definitive examples to help explain how you reached your conclusions. Use quotations from the film and footnotes will be needed here.

III. CONCLUSION
-Be subjective and describe how you feel about the film. Does it intrigue, please, disturb you? Do the parts compliment each other? What does it mean to you? How does the film work in our modern society?

IV: BIBLIOGRAPHY

I've asked the professor about this and he admitted to never hearing of Firefly/Serenity.

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Friday, February 18, 2011 3:27 PM

BYTEMITE

Your class is using a terminology and a curriculum I'm not familiar with. I'll try to stab at it based on the definitions I can glean from the surface.

There's not a whole lot in Serenity about creation, but the movie is framed by two events of destruction (which establish the Alliance as the bad guys).

The first is the destruction of River's sanity and innocence. The second is the destruction of the population of Miranda.

And I say destruction of Miranda instead of creation of Reavers because Reavers are what's left over when humanity within humans is destroyed.

Mal is an anti-hero character, an outlaw fighting against oppression. He is not, however, a classical anti-hero that you might find in the old myths (classic anti-heroes are weak or cowardly instead of having unusual methodology or moral myopia) so watch how you use this.

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Friday, February 18, 2011 4:26 PM

THEHAPPYTRADER

Quote:
*cough* Assuming he found faith in something...

(is one of the few who argues he's not quite there yet).

Probably, still, he seems to have taken Book's advice to heart and he believes in River.

The Odyssey isn't a bad comparison either, though Mal doesn't really seem to be 'going home.' He's got no rudder, goes where the wind takes him as it were. That's the only reason I didn't think of that one first. Anyway, there are many fascinating myths to choose from, it really just depends on what your teacher accepts.

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Friday, February 18, 2011 4:58 PM

BYTEMITE

Quote:
though Mal doesn't really seem to be 'going home.'

This is where the fridge brilliance comes in. :D

First, some background. Not only did Mal lose the war, in the backstory, he lost his home. And I don't mean that the Alliance took his ranch, I mean the Alliance charbroiled his homeworld. Everyone he knows, his entire family is gone, and he can't go back to the life he used to love.

This is confirmed in the Serenity RPG manual, and also in the extras on the Serenity Blue ray DVD. It's hinted at in the series theme song: "Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand" and "Burn the land and boil the seas".

So he comes out of the war, he finds out his home is gone. What's the first thing he does?

Buys a ship as a proxy for home, and puts together his own little family.

What Mal secretly wants is a normal life, a chance to rebuild or regain what he's lost.

So in a sense, the whole series and movie is really about Mal trying to find a way home.

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Friday, February 18, 2011 5:37 PM

RYCE

I'm thinking the Epic of Gilgamesh. Mal = Gilgamesh. Enkidu = a cross between Book and River, a wild creature. They kill the Bull of Heaven = Reavers (I'm changing up the order a little bit). In the Epic, Enkidu dies, which could be River regaining her sanity (or the death of Book). Mal/Gilgamesh goes on a quest of immortality, which is the quest for truth at Miranda. Heck, the goddess Ishtar could be the Alliance, who punish Mal/Gilgamesh for spurning her. I kinda like Mr. Universe as Utnapishtim, the holder of immortality/truth ("Can't stop the signal").

Phew, I knew this minor in mythology would come in handy!

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Friday, February 18, 2011 5:51 PM

CYBERSNARK

We also see multiple variations on the Death/Rebirth archetype, even just within the span of the movie itself (i.e., ignoring backstory):

-Mal loses what little he has (when the Operative destroys his support network), then is reborn (through the support of his crew) having gained strength and insight.

(In an ironic twist, we're told that Mal had already previously been crippled by nerve damage [and subsequently healed], rendering him immune to the Operative's pressure-point attack.)

-River is reduced to a helpless wreck, then restored, ending up even stronger and more formidable than she was. Not just as a Reaver-killer; note how she transitions from being a passenger (needing to be rescued and carried along) to a pilot (guiding her home and family through the storm).

-Serenity is defiled, destroyed, and ultimately rebuilt. (Subverted, in that she's still falling apart even after being rebuilt.)

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

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Friday, February 18, 2011 6:18 PM

PHOENIXROSE

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

One of my friends actually texted me last week that her Mythology text covered some Firefly and Serenity. I haven't gotten a chance to talk to her about it, but if I can get in touch with her soon I'll ask her what it said.

There are probably far more "Hero categories" to talk about than creation elements, but I'm sure it will come together

Ritual is what happens when we run out of rational.

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Friday, February 18, 2011 7:05 PM

CORTEXOVERRIDE

Quote:
Originally posted by PhoenixRose:
One of my friends actually texted me last week that her Mythology text covered some Firefly and Serenity. I haven't gotten a chance to talk to her about it, but if I can get in touch with her soon I'll ask her what it said.

Your friend was referring to Chapter 40 of the Introduction To Mythology:Second Edition by Eva M. Thury and Margaret K. Devinney. These were the only notes I could get out of the chapter:

1.Becuase of Science Fiction's flexibility and Widespread Appeal, it can provide useful insights into the way mythology permeates contemporary culture.

2.Firefly is sci-fi that relies heavily on biology for shaping its universe and creating the complications of its plot.

3.Terraforming involves recreating the process of evolution in a short time span in order to provide a world like our own.

4.This process is the premise of the show since its outcome is the creation of a world with resources inadequate for the humans on the outer planets. This is an example of Darwinian Natural Selection.

5. Firefly represents the world of organized religion with reservation if not, suspicion.

6.The moral choices of the crew represent eclectic individualistic philosophy prevalent in The X-Files.

7.The Firefly series reflects a constant tension between the good of the individual and the good of the ship or 'family'.

8.Kaylee is seen as the focus of the collective efforts of the show, While Captain Mal represents the values of the individual.-->The call for the collective has much less prominence , represented as it is by a character who is charming, but quixotic and does not have the authority to defend herself.

9.Then they mention the Firefly fans and how they are as likely to identify with the libertarian aspects of Mal's politics as they are to see the show as a call for the sacrifice to the good of the collective.

Then after that, book draws comparisons Firefly with Stagecoach.
Stating how Mal and Ringo encompass the 'Fordian Hero'. It seems like interesting stuff,but I'm just confused as to what insights I can get out of it.

(((tO sPARK tHE mOVEMENT)))

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Friday, February 18, 2011 8:52 PM

BYTEMITE

...What? I don't buy the part about Kaylee or the assessment of Kaylee being a call for the good of the collective and Mal being a call for the good of the individual.

Kaylee tries to serve as a moral compass, yes, but Mal looks out for the good of the crew quite often as well, particularly his confrontation with Jayne (who is an individualist), or returning to retrieve Simon and River in Safe. Mal is also often depicted as a guy who goes honour before reason, and chooses to do good deeds (returning medicine to Paradiso, broadcasting the Miranda message) despite the consequences (capture by Niska, death by Reavers/Alliance).

It's a very political way of framing it, and I have to question whether there's an agenda in the politics they've brought in. They specifically call out liberatarian, almost like it's a bad thing, but then don't call out the political equivalent for collectivism. They say Mal represents libertarianism, or individualism, and suggest in this case it's selfishness, me-first, while ignoring that even as a libertarian Mal has his acts of charity and kindness.

Tensions within the crew seem to be more an issue of triage, moral dilemma, and mutual survival than individualism versus collective.

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Friday, February 18, 2011 9:10 PM

BYTEMITE

I mean, if they wanted to make an argument about libertarianism, they couldn't have observed that the outer planets are fairly lawless and the libertarians in this story are making their living as criminals (including Kaylee!) by STEALING from other people?

Seriously, there was a much easier way to show the downfalls of the philosophy without putting it as a contrast between two characters, or framing it in terms of collectivism versus individualism (which the show definitely isn't about).

And they didn't say one negative word about the Alliance. They didn't even do a pros and cons for either side, Independent/rim-border worlds versus Alliance core world.

They didn't even mention River, who kicks off the entire storyline! Or what was done to her! That's a pretty major part of the story, don't you think?

Who wrote this text, and what indoctrination are they peddling for their Alliance superiors? Radical feminists, to whom Mal represents the white male oppressor? I mean, they seem to be suggesting the whole story is about Kaylee being unable to defend herself against the selfishness of the white man. Which would be completely missing the point. :?

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Saturday, February 19, 2011 9:22 AM

STEGASAURUS

By the way, I think it's very important for the context of the OP's assignment that we disregard the series Firefly and any other print canon. It is entirely possible that piqued with interest from the OP's paper that the professor may watch the movie.

While we ALL know that Serenity was basically season 2 wrapped in 2 hours of shiny entertainment, making references to any other sources - besides that which is in the movie - may have a negative result on his grade.

I would argue that the characters we meet in the BDM are somewhat different than those portrayed in the series. If you were to watch the movie all by itself, you could draw some different conclusions than having watched the series first.

Not overly helpful to the OP's request, but my 2 cents none the less.

-Steg

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Saturday, February 19, 2011 9:27 AM

BYTEMITE

Fair enough, though the text in question calls out Firefly the series, not Serenity the movie.

And even if it was about Serenity, the collectivism and individualism comments still strike me as wildly off base. If you SQUINT, maybe the movie is about Mal pulling himself out of his self-centered pity party after Inara and Book leave (and nearly making everyone else leave too), and through River's call to action he does something for the collective good (reveals the truth of Miranda). But even that's kinda of iffy on it being individualism as opposed to collectivism because Mal doesn't represent individualism. Rather he's clearly reliant on a number of other characters, up to the final confrontation at the end.

Cortex can use the Fordian Hero thing, though, that's accurate. It just means Mal has a good idea WHY he doesn't things without necessarily having a clear plan on the how.

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Sunday, February 20, 2011 5:03 AM

CORTEXOVERRIDE

Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
And they didn't say one negative word about the Alliance. They didn't even do a pros and cons for either side, Independent/rim-border worlds versus Alliance core world.

Actually They do, under the heading Firefly and Stage Coach:

1.Whereas the military in stagecoach is a source of rescue, in Firefly it becomes at best an annoyance, at worst a threat. Its minions turn up at awkward times, flexing their authority and running rough-shod over the concerns of civilians.

2.If The Alliance is an uncertain nuisance, the Reavers are a constant peril.

3.A questioning of the conventional morality appears in Firefly with Inara, the most obvious agent; she is a prostitute, yet her trade is openly accepted while that of the rest of the crew is scorned and she becomes "nurturer" aboard the ship.

4.Firefly shares the film's skepticism toward civilization. The tension between civilization and freedom is, to be sure, a long-standing element in both the Western and Science Fiction.

5. Throughout the show, there is a contrast between the authoritarianism of The Alliance and the inner world of Serenity.

6. The episode "Jaynestown" is a rumination upon social order, exploring the issues of both social and individual needs by considering society's need for heroes and the question of "What defines a man?" To Simon, this boils down to an understanding of what a person holds crucial which Kaylee twits him for.

7.Fordian Hero- The leader of this community most often is a solitary man who "seldom reaps life's humble pleasures. He is often a combination of soldier, judge, and priest, symbolizing his intervention, authority, and self-sacrifice..He is purer than the average man in service of such accepted values as tolerance, justice, medical duty,preservation of family and love.

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Sunday, February 20, 2011 6:53 AM

BYTEMITE

THERE we go.

The Mal and Kaylee thing from the first post is still kinda wrong though.

And it's still missing River, the MacGuffin, Oracle, and Quest Giver.

Also, in some ways, Mal is also a deconstruction of the Fordian Hero because he's depicted as a modern anti-hero. When he strays from his heroic nature, it's various members of the crew who pull him back to acting with integrity. In that way, despite being shown as very alone, it's clear he needs the other characters for support and guidance.

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Monday, February 21, 2011 3:14 PM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht

I agree that Mal hasn't regained faith yet, I think maybe he's getting to where he could consider it at some later point. I don't think believing in River constitutes faith, she's right there in front of him.

I don't believe River would have "regained her sanity" after the BDM, I think she clearly has a better understanding of her abilities and that she will have less nightmares, I don't think she's normal or common witted now. But I don't want to argue that, not the point.

There's a lot you can do with this, I do agree that you should leave out stuff that we only see in the series, unless your professor says its okay to have it in there, since this is about the movie. As far as creation, the system was created by the inhabitants, terraforming etc. otherwise they couldn't live there, obviously the planets were already there but they would be unusable without people altering them and creating an environment suitable for habitation.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

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Wednesday, February 23, 2011 3:45 AM

MENDUR

Quote:
Oiginally posted by CortexOverride:
These are the Parameters for the paper:

II. MYTHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF FILM
You Must Discuss 3 Specific Major Elements Of Creation, Destruction, and/or Hero categories in the body of the paper. As you analyze the film, you are to connect these to specific correlations with myths from your text(i.e. Prose Edda) by using definitive examples to help explain how you reached your conclusions. Use quotations from the film and footnotes will be needed here.

Hmm. Sounds like you have to find the parallels to the movie within your textbook. Can you give us a list of myths from your textbook? Or am I misunderstanding things, here?

The Codex Menduri: http://mendur.blogspot.com

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Wednesday, February 23, 2011 5:02 AM

CORTEXOVERRIDE

Quote:
Originally posted by Mendur:
Quote:
Oiginally posted by CortexOverride:
These are the Parameters for the paper:

II. MYTHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF FILM
You Must Discuss 3 Specific Major Elements Of Creation, Destruction, and/or Hero categories in the body of the paper. As you analyze the film, you are to connect these to specific correlations with myths from your text(i.e. Prose Edda) by using definitive examples to help explain how you reached your conclusions. Use quotations from the film and footnotes will be needed here.

Hmm. Sounds like you have to find the parallels to the movie within your textbook. Can you give us a list of myths from your textbook? Or am I misunderstanding things, here?

The Codex Menduri: http://mendur.blogspot.com

I'd rather not since it's a pretty long list,but someone did mention that I should read The 'Daniel Boone Myth'.

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Wednesday, February 23, 2011 9:58 PM

JOURNEY

If you are focusing on the story of the movie (but using the series only as a source for informing about your characters), I would say that Serenity does have quite a good bit of the Creation element. Simplistically, myths explain why the world is the way it is. Serenity explains where Reavers came from. Yes, I know there is a lot of other stuff going on, but stay with me here. That starting point can be further developed into why did the Alliance think there was a need for the Pax and what does that say about their view of people, how exactly did it backfire and what does this say about what the story believes about the makeup of a human being, does this humanize or demonize the Reavers. Each of those points probably have similarities (or maybe try to answer the same question but get a different answer) to classical or ethnic myths, but I am sorry I don't know any well enough to point you to any.

At least, that is my opinion on the thing. Let us know how it turns out.

Exploding popcorn.

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Thursday, February 24, 2011 5:56 AM

BYTEMITE

Heh, I deliberately left out the creation of the Reavers because there was no way I could actually consider that anything but destructive.

I mean, it's like the fall of Lucifer, the war in heaven, and the rise of hell and the demons. Is it part of the creation myths of Islamo-Judiac religions (or at least the backstory)? Sure. Is it creation element more than destruction element? Ehh, probably not: really it's actually CREATING the destructive element OF the 'verse, so it's arguably more an act of destruction than of creation.

But I did think that people could interpret it either way.

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Thursday, February 24, 2011 7:46 AM

MENDUR

Well, the first five minutes of the movie does "the creation of the 'Verse" so maybe that is enough of a parallel for the paper?

The Codex Menduri: http://mendur.blogspot.com

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Thursday, February 24, 2011 8:09 AM

BYTEMITE

Ooooh, the myth of Earth That Was, I LIKE that.

In Norse mythology, the world was destroyed a couple times before the Norse gods settled on this arrangement, and if that's considered a creation myth...

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Thursday, February 24, 2011 4:19 PM

JOURNEY

Me too! Just the name "Earth-that-was" gives me the shivers.

I would agree that the Reavers definitely fall in the destructive metaphor or whatever the term was. But there is usually an link between the creation and the destruction part of myths, at least the ones I have studied. I can't remember who started it, but I know Tolkien used the idea that evil cannot create, it can only distort. Example, the Unholy Trinity in Milton's Paradise Lost. But that is probably a rabbit trail...

I was more coming from the side that destruction was not the intent, creation was. It fubared, yeah, but since the Alliance was trying to create, it might be interesting to look at what they were trying to create and why. Seeing how they failed would be the destructive part, showing what was wrong with their original assumptions and therefore what was wrong with the government that Mal and crew have to live with.

~

Exploding popcorn!

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Friday, February 25, 2011 11:52 AM

STINKINGROSE

See if you can find common archetypes throughout world myths which resonate with the characters/institutions in the 'verse. (I'll bet you can, without even trying). You may find a hodge-podge of bits of myths and stories woven together.
You definitely have the "Hero". You might consider River the Trickster figure (chaos).
Perhaps look into The Fool's journey as described in some Tarot decks. (The legends are older than the cards.)
Indian myths and Buddhist stories are another good place to start. It's not all Western/European myth out there. Africa's probably got a few good ones in the Anansi legends. Check out the Native American legends while you're at it.

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Tuesday, March 1, 2011 12:35 AM

VERASAMUELS

Since Serenity [and Firefly] have Chinese influences, you might like to look at any Chinese myths that have a bearing on your paper.

Also, dating from Greek drama tropes;

The seven basic characters of fiction:-

Sun - the man/woman in charge [Mal]

Moon - the one who has the power/influence to get the Sun to back down [usually Zoe]

Mars - the fighter [Jayne]

Venus - the lover; the one everyone is supposed to want [Inara]

Jupiter - the one trying to be a lover [Wash/Kaylee] [Simon, though he mostly fails!]

Mercury - good with hands, messenger, the fix-it guy [or gal] [Wash/Kaylee]

Saturn - the one on the edge, observing things from a distance [River/Book]

The genius of Joss is that he gives us those seven characters and TWO MORE!!!

Devout Keeper of Jayne's Lunchbox

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