SCHOOL REPORT ON BALLAD OF SERENITY

Thursday, April 5, 2007 3:37:32 PM

I had to do a short report recently where I had to write about my favorite song, what it means, and why it is important to me. As you can guess, I did the Ballad of Serenity. I got 100% on the assignment, and here it is:

I am very specific about what music I like. I do not like the majority of today’s music, as it seems people have lost any kind of sense of what music should be, and use it more as an excuse to make money (Similar to how many modern films have lost their touch). Music is not a huge part of my life, but I do enjoy listening to it from time to time. The song I chose is the theme song to a short-lived TV series called Firefly. The song describes the life of the main character, Malcolm Reynolds, the captain of starship called Serenity. He lost his faith during a war he was on the losing side of, against a totalitarian government called the Alliance. The battle he lost everything in was called the Battle of Serenity Valley. He named his ship after that battle because “Once you’ve been in Serenity, you never leave”. The song describes how the Alliance took everything from him, but that they can’t take “the sky” from him. The song eventually took on another form, as it represented the fight fans of the show gave after the television station FOX cancelled it after showing the episodes out of order, and shifting its time slots around. Fans used it as a rallying cry to see more of Firefly, and help the creator, Joss Whedon, in his effort to resurrect the franchise. After many months, FOX released the TV series on DVD, including 3 unaired episodes. Fans converted other people into fans, and it continued, making Firefly one of the best-selling DVDs of all time. Because of this, Joss Whedon was able to create a movie, called Serenity, under the production of Universal, and including the entire original cast. The film was not so successful in theatres, due to a small fanbase. However, it still remains a song that all fans of Firefly sing and have sung since the first episode aired. The DVD of the movie and series continue to sell well after being on the shelves for over a year. More fans join the movement called the “Browncoats” every day, petitioning and using guerilla marketing to hopefully, one day, see another movie or see the TV series resurrected again. This song means much to me as I am a “Browncoat”, and have fought to see more of the Firefly universe, which has become a cult classic. The story of Firefly, Malcolm Reynolds, and the fans all echo in this short, one-minute-long song.