SHAUDAWN'S BLOG

Shaudawn

Firefly as American Mythos (part 2)
Wednesday, January 3, 2007

I remember Star Trek: TNG when I was a youngin' in high school. Longing for a really good sci-fi series, I tuned into episode number one. After that premier, my friends and I basically wanted to kill Worf, and have Wesley and Riker mutiny and go on a wild joy-ride across the neutral zone to hunt for someone like Khan. (Hey, I was a high school nerd. I admit. Ain’t proud, but…) I hung in there because it was the only sci-fi I was getting’, but even when the Borg came around, it had lost me. Only after watching Firefly do I know why there’s no way in hell I’d ever go to a Trek convention. With TNG, there was always this whiff of triumphalism to it. I think that’s why Trekkies/Trekkors (whatever) are such snobs. This greater-than-thou attitude is built in to the entire Trek universe – that the Human Federation is always superior, even if out-technologied... they at least unilaterally claimed a moral high ground.

It’s probably just me, but that Star Trek/Star Wars mythos don’t work no more. My boys are really into The Lord of the Rings right now. I admire Tolkien’s ambition to write a new mythos for England. What Firefly did for me was hit me with what I think America's myth really is .

I like LOTR a lot, but there’s something that SW/ST/LOTR have in common that I can no longer accept. The American myth that is fed to me on a regular basis these days is this: the hero sweeps in and saves the day because of some divine mandate from either Force or phaser. Current events aside, I think America has wanted to be that Star Wars myth of defeating the evil Empire in the name of the Force (TV preachers call it ‘God’…that’s a whole nuther can o’ worms fer another rant). Or others want to be that morally upright Federation whose constant march of history will triumph over all. “Yes, we did blow up the planet once, but look at us now, you silly Q! All you have to do is work hard to make that inevitable Federation come into being!”

Truth is, I think most of us in America and its vassals are fed the promise of the ‘American Dream’ as much as the Alliance promised the benefits of civilization.

Quote:
”…Ruled by an interplanetary parliament, the Alliance was a beacon of civilization. The savage outer planets were not so enlightened and refused Alliance control. The war was devastating, but the Alliance's victory over the Independents ensured a safer universe. And now everyone can enjoy the comfort and enlightenment of our civilization.”


Everywhere in our world (what some call ‘Real’), we get promises from politicians of all colors. Advertisers guarantee whiter teeth, trimmer bellies, less work, more leisure, more fun, more sex, perfectly happy children, a pill to fix anything, and a shiny car to drive on wide open roads (backroads on weekends…but still roads). TV Preachers invoke God for even more ‘blessings’ and a take of some of ours, promising that if we mutter the right magical words, we’ll get a pony and a little plastic rocket. Corporations lure employees in with promises of security and benefits, and when we swallow hook, line and sinker, our mortgage, car payment, and medical insurance keeps us locked behind desks, counters, computers, and tools. (Shackles made of paper...now ain’t that odd).

That is why Firefly ought to be the American mythos...not that it is untrue, but because its truth cuts through the crap, lifts the veil, and tells it like it really is: real people…no aliens, angels (no pun intended) or photon torpedoes or robots to swoop in this time and save us.

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