River's Innocence by Jmartine3592

FIREFLY EPISODE DISCUSSIONS

River's Innocence

POSTED BY: JMARTINE3592
UPDATED: Thursday, June 10, 2004 13:52
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Wednesday, June 9, 2004 11:25 PM

I believe that River is one of the more innocent characters, I could be stating the obvious, but in 'Bushwhacked' her innocence seems to come out when Simon and her on the ship hiding. Now, even though she's a little out there, does anyone else think that she's like this because of the "craziness" or would she just be like that no matter what. Would she be acting child-like if she wasn't like the way she was, I don't believe she would be. She'd probably be like any other teenage girl. Lemme know what ya'll think.

Jayne - "It smells like crotch..."
Kaylee - "Jayne!"

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Thursday, June 10, 2004 1:21 AM

LTNOWIS

Yeah, you're probably right. Though, she hasn't done usual teenage things, like dating, since she was 14. Also, being a super-genius, she might not have interacted with other kids her age.

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Thursday, June 10, 2004 2:29 AM

STATIC

I don't think it boils down that easily. . .

Yeah, she's not been given the chance to BE a kid. . .but she DID make it to age 14 before she was squirreled away by the Blue Hand Group.

When I'm not traipsing around the globe with my National Guard unit (one weekend a month my a$$!!!), I work with middle-school children (REALLY saving the world!), and I propose to you these thoughts for your consideration.

Here in 2004, 11 - 13 year old kids are at the same level in the whole realm of pubescent hormone torture that MY generation didn't start dealing with a whole lot until 14 - 15. Let's assume that by 14, River had at least STARTED wrestling with puberty. . .recognized that boys would act all manner of stupid for her. . .might've had that little notebook full of pages that said, "Mrs. River somebody", started paying attention to how she dressed/acted/spoke in order to appear attractive to boys. . .etc.
(Side note #1: Don't assume that because she was a genius, that she didn't worry about those things. EVERY teenager does.)

(Side note #2: If any gentlemen on FFF.net who are reading this are fathers of girls who are not YET 12 years old. . .you have my deepest sympathy for what you're going to be dealing with one day.)

Okay. . .Assuming that she'd already been a teenage girl for two years BEFORE she got ripped away, let's hearken back to the END of "Objects in Space". . .She and Kaylee are playing jacks (who DOES that anymore? Good idea, Joss!), and you catch the tail end of a Kaylee story, which, not too surprisingly, sounds as if it involves an amorous encounter with a boy. . .River's reactions are very typical for a teenage girl. A NORMAL teenage girl. . .not a super-genius, mind-reading assasin.

Okay. . .where am I going with this? I DO think River might be a bit more naive than the average 16-17 year old girl, which is about the age we've estimated for her, but not too terribly. Her childlike behavior comes partly from her not being allowed to fully experience her teenage years, but I think the rest of it is just that she will probably always have a very childlike personality when it comes to certain things.

Just my .02 Sorry to ramble.

==================================================
"Wash. . .we got some local color happening. A grand entrance would not go amiss."

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Thursday, June 10, 2004 3:31 AM

TEELABROWN

I remember that when I talk to the school conciler (She listens to me, it's very nice), she says that no matter how smart you are, your emotions can never go past what age you are now. So, if she's 17, her emotions would be 17, even if her intelligence is 3 times her age.

_____________
"Freedom is the Freedom to say that 2 plus 2 make 4. If that is granted, all else follows"-Winston, 1984
Teela Brown, keeper of bad typing.
"No one reads these things any way."- Bart on Blackboard

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Thursday, June 10, 2004 4:05 AM

PURPLEBELLY

It's possible that a genetically engineered scion of an upper-middle class family in a twenty-sixth century Anglo-Sino culture does not share the mores of a present day North American High School, regardless of any specialisation in her education.
River's friendship with Kaylee probably is a response to the simplicity with which that relationship is offered; her recent trauma is likely to make her reticent to initiate friendships herself.

I've grown to be suspicious of innocent teenagers, but that's my problem

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Thursday, June 10, 2004 6:13 AM

HKCAVALIER

Quote:
Originally posted by Jmartine3592:
Now, even though she's a little out there, does anyone else think that she's like this because of the "craziness" or would she just be like that no matter what. Would she be acting child-like if she wasn't like the way she was, I don't believe she would be.

One aspect of her "craziness" that I can talk about is her psychic/empathic awareness and being profoundly psychic/empathic affects the way you interact with other human beings. You tend to have a profound understanding of how they got to be how they are, so you can really see the world from their point of view. It can make you oddly trusting and very friendly to people "for no reason." Paradoxically, other people's troubles can hit you like a ton of bricks, so you might be a little shy with some strangers. You tend to see the inherent goodness at the heart of people, so when you see someone who is really, deeply corrupt, it can be extremely disturbing and may make you do and say things that you would never normally do. Sometimes an evil in the room can get inside you without anyone doin' nothin' (I'm thinking of Jayne and his shirt right now) and you can have what amounts to a psychotic break.

River seems to be in a dream-like state most of the time. In dreams our awareness of the excruciating detail of everything around us often renders the dream utterly incomprehensible upon waking--because our mind doesn't focus on the "meaningful detail" we get lost in a sea of meanings. Normal conscious people tend to screen out maybe 90% of incoming stimuli because it's redundant. We only tend to smell a strong odor, for instance, when we first enter a space because after a while a part of our non-conscious mind decides the information is meaningless and redundant. If we were 100% conscious of everything around us, we would hardly be able to move or think. River seems to be in that state a lot of the time.

I've never known a psychic person who had not suffered some kind of deeply invasive injury--the kind of trauma that opens you up and never really closes again. So, our River prolly wouldn't have been very psychic and therefore she wouldn't have been quite so innocent/weird/freaky if she hadn'ta been messed with.

HKCavalier

Hey, hey, hey, don't be mean. We don't have to be mean, because, remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

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Thursday, June 10, 2004 1:52 PM

SHINYSEVEN

I tend to think of River as "Drusilla who can go out during the daytime"--there's just something about those wispy nutsy Ophelia types that strikes a chord in the Jossverse. Sort of like ugly shirts and tact-impaired people.

However, I can definitely see River wondering why Inara is never going to get to comb her hair or have fruit punch ever again, as Simon ditzes around trying to find the shirt he planned to wear to the funeral.

"Sadistic crap legitimized by florid prose"

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