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SHARPSHOOTER

BROWNCOAT ID#:7099   SINCE: 2004.07.24 12:43   LAST HERE: 2005.10.20 19:21   CREDITS: 1

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DISSONANT TREND

Thursday, October 20, 2005 7:59:53 PM

We've seen it. We waited months and it came. It caused some strife for a moment, with schedules and money problems. But in the end, classes skipped, jobs called into, and pockets picked empty, we were all there, dressed for the part. We were ready.

-History-
I found myself in anticipation of something Joss didn't want to give me. I'm tired of Anakin falling to the Dark Side. I'm tired of Trinity dying just moments before Neo follows. I'm tired of the ambiguous endings. I'm tired of dead heroes.
I've been sloughing through this trendy artform since the last episode of Cowboy Bebop. And yes, i'll admit that was one of the greatest shows i've ever formed an opinion for. And no, i'm not a fan of cesorship. And no, i don't think the world is less than atrocious.

But i'm tired of the storybook temples built to the suffering protagonist.

That's what was on my mind when i went into a dim theater with hopes of seeing Wash crack me up, Jayne act stupid in ways that allowed Wash to crack me up, and Captain Mal do the right thing, even when he had no reason to believe it was ever going to pay off.
I went in expecting Serenity Pt. 3 and 4. What I got was a darkened look at a world I've been wanting to love. Now it seems like another jot on the notepad for Hollywood. "But in real life, mr. Sharp, the goodguys don't always win."

I know. Believe me. I get it.

So stop singing it.

-Hubris-
This is simple. I'm a purist, an Idealist, and a Dreamer. It's a rough combo in this day and age. Sure, we've known Anakin was Darth almost as long as we've know Frodo wouldn't be able to stay in the Shire. But those moments were back of our head as we watched the Death Star blow up. As we watched Smaug fall into the Lake.
Somewhere out there, some guy wrote the ballad of Beowulf. Somebody started it. And we've been segregating our opinions ever since. We've been slowly dividing into the Hopeful Happy Endings and the Realistic Adult Dramas.
And here's what's worse: We're usually the opposite in life. I will readily admit, when I go into the maelstrom of suffering that this life throws at me, i'm not squeezing the Lemonade. I'm shoving the lemons down the throats of any bloke willing to test me. I end up a jerk, by circumstance, and i hide behind the decisions I make with the thoughts that I had no choice.
I guess what i'm saying is that in my own life, as pithy as it really is, i'm just like Mal. I shove the guy off the Mule and spare him one round to the chest in hopes of paying him my only bit of kindness from a parched heart.
The Heart feeds on hope.
And I didn't see Hope in Serenity. I saw a crew of hopless and stubborn souls that did out of a lack of choice.

-Humility-
Maybe I'm reading into this too much. Maybe i'm just not down with the trend for reasons more predictable than I'd like. As i wrot in the last entry: Serenity is the Best movie i've ever not liked. What I mean is simple: I have no argument about the writing. It's by far some of the best storytelling and movie-making I've seen in my life. It's a great film. It's just not what I wanted.
Because I wanted a victory without the counter-weight of loss. I wanted to see something that might inspire me to stirve for the goal, instead of gritting my teeth and moving the only direction left...Forward.
I expected a lot out of this movie. I wanted something that left me as happy as i did when Transporter 2 rolled it's credits, only without making me feel like a moron for watching it.
I wanted something Joss didn't want to give me. I wanted Captain Mal to save Inara like a princess in a faery story. I wanted to see Jayne decide to leave the money for the crew. I wanted to see Book take down the Operative because he used to be an agent, too, only he lived, and that makes him better because he's a survivor...
I wanted every last candy coated, re-hashed and predictable hollywood moment. Because I knew Joss could give it to me in a way that would merit my praise. And even if the critics damned it as 'unoriginal' i'd stand firm. Calling out that nothing's 'original' since Aesop; so stop whining, because the Dreamer's haven't given up.
And worst of all, I'll admit this much...It worked. On some levels, Joss got exactly what he wanted and it even makes me glad. After that horrid clip where we don't hear Wash finish his famous line..."I'm a leaf on the wind..." I was so scared, so terrified, so mortally afraid, that when Mal managed to retaliate against the Operative, I almost wept for joy. It worked. It pulled me into the story a little more.
And maybe that's all I'm getting.

-Hope-
But in the end, it's simple really. I want to see something that doesn't strain my heart. I don't eat spicey food. I don't watch scary movies. I don't believe that the goodguys will loose. I don't believe the badguys will ever go away.
I'm a Dreamer. And what stinks in all this is the terminal sense of Firefly after Serenity. I look around me and realize i've got one season of Smallville left, and after that i'm going to be looking forward to Stephen Sommers movies and that's it.
But that's the nature of Hope, I guess. That no matter how many times the Authors in the world decide to shave loved characters from the script, or dabble in 'tainted, believable' protagonists, there will always be Writers out there pumping out the Supermen, the Snake Eyes, and the Indiana Jones to cancel it all out. We'll be here, preaching our side of the coin.

And that's the end of it really. Life is like Serenity, yes, but it's also nothing like it at all. Depends on your POV, i guess. I like to adhere to the simple Axiom: Life is Beutiful. There's movies out there to fix that in me. And movies out there that keep me from forgetting it. Just like life.

In my time as a Dreamer there's been some times where I left Wash behind. And there's been time where I blew up the Death Star. And even though I should be sayin things all end right, I'll be truthsome for this BLOG.
There's been a clever equality of both.

And that's why I was impressed and dissapointed with Serenity. Because there's nothing to fix but the way it hits home. Guess I just need a serious flick that doesn't sap my brain or drag my heart.

If you're still reading this, I hope it was worth the trip. Hope you didn't get here out of anger with my cynisism of the movie. Hope you figured I was worth the waste of time.

Cheers, fanboys. May you live longer than the 'Verse. Bright and Shiny.

Sharpshooter says goodnight.

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