Let Me Tell You About My Paladin
A Rapist's View of the World: Joss Whedon and Firefly
Something that will always be entertaining to me is when someone starts off with a valid point or two, then takes it to extremes so ridiculous as to invalidate their own credibility and turns their argument into a hilarious if unintended self-parody. These are generally people who go out of their way looking for things to be offended by.
For example, the following LJ post arguing that Firefly is all about rape:
http://users.livejournal.com/_allecto_/34718.html
I see a few valid points in there. I also see a lot of gross generalizations and serious effort to find things to get righteously upset over. Again, I see the points the writer's trying to make; it's the hyperbole that makes me laugh out loud.
"I really am beyond worried about how much men hate us, given that this was written by a man who calls himself a feminist."
Gosh, I liked Firefly, I must hate women.
I find much of Joss Whedon’s work to be heavily influenced by pornography, and pornographic humour.
Buh?
Firefly takes mysogeny to a new level of terrifying
Wow, if they'd pitched it to FOX that way they might have put effort into keeping the series alive. Makes a great tagline, doesn't it? I can see that quote on the back of a DVD box.
Only one episode was written by a woman. It was no better or worse in its depiction of women than the ones written by men.
Jane Espenson hates women! Who knew?
This goes on and on... and on... and on. This person counts how many lines women have, as opposed to how many lines men have. Seriously. This person is offended that Zoe, a black woman, takes orders from Mal, a white male. Because, you know, in the future people can't follow other people on merit or anything.
Read it. Or not.
For example, the following LJ post arguing that Firefly is all about rape:
http://users.livejournal.com/_allecto_/34718.html
I see a few valid points in there. I also see a lot of gross generalizations and serious effort to find things to get righteously upset over. Again, I see the points the writer's trying to make; it's the hyperbole that makes me laugh out loud.
"I really am beyond worried about how much men hate us, given that this was written by a man who calls himself a feminist."
Gosh, I liked Firefly, I must hate women.
I find much of Joss Whedon’s work to be heavily influenced by pornography, and pornographic humour.
Buh?
Firefly takes mysogeny to a new level of terrifying
Wow, if they'd pitched it to FOX that way they might have put effort into keeping the series alive. Makes a great tagline, doesn't it? I can see that quote on the back of a DVD box.
Only one episode was written by a woman. It was no better or worse in its depiction of women than the ones written by men.
Jane Espenson hates women! Who knew?
This goes on and on... and on... and on. This person counts how many lines women have, as opposed to how many lines men have. Seriously. This person is offended that Zoe, a black woman, takes orders from Mal, a white male. Because, you know, in the future people can't follow other people on merit or anything.
Read it. Or not.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sir Golgotha, KEoPS on -
Gyddess forbid...
Gxddess fyrbid...
Kltpzyxm fxbid?
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Permalink Reply by Xose Lucero on
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Permalink Reply by Sir Golgotha, KEoPS on
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The Great Old Ones are Canadian?
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Permalink Reply by Lon Sarver on -
Um... Someone pass the brain bleach, please?
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Permalink Reply by Kenneth Newquist on -
For an alternative feminist interpretation of Firefly (actually several different interpretations) check out Finding Firefly, edited by Jane Espenson. I reviewed it over on Nuketown a while back:
http://www.nuketown.com/node/646
Truth be told, I've found that Whedon's work, especially Buffy, is popular among feminists. This book takes insights into Whedon's work on Buffy, and applies them to Firefly. The book's essays may disagree on what messages Firefly is sending, but I think it's safe to say none of the essayists think Whedon hates women.
The book itself is uneven in its mix of feminist, philosophy and humor essays, and completely misses the political angles to the series, but it's worth reading for fans of the show.
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