Introduction to Hollywood Cinema: Genre, Fandom, Orientalism, and

Neoliberalism in SerenityProf. Julia Leyda

May 2, 2023

quiz

Who are the Reavers and how are they portrayed in Serenity?

(10 minutes)

I. genre: space western (?!)

• combines the quintessential American genre with increasingly popular SF

• both are sub-genres of “adventure” movie• both are in part defined by– setting (time and place) – iconography (visual motifs)– plot formulas and themes

Serenity space western iconography

Serenity space western iconography

SF and western compared

• set at the frontier, during a time of exploration, expansion, often war or conflict

• iconography of guns, boots, sometimes old-fashioned costumes

• stories about quests, pioneering, gunfighters• themes of good vs. evil, civilization vs. savagery,

justice vs. tyranny (better world clip) revisionist representations of gender, race, class?

other famous space westerns

• Buck Rogers (1928) and Flash Gordon (1934-) radio and movie series

• Star Wars series (1977-)clear similarities between Han Solo and Mal Reynolds

• Star Trek original TV show (1966-) “Space—the final frontier. To boldly go where no man has gone before!”

• Alien series (1979-)dark, dystopian, mega-corporate mining colonies

• Battlestar Galactica TV show and movies (1978-)• Cowboy Bebop TV show and manga (1998-)

II. fans and Firefly / Serenity

• Firefly (2002) TV series on Fox– Joss Whedon writer / director / exec. producer (Buffy,

Angel)– despite huge fan base, canceled mid-season– fans bought an ad in Variety and launched postcard

campaign– because of fan activism Fox released the DVD– bestselling DVD, internet fan sites “Browncoats”

fans and Serenity

• Serenity (2005) movie, same cast / crew– Fox still owned the title Firefly– DVD extras include story of the fan campaign– Whedon and cast often attend fan “conventions” and

internet fan chatrooms– comics, role-playing games, books, other tie-ins– unofficial, fan-made sequel Browncoats: Redemption

due for release this September

fans and the entertainment industry

• Fox TV didn’t promote Firefly enough / well• Whedon credits the Universal contract to the

enormous activism of fans• Whedon and cast identify as fans of the series • Hollywood’s commercial aesthetic means pursuit

of profitable entertainment• 21st-century example of interplay between

audiences and Hollywood

III. Orientalism

• 19C (-20C) European and American art and architecture depicting themes, motifs, and styles of “the Orient” – Chinoiserie, Japonisme, Turquerie– sensual, exotic, despotic, savage, distant, archaic

• critical term in Edward Said’s book Orientalism (1979), further developed in Culture and Imperialism (1993)

The Turkish Bath (Ingres 1862)

Orientalism in Said

• political vision of reality whose structure promoted the difference between the familiar (Europe, West, "us") and the strange (the Orient, the East, "them")

• origin of stereotypes of “the Orient”• based in power: myth of the Oriental was possible

because of European political dominance of the Middle East and Asia

Orientalism as ideology

Orientalism is a pattern of thought in the West that allowed Westerners “to accept the notion that distant territories and their native peoples should be subjugated and … [to] think of the empire as a protracted, almost metaphysical obligation to rule subordinate, inferior or less advanced peoples”

link to imperialism, neoliberalism

“the Orient” in Serenity

• US and China have merged to form the Alliance, governing “terraformed” planets

• characters speak and understand Mandarin (also some Russian)

• visual images of katakana and Arabic script• casual integration of languages, details• River’s martial arts-inspired fighting style• especially Inara’s character and mise-en-scene

market on outer planet

port city

extras in Asian costumes

Chinese characters

Inara and Orientalism

• costume and makeup, mannerisms • vocation as a companion, related to tradition of

courtesan (rather than prostitute?)– traditional femininity, revised?

• training process similar to geisha or priestess• mise-en-scene combines motifs from India, China,

Japan how to interpret her character’s “Oriental” visual

motifs?

Inara’s Buddhism

Inara’s costume

a more complex orientalism?

• elements of design trends, popularity of Asian cultures among westerners– interest in eastern spirituality: Buddhism, meditation,

yoga, martial arts– superficial culture: exotic cuisines, tourism– fans of manga, anime, “kawaii” culture, and “Japan

cool”– greater cultural mixing a result of globalization?– sign of Japan’s and China’s economic power?

IV. Serenity and neoliberalism

• neoliberalism: unregulated capitalism + democracy; dominant political and economic system since the 1980s (Reagan and Thatcher)– combination of “free” market, privatizing economic

policies with democratic political system – since the fall of USSR and the “liberalization” of China,

neoliberalism prevails in most of the world– unlike in earlier 20C, “there is no alternative”

neoliberalism and the Alliance

• hegemony: ongoing struggle to maintain people’s consent to a system that governs them

• hegemony here depends on misinformed public: River’s class, the Operative’s beliefs

• mass media fail to inform public about real inequalities of neoliberalism / the Alliance

• discourses of enlightenment and development make spread of neoliberalism seem benevolent

neoliberalism and the Alliance

• wants to bring “civilization” and trade to the outer planets of the (uni)verse (River class clip)

• Mal stealing payroll of outer planet private security firm working for Alliance (Blackwater)

• war is over, resistance fighters (Mal and Zoe) lost—now they are outlaws, smugglers

neoliberalism and the Alliance

• Miranda: secret planet where psychoactive drug added to the atmosphere (like Prozac)—metaphor for maintaining hegemony (Mal broadcast clip)

• drug overdose killed most, created Reavers• Alliance portrays Reavers as savages as westerns

did Indians—but we learn that they are also human, and victims of Alliance

the Alliance as evil empire

• representation of the Alliance as tyrannical, masquerading as civilizing force– tampers with River’s mind to weaponize her– exploits planets against their will– tolerates smuggling, human trafficking, crime– massacre Haven and Shepherd Book in revenge– hires the Operative assassin to kill Mal and recover

River– kills Mr. Universe to protect its hegemony

is resistance possible?

• Mal’s inspiring speech to the crew• the Operative’s disillusionment• River and Mal’s last scene

• is the ending happy? is it believable?

representational systems

• always engage in ideologies of the society in which they are produced

• often portray conflicts and struggles of hegemonic negotiation

• 2002-2005 post 9/11, post-Katrina, Iraq War, collapse of public credibility of Bush administration (and neoliberalism generally?)

• is resistance possible?

discussion questions

1. Discuss the “space western”—what other movies or TV shows fit this description? How do the two genres work together?

2. Discuss the representations of women in Serenity: Zoe, Kaylee, Inara, River.

3. How do the Reavers compare and contrast to Indians in a western like The Searchers?

4. If Hollywood shows Americans what they want to believe about themselves, what do we learn from Serenity?