Race and Gender in Joss Whedon's Serenity
An Analysis of Issues of Inequality in the Firefly Movie Sequel
Jul 22, 2009
Serenity, the movie spin-off of the TV show Firefly, has been uncritically lauded as a triumph by both fans of Firefly and critics alike. However, viewers of the movie that haven’t been bitten by the Firefly bug may be disappointed. Perhaps Firefly contains elements not present in the movie that redeem it, but Serenity, when judged on its own merits as a film, is far from the highly original and creative masterpiece many have claimed it to be. While the awkward script and boring plot line are bad enough, the real weakness of the movie is its predictably traditional gender roles and heavy dose of racial stereotypes.
When Three White Male Leads is Too Many
The movie features three white male leads that look and act so much alike that a person spends half the movie hoping that one or two of them will be killed off. The crew in the beginning of the movie completely lacks racial diversity - apparently, even though most of the people on our modern day earth are people of color, somehow the universe of Serenity has very little diversity, as least on its spaceships. There is one person of color out of a crew of seven, who also doubles as one of the three females on board.
Lots of female characters, none of any quality
The idea that nearly half the crew is female turns out to be of little relief since none of them are presented as equal to men in any way, shape or form. Kaylee, apparently the ships incompetent engineer, is so ridiculously stupid that you wonder how she even survived the TV series. Her main function seems to be to ask dumb questions in order to allow the characters to explain things that might confuse viewers who are new to the Firefly universe. She feels too much like the stereotype of the “dumb blonde airhead” to be likeable or even believable.
Zoe, the closest we get to a strong female character, seems to have absolutely no purpose or skills which make her of use aboard Serenity aside from being married to the pilot. Indeed, her marriage to Wash feels rather forced. Near the end of the film, after Wash dies, she becomes even less of a character - her only function seems to be to make viewers feel sad about Wash dying.
River, the main focus of the movie, is little more than a fighting machine. Her only strength comes from whatever experiments the alliance government has done on her, so much so that she becomes little more than a thing. She is actually on occasion referred to as an “it” as opposed to a “she”.
This is a convention similar to Joss Whedon’s Buffy - The Vampire Slayer. In both cases, the writer creates female characters that appear physically strong, but in reality are only that way because of some outside force - government experiment, vampirism, shamanic voodoo, etc. He contrasts this with normal women, who he always portrays as being physically helpless.
This holds true when one first encounters Inara, the one female who isn't initially part of Serenity's crew. In a fight she pathetically gets thrown down on the floor over and over and over while the men duke it out. She is seemingly incapable of any sort of self defense and seems to be there to remind people that in this universe there are no women who are strong in their own right.
Advisors, Cheats and Villains - The Only Roles that Hollywood Seems to Have for People of Color
Unfortunately, Serenity is no different. Zoe and Shepherd Book are advisors to Mal, Shepherd Book most stereotypically as a minister. Its not unlike watching Se7en, Candyman or any other Hollywood crafted movie in the last few years - people of African descent have become the new moral advisors.
Of course, the only other Black character is the villain, known only as The Operative. In some ways he plays just like any stereotypical African-American villain, but his character is saved by being more intelligent and sophisticated than the usual stereotype. The fact that none of the other male main characters are people of color emphasizes the feeling of racial stereotyping in this instance.
Also notable are the possibly Semitic (traditionally meaning a person of either Arab or Jewish descent) twins who try to cheat the Serenity crew on their contract stipulations and on the whole are portrayed as scheming and crafty.
The Future of Serenity and Firefly
Regardless of the numerous racist overtones of the movie, there is hope to be found in the ending, and therefore hope for a better Serenity movie or continuation of Firefly. River’s new role as pilot gives her something to actually do and be good at, and the possibility of rising above being a mere machine. If Joss Whedon can overcome his allergy to normal women being strong and capable, the other three women on board might have a chance of holding their own and giving the series some real originality. However, with only one character of color left the show lacks diversity, resulting in the typical sci-fi fare devoid of anyone who isn’t white.
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