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Serenity – 1/11/08

Well, the other day I was watching the TV show Firefly with my sister, and then after she went to bed I watched the movie that was a continuation of the TV show.  I had seen it before, but seeing it after the TV show episodes really helped.  Anyway, there were some awesome themes I saw in it…

  • BELIEF- This movie definitely doesn’t point to a Christian belief, but it does point to belief, to faith, itself.  There’s a “pastor” (they’re called Shepherds in the Firefly/Serenity universe) that tells the main character, Mal, that he’s got to believe… nothing specific, just believe.  Well, in the movie Mal and his crew are uncovering a conspiracy that the government’s tried to cover up.  There’s an Operative hired out by the government that parallels Mal.  The Operative believes in the government, specifically he believes in a perfect world.  (When a friend of Mal tells Mal he can’t beat the operative, they state that the Operative really believes in what he’s doing— which shows the power of belief/faith— good or bad.)  Mal, on the other hand, hates the government (in the F/S universe, the government is like the winning side of the Civil War- Mal fought for the rebel side, and they lost.  The government is bad, though, and makes decisions for many people without consulting them first.)  Mal is not sure what he believes.  After the war, he didn’t really have a cause, anything to believe in.  But when he discovers the secret the government’s been trying to hide, he finds something to believe in.  He and the crew travel to a special planet where he can broadcast to the entire universe the corrupt works of the government.  The Operative tries to stop him and there is a face-off.  They both fight for what they believe, and someone wins.  SPOILER!!!! Mal broadcasts the message and forces the Operative to watch the broadcast- a video recording from the last survivor of a planet where the government tried to put chemicals in the air supply in order to “calm” the population.  The woman tells how everyone eventually stopped fighting, then working, then everyone just stopped doing anything.  The Operative, whom Mal practically chains down, watches the video.  And in the end, he helps Mal and his crew— he sees that his belief is placed in a wrong power.  Mal and his crew were fighting for truth, and the truth will always win out in the end.
  • FAMILY- The people on the ship truly act like family.  Sure, they bicker and fight– but isn’t that part of being a family?   Anyway, they fight together, they help eachother, they sacrifice for eachother- it’s truly beautiful.
  • NOBLE SACRIFICE- Almost everyone in this movie makes noble sacrifices for others or for a noble cause.  Mal and his crew risk death by going to the planet to broadcast the message.  A friend of theirs who ran the special broadcasting tower was killed, and his broadcasting equipment was destroyed by the Operative.  But in his dying moments, he leaves a message for Mal, telling him where the backup generator is.  Mal risks his life, trying to save a “friend”, Inara, from the Operative and his people.  And in one of the most beautiful moments of the movie, River, this special half-psychic/half-supergirl, bends over Simon, her brother, the doctor who just got shot after trying to fetch his doctor’s bag to help someone, and River tells Simon that he’s been watching over her for so long- now it’s her turn.  She jumps into a room that’s slowly filling with Reavers (picture zombies with the blood rage of vampires and the power of werewolves), throws the bag to Simon, and shuts the door, staying behind to fight for the others.  She risks her life out of love for her brother and the others– and that love motivates her powers into defeating the Reavers.
  • SERENITY/THE PAX-The name of Mal’s ship is Serenity.  The name of the chemicals in the air on the dead planet is the Pax.  Both words for peace, but they try to bring peace in different ways.  More thoughts to come…

 

http://openingeyes.wordpress.com/2008/02/11/serenity/

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