Firefly Revisited: Essays on Joss Whedon's Classic Series

228 Pages·2015·1.471 MB·English

by  Michael Goodrum, Philip Smith

Firefly Revisited
Science Fiction Television
Series Editor: A. Bowdoin Van Riper
FromStarshipCaptainstoGalacticRebels:LeadersinScienceFictionTelevision,by
KimberlyYost,2014
JossWhedon’sDollhouse:ConfoundingPurpose,ConfusingIdentity,editedbySherry
Ginn,AlysonR.Buckman,andHeatherM.Porter,2014
DoctorWhoandtheArtofAdaptation:FiftyYearsofStorytelling,byMarcusK.Harmes,
2014
TheLanguageofDoctorWho:FromShakespearetoAlienTongues,editedbyJasonBarr
andCamilleD.G.Mustachio,2014
FireflyRevisited:EssaysonJossWhedon’sClassicSeries,editedbyMichaelGoodrum
andPhilipSmith,2015
Firefly Revisited
Essays on Joss Whedon’s Classic Series
Edited by
Michael Goodrum
Philip Smith
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Fireflyrevisited:essaysonJossWhedon’sclassicseries/editedbyMichaelGoodrum,PhilipSmith.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-4422-4743-7(cloth:alk.paper)–ISBN978-1-4422-4744-4(ebook)
1.Firefly(Televisionprogram)I.Goodrum,Michael,1983–editor.II.Smith,Philip,1983–editor.
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2014040475
TMThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsofAmerican
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Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction ix
MichaelGoodrumandPhilipSmith
EpisodeListing xxv
1 FireflyandtheSpaceWestern:FrontierFictiononFastForward 1
JohnWills
2 “AManofHonorinaDenofThieves”:WarVeteransinFirefly
andSerenity 19
DavidBudgen
3 “SeeWhat’sInside”:UnderstandingtheReavers’Posthuman
IdentityandRoleinFireflyandSerenity 37
GarethHadyk-DelodderandLauraChilcoat
4 Atthe“CornerofNoandWhere”:River’sUnmappableBodyin
theFirefly/Serenityverse 53
LisaK.Perdigao
5 “ThisIsWhereIAm...Ain’taPlaceofWishes”:Kyriarchy
andthePreservationofPowerinBetterDays 69
SamiraNadkarni
6 PoliticsofLoss:TheHistoricalWorld,“theRightThingtoDo,”
andaUtopianCommunityinFirefly 85
DennisSobolev
7 SpeakingChinese:MusicandtheExoticinFirefly 101
S.AndrewGranade
v
vi Contents
8 “WhereDoesAnyStoryBegin?”:BookChaptersand
WhedonverseChoices 121
DeanA.Kowalski
9 LightingOutfortheBlack:FireflyandtheSuspicionof
GovernanceStructures 139
AndrewHowe
10 “TheyCouldn’tLetUsProfit—ItWouldn’tBeCivilized”:
EconomicModalitiesandCore-PeripheryRelationshipsinthe
PoliticalEconomyofFirefly-Serenity 155
HowardKahm
11 TheFutureIsn’tSoShiny:BladeRunner,Firefly,andthe
EffectsofAmericanConsumerisminModernChina 171
TaraPrescott
Index 191
AbouttheEditorsandContributors 195
Acknowledgments
Philwishestothankhiswife,Stephanie,who,aswellaslendingherundying
supportthroughoutthisproject,alsoprovidedthecoverimage.
Mitch wishes to thank his wife, Emma, for singing with him, and his
daughter, Anna, for listening to it. He also wishes to thank Maureen Stol-
worthyforgettinghimintoFireflyinthefirstplace.
Both editors wish to extend their heartfelt thanks to Rhonda D. Wilcox,
TanyaR.Cochran,andDavidLaveryfortheiradviceandsupport.
It would seem self-serving to thank the authors whose work appears in
this book, but let it be noted that, without exception, the contributors whose
work can be found in the following pages have shown themselves to be
professional, good-humored, and in all respects a pleasure and an honor to
workwith.
vii