So, I'm a pretty big fan of the Internet - I love that it gives everyone the ability to share their thoughts with anyone who cares to read it. And I'm also a pretty big fan of Joss Whedon's ouvre, especially "Firefly". So, it was quite a shock today when I came across this radical feminist interpretation of Firefly (I found the link from Whedonesque, but it has since been removed). I haven't thought about the feminist movement in a long time (not since undergrad), so I was pretty floored by what I have been reading today. Apparently, the radical feminists have become a lot more radical in the last decade.
I'm not going to rebut _allecto_'s article point-by-point (I quite simply don't have the time). But I do want to address one of the earlier points that she makes in the article:
"The next scene we meet Kaylee, the ship’s mechanic. <- Lookee, lookee, feminist empowerment. In this scene Mal and Jayne are stowing away the cargo they just stole. Kaylee is chatting to them, happily. Jayne asks Mal to get Kaylee to stop being so cheerful. Mal replies, “Sometimes you just wanna duct tape her mouth and dump her in the hold for a month.” Yes, that is an exact quote, “Sometimes you just wanna DUCT TAPE HER MOUTH and DUMP HER IN THE HOLD FOR A MONTH.” Kaylee responds by grinning and giving Mal a kiss on the cheek and saying, “I love my Captain.”
What the fuck is this feminist man trying to say about women here? A black woman calling a white man ‘sir’. A white male captain who abuses and silences his female crew, with no consequences. The women are HAPPY to be abused. They enjoy it. What does this say about women, Joss? What does this say about you? Do you tell your wife to shut up? Do you threaten to duct tape her mouth? Lock her in the bedroom? Is this funny to you, Joss? Because it sure as fuck ain't funny to me."
So, _allecto_ claims to have not only watched the pilot of "Firefly" several times, but to have also read the script. But clearly, she isn't versed in the form of humour that you and I know as sarcasm. In the referenced scene, Mal is clearly being sarcastic when he mentions "duct tape". And Kaylee clearly recognizes Mal's sarcasm, and thus the comedic interlude is completed.
But don't just take my word for it -- thanks to the power of Hulu, you can watch this scene yourself.
So, I agree with _allecto_ - you're going to have a hard time understanding what "Firefly" is about if you lack the ability to understand comedy, and basic human interaction. The rest of her article pretty much goes down-hill from there.
Fortunately, I did a bit more surfing, and found some rebuttals to _allecto_'s article that I found to be a bit more reasonable. Those last two links, in particular, are a more more reasoned discussion about Joss Whedon's place with regard to feminism.
-Andy.