Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
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Serenity
“It's not my place to ask. I believe in
something greater than myself. A better world. A world without sin.” – the
Operative.
*Spoilers will be found*
Joss Whedon’s Serenity, based off his show Firefly
is an examination of the importance of free will, the greater good, and the
danger of true believers. Set in 2517, long after the earth was used up, the
film follows Mal and his crew. After being on the losing side of a war, Mal
works as a smuggler while evading the Alliance. After being an officer for the Independents,
he plays the hero, aiding those the Alliance ignores as a fugitive. The film
makes obvious attempts to stress the separation of classes with the dichotomy
of the lives of those on the inner planets and residents of out planets. Opening
with a robbery, Mal explains to the Alliance peacekeeper how to get in the
least amount of trouble for not stopping the robbery and how he needs to shoot
him in the foot for the least damaging but believable excuse. The man needs a
justification of his actions, as not to be labeled a criminal. Excuses are
created for the purpose of denying what he originally though was his duty.
If Sarte had an affinity for sci-fi,
Serenity would be right up his alley.
An avid Independent, his questioning of, “Who, then, can prove
that I am the proper person to impose, by my own choice, my conception of man
upon mankind?” would directly fall in line with questioning the Alliance’s
views on controlling its populace. In what acts as the culmination of the
Alliance’s wrongdoings, the crew of Serenity winds up on a planet void of any
life. It was terraformed like all the others, colonized, civilized, but nothing
remains. They find a message explaining that the planet was not destroyed by a
terraforming event, as taught by the Alliance, but a chemical designed to
pacify everyone on the planet worked too well. All affected either were too
passive and just stopped living, remaining still while others had the opposite
effect. They became the reavers. Those who would, “If they take the ship,
they'll rape us to death, eat our flesh, and sew our skins into their clothing
– and if we're very very lucky, they'll do it in that order,” were created by
the Alliance.
The film draws upon
the Satrtian assertion that not man is above any other. Mankind creates its own
conceptions of itself, not a single body.
This is what prompts the film’s most
climactic conflict. Freewill is too important too Mal to not get the message
out. The crew creates a battle between
dozens of warships, both Alliance and Reaver. During the crew’s flight through
the battle, Whedon sets up an incredibly chilling moment, which highlights the
absurdity and seemingly worthlessness of life. Wash, Serenity’s pilot repeats
his mantra to stay cool through the battle and chase. “I am a leaf on the wind
watch how I soar.” He repeats this phrase with little other dialogue from the
others. Then Whedon makes one of his trademark moves.
In less than half a minute, you are given a sense
of relief for your heroes making out alive to the crushing, instantaneous death
of arguably the most friendly character. He dies so suddenly that I processed
it slower than the Mal. This scene draws more from Camus than Sarte’s ideals on
absurdism.
Camus
was an avid opponent of totalitarianism. Another Independent. Mal risks his
life to fight for the rights of others to choose. After spending all of his
post war life as a fugitive he finds a cause he needs to fight for. “I know this - they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe
on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten? They'll swing back to
the belief that they can make people... better. And I do not hold to that. So
no more runnin'. I aim to misbehave.” This seemingly innocent and playful
finish lightens the suicidal nature of his mission. Mal looses a member of his
crew and thousands die in the battle, but the message they find is sent out to
every planet in the Alliance. The only thing left is to keep going as a fugitive
and a smuggler.
—Zach Wildstein
Monday, April 23, 2012
WWJPS?! Probably have a brain aneurysm...
About a month ago, I was blessed with the opportunity of attending the global premier of FOX's new T.V. show, Touch. I had seen ads for the show on T.V. and all around the NYC subways, but I never really thought too much about. I'm not going to lie, I've been pretty disappointed in television shows lately, and considering the downward spiral Glee is going, I've also stopped trusting FOX. Nevertheless, I went to the premiere (why pass up an opportunity right?) and I was pleasantly surprised. We watched the second episode of the first season called 1+1=3 - for those of you who aren't too familiar with how T.V. shows work, let me explain. The first episode of the first season is called the "Pilot." It's an episode where the characters are introduced and the plot of the show is laid out. It is essentially the filmmakers' pitch for the show to the production company. The second episode is really where the meat of the T.V. show begins.Touch is about a man and a single father whose name is Martin Bohm. His son, Jake, is severely autistic and therefore cannot communicate with his father. He is currently in custody of Child and Family Services at a special facility in New York. There, he is taken care of by Clea, his social worker who isn't the "bad guy" per say, but she does have to stand in Martin's way of getting to his son several times. She's not a total bitch though, she's just a social worker, doing her job.
Jake finds one way to communicate with his father: through numbers. Each episode, there is a different number that Jake constantly writes and he gives it to Martin along with a picture or some type of clue. Although Jake can't explain how he feels or what he knows, it said in 1+1=3 as well as the next episode, Safety in Numbers, "This is pretty clear, bad things will happen... not to mention what it does to Jake. Those numbers point to a disorder in the universe. Jake feels the pain of the people attached to those numbers... and until things get right, he suffers." (you can watch the full clip here) So it is Martin's choice to track down what the numbers mean and stop his son's pain. Throughout the episode, each event and situation is given equal focus and explanation before they all come together at the end. That is essentially the storyline of the entire show.
So now that I've bored you with... I mean, introduced you to the idea of the show. Let's get down to business - but not to defeat the Huns! (yes I know, I'm hilarious aren't I) (that was sarcasm by the way) - and figure out "What would Jean Paul say?"
To be honest, I think Jean Paul would be very confused. I think he would completely agree with some parts, but then double back and say in a very thick french accent, "but no! zis eez not right! c'est pas vrais!" So, for Jean Paul who is reading from above and for all of you guys, let me break it down for you by episode.
The episode 1+1=3 opens with Jake escaping from the Child Service's facility and his social worker coming to pick him up. We learn that this facility has a very strict structure for these kids - kind of like the strict, mechanical structure of Brave New World. No, they don't condition babies to run away from flowers and books, but they do have a very strict schedule for when the kids can play, when they can go to sleep, and when their parents can come see them. I suppose that would make Jake comparable to Bernard... or rather, early Bernard. The Bernard who questioned things, who did things out of the norm like hanging out on the roof or just talking. Jake tests the boundaries of the facility. In both episodes, he runs away at night to find his dad, he doesn't sleep when he's supposed to, he doesn't paint when it's "art time" and his abilities definitely identify him as an Alpha-Plus. Jake makes his own choices regardless of what his surroundings tell him to do. He is definitely his own person and despite the fact that he doesn't speak, he certainly does not practice quietism by any means. Instead, he uses his father as a surrogate to fix the disorder in the universe because he can't. In this episode, all the events don't just come together in the end and get resolved by one single fix. Each event is linked by this one character: an air hostess who misses her flight and ends up helping a foreigner get to Yankee Stadium, which cuts to her ex-boyfriend trying to pay back a Turkish MOB leader whose son was supposed to get a dog from the air hostess and meanwhile, that air hostess' dad is trying to commit suicide after realizing he has cancer. (This is all very confusing I know, that's why you guys should watch the episode!) Martin stops Beth's father (the air hostess' dad) from jumping long enough for her to happen upon them on the Brooklyn Bridge while trying to chase the dog she was supposed to deliver to the MOB's leader's son. All of this basically happens in the last seven minutes of the show, leaving the audience (including me) breathless and at the same time, going, "OH MY GOSH SHE'S HIS DAUGHTER!" It just proves Sartre's belief that all the decisions one makes - all of the choices - don't just affect one person, it affects everyone else around them in ways they wouldn't expect. Whether it has some influence on another person's decisions or beliefs, whether it gives someone the courage to do something they couldn't do on their own, or whether it's stopping a tragic event from happening, decisions and choices create a domino effect across the globe. One person's decisions and choices touch everybody else. (See what I did there?)
Safety in Numbers has quite a similar opening as 1+1=3. Martin comes to the Child Service's facility claiming that Jake called him. Clea says that's impossible because it's bed time and he's sleeping (really Clea? Haven't you learned ANYTHING by now?) and she opens the door to find an empty bed (SURPRISE!). While Clea and Martin are looking for Jake, she proceeds to tell Martin that he can't jump every time Jake calls. It doesn't look good, she explains to him. She wants to help him get Jake back so they can live together and be a family, but jumping every time he thinks Jake has a new number is going to make him look really bad. (I'm sorry, but isn't a good father SUPPOSED to be there for their child?) This is another example of existentialism (good job Tim Kring! You're making my job easy!), despite the fact that Martin thinks his actions prove that he is a good father, social services might perceive them as the opposite. His fate with his son doesn't just rely on his opinons, but of the perceptions of those around him. Luckily, Jake hasn't gotten far just down the stairs this time, so Clea doesn't have too much time to convince Martin to chill out on the number front. (On a side note: why the hell doesn't this place have security? Come on New York.) This time, Jake gives Martin a picture of a dragon along with the number 3287. The dragon refers to the tale of the "Invisible Prince." This episode really revolves around a seemingly homeless man who also has a special affinity with numbers as Jake does. His name is actually Walt King and he is the creator of a company which has currently been convicted of committing a ponzi scheme. As a kid, Walt's dad used to read the tale of the "Invisible Prince" where the prince must slay the dragon by using the magic sword. Walt explains that he "tried to give the king the magic sword but he thought it was a trick," the "King" being his family. Walt ran away in shame and his family assumed he was dead so, Walt uses Martin to uncover the loopholes - the "magic sword" - and present it to Walt's brother. By doing so, all the investors save their money and the company is proved guilty of fraud. At the end of the episode, Martin tells Walt to go back to his family, explaining that he's sure they will forgive him because his deeds now have made up for what he has done in the past. This is an example of Sartre's take on hero-ism. Walt's actions are definitely heroic, but he doesn't become a hero until he believes it in himself.
This is all good and well and this show seems to have many existentialist aspects. So why would Jean Paul have a problem with this show? Well, the ideas in the story are very existentialist, but the big idea, the umbrella of the show is not. Jean Paul does not believe in fate. He does not believe that there is a special formula to how the world works. The formula is basically the show's explanation for Jake's ability to predict the future. Touch takes the existentialist idea of choices and its effects on everyone else and combines it with the non-existentialist idea that the world works on some sort of mathematical formula. As an existentialist, I have no idea how to react to this so I can only imagine that Jean Paul is probably rolling around in his grave right now.
So this is my take on existentialism within the T.V. Show Touch. I would go on, I could go into so much more detail but I'm afraid it would just get really confusing because each one of these episodes is so complex and intricate that it's only really possible to analyze one aspect of an episode at a time. I hope I didn't bore you guys too much with my blog! I hope you guys maybe watch the show, it's really one of the few current shows that I think are good quality and original. If you guys have any inquiries about the show, the ideas behind it, or the theories behind the numbers that Jake comes up with, this is the link to the Global Premiere that I attended in NYC with the Q&A with the main cast, the executive producer, and the creator Tim Kring!
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