Firefly/Serenity, Layer 1
"Firefly" was a television series that only lasted one season,
but developed such a large cult following that a major motion picture,
"Serenity," was produced to close out the story. Joss Whedon wrote both
the series and the motion picture screenplays and expertly applied mind,
body, and spirit characters throughout, just as he has done in other
works, such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and "Dollhouse."
In Firefly, Whedon uses three layers of mind, body and spirit. In this post, I will only address the first, or top, layer.
The pilot episode of Firefly began with Mal Reynolds and Zoe Washburne in the middle of a battle with the Alliance. Their rebel forces (the Browncoats) were pinned down and in dire need of air support that wasn't coming any time soon. Mal was the one running around trying to encourage the fighters, saying things like, "We are just too pretty for God to let us die." He also acts impulsively in a daring, but successful, attempt to take out an Alliance ship attacking their position.
The Browncoats are ultimately defeated and Mal eventually purchases a cargo vessel (Firefly class - thus the series name). He picks up a crew and flies around acquiring and delivering cargo, sometimes legally. For one delivery, there are a lot of things that could have gone wrong, starting the fact that their contact once shot Mal. Mal faces this by saying there are obstacles in their way and they'll deal with them one by one.
Mal is agnostic at best as a result of the Browncoats' defeat. He won't let Shepherd Book say grace at dinner, but he will also not allow Jayne's obscene remarks and insubordination. He has a code of honor, and explains it clearly when the doctor, Simon, asks how he can be sure Mal won't kill him in his sleep. He says if he were to kill Simon, he would be awake, facing him, and armed.
Mal also uses "spirit" language. He doesn't "reason" something, he "conjures" it. He doesn't "know" something, he "imagines" it.
Zoe was with Mal when they were both Browncoats. Of all the members of the crew, they've known each other the longest. In battle, Zoe was a level-headed devil's advocate and a balance to Mal's impulsivity. She asks questions like "What about...?" and "Are you sure?" and "Why not?" When a client decides to call off a deal, her response is "That ain't fair." Fairness is a big issue for mind characters.
Zoe also explains details to other crew members. She explains the woes of the outer planets and what to expect from the barbaric Reavers. She points out that the drop site for an exchange is not safe. She plans ahead and wears body armor.
Overall, Zoe is risk averse, but she takes risks when ordered to by Mal. He is the captain, and the rules state that you do what the captain says. While Mal acts in accordance with a code of honor, Zoe acts in accordance with a set of rules.
"As long as we've got the goods, I call it a win." That statement sums up Jayne. The prisoner the crew holds in the pilot episode tries to bribe Jayne, but the "money wasn't good enough." Later in the series, the money is good enough and Jayne turns on Mal and the crew. This isn't unexpected, though. Jayne came aboard the crew when Mal made a better offer than the person for whom he had been working.
Jayne has no compassion. When placed in charge of interrogating the prisoner, he tells him Mal was "unspecific as to how" the information was to be extracted. When the ship is passing a Reaver ship, Jayne's first instinct is to get his guns ready.
When Zoe is worried about whether a certain contact would shoot Mal on site, Jayne says, "Why don't we just shoot her first?"
When a payoff goes bad, everyone is upset, but for different reasons. Mal hates being betrayed. Zoe thinks it's unfair. Jayne realizes his cut of nothing is - "Nothin' goes into nothin' carry the nothin'..."
Jayne also makes regular crude sexual remarks which I will not detail in this post. Suffice it to say, they are typical of a true body character.
The next post will cover the second layer mind, body, and spirit characters - Simon Tam, Kaylee Frye, Hoban 'Wash' Washburne.
In Firefly, Whedon uses three layers of mind, body and spirit. In this post, I will only address the first, or top, layer.
The Spirit Character: Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion)
The pilot episode of Firefly began with Mal Reynolds and Zoe Washburne in the middle of a battle with the Alliance. Their rebel forces (the Browncoats) were pinned down and in dire need of air support that wasn't coming any time soon. Mal was the one running around trying to encourage the fighters, saying things like, "We are just too pretty for God to let us die." He also acts impulsively in a daring, but successful, attempt to take out an Alliance ship attacking their position.
The Browncoats are ultimately defeated and Mal eventually purchases a cargo vessel (Firefly class - thus the series name). He picks up a crew and flies around acquiring and delivering cargo, sometimes legally. For one delivery, there are a lot of things that could have gone wrong, starting the fact that their contact once shot Mal. Mal faces this by saying there are obstacles in their way and they'll deal with them one by one.
Mal is agnostic at best as a result of the Browncoats' defeat. He won't let Shepherd Book say grace at dinner, but he will also not allow Jayne's obscene remarks and insubordination. He has a code of honor, and explains it clearly when the doctor, Simon, asks how he can be sure Mal won't kill him in his sleep. He says if he were to kill Simon, he would be awake, facing him, and armed.
Mal also uses "spirit" language. He doesn't "reason" something, he "conjures" it. He doesn't "know" something, he "imagines" it.
The Mind Character: Zoe Washburne (Gina Torres)
Zoe was with Mal when they were both Browncoats. Of all the members of the crew, they've known each other the longest. In battle, Zoe was a level-headed devil's advocate and a balance to Mal's impulsivity. She asks questions like "What about...?" and "Are you sure?" and "Why not?" When a client decides to call off a deal, her response is "That ain't fair." Fairness is a big issue for mind characters.
Zoe also explains details to other crew members. She explains the woes of the outer planets and what to expect from the barbaric Reavers. She points out that the drop site for an exchange is not safe. She plans ahead and wears body armor.
Overall, Zoe is risk averse, but she takes risks when ordered to by Mal. He is the captain, and the rules state that you do what the captain says. While Mal acts in accordance with a code of honor, Zoe acts in accordance with a set of rules.
The Body Character: Jayne Cobb (Adam Baldwin)
"As long as we've got the goods, I call it a win." That statement sums up Jayne. The prisoner the crew holds in the pilot episode tries to bribe Jayne, but the "money wasn't good enough." Later in the series, the money is good enough and Jayne turns on Mal and the crew. This isn't unexpected, though. Jayne came aboard the crew when Mal made a better offer than the person for whom he had been working.
Jayne has no compassion. When placed in charge of interrogating the prisoner, he tells him Mal was "unspecific as to how" the information was to be extracted. When the ship is passing a Reaver ship, Jayne's first instinct is to get his guns ready.
When Zoe is worried about whether a certain contact would shoot Mal on site, Jayne says, "Why don't we just shoot her first?"
When a payoff goes bad, everyone is upset, but for different reasons. Mal hates being betrayed. Zoe thinks it's unfair. Jayne realizes his cut of nothing is - "Nothin' goes into nothin' carry the nothin'..."
Jayne also makes regular crude sexual remarks which I will not detail in this post. Suffice it to say, they are typical of a true body character.
The next post will cover the second layer mind, body, and spirit characters - Simon Tam, Kaylee Frye, Hoban 'Wash' Washburne.
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