The Unicorn Scale: Firefly

By Bernie Marchand

May 24, 2020

Share

Donate

Photo credit: Image/20th Century Fox

Firefly (2002), the futuristic brainchild of Joss Whedon, is a show with plenty to love. While Whedon has become a controversial character, he consistently produces shows with strong, complex females characters and intelligent writing. Firefly exemplifies this, a compelling sci-fi drama with a Western twist. The bisexual representation is barely there and while Whedon is a professed feminist — and his female characters are well rounded — they are all seen through the male gaze.

Unfortunately, we do not get to see how the show would have matured over time, because it was canceled after one short season. A sequel followed in the form of a movie called Serenity (2005), which did offer closure to some of the show’s main storylines but did not offer much in terms of queer content. In spite of its early 00’s problems, Firefly is worth a watch. The central theme warns against conformity, and the ensemble cast exemplifies chosen family. And please don’t let any cheesy special effects steer you away, there is some real gold in this story.

I will try to keep the SPOILERS to a minimum, but there will be some. If you want a quick refresher on how the Unicorn Scale works, you can catch up right here.

What I Liked:

Firefly is the story of nine characters on the spaceship, Serenity. The crew includes Captain Mal (Nathan Fillion), co-captain Zoe (Gina Torres), pilot Wash (Alan Tudyk), mechanic Kaylee (Jewel Staite), "companion" (sex-worker/entertainer/professional girlfriend) Inara (Morena Baccarin), mercenary Jayne (Adam Baldwin), surgeon Simon (Sean Maher), prodigy River (Summer Glau), and Shepherd (preacher) Book (Ron Glass).

The only explicitly queer character is Inara. While the word bisexual is never used, we see her take on both male and female clients during her job as a companion. Companions are sex workers that fall somewhere in between escort and geisha, and hold an honored position in society. This was groundbreaking territory at the time. Sex positivity was taking hold in the lexicon and Inara’s character is a great representation of it. She is multifaceted — sensual and intelligent, graceful and ferocious, powerful and vulnerable.

Photo/20thCenturyFOX

Let’s talk about some of the other women in Firefly. The co-captain Zoe is absolutely refreshing. Zoe is a pinnacle of strength, not only physically but in mental fortitude as well. She is happily married to Wash and has a best friend in the captain. The captain regularly goes to Zoe for advice and trusts her completely. It’s refreshing to see such a harmonious relationship between the ship’s male and female leadership.

Kaylee, the ship’s mechanic is also a great, well-rounded female character. She’s a talented mechanic but still a young woman — vulnerable, sweet, and expresses her sexuality in a healthy way. She doesn’t hide her desires but isn't overly sexual either, neither the whore nor the virgin, just a person. Finally, we have River, and this is the character and storyline that got Firefly made into a movie. In the film, River is revealed to be the strongest, most powerful person in the ‘verse (Universe for those of you who haven't seen the show).

Photo/20thCenturyFOX

What I Didn’t Like:

In its only bisexual storyline, Inara introduces a female client. She says that while most of her clientele is male, she does occasionally see women, and the rest of the shipmates are absolutely stunned. Mal is speechless, Kaylee exclaims how glamorous they look together and Jayne mutters as he takes off, “I’ll be in my bunk”. The otherness of Inara’s queer identity is palpable. While Inara is a fully fleshed-out character with plenty of motivations and development, the crew’s response feels like the writer’s response.

As a Joss Whedon fan, I have mixed feelings about the episode. While any nod to bisexuality in television is appreciated — especially sci-fi which is not rife with queer characters (check out this article to learn more) — queerness in the Whedon-verse is seen through the male gaze, never failing to incorporate drop-dead gorgeous, female characters.

Furthermore, this constant commentary on Inara’s sexuality grates on my nerves. Unfortunately, not everyone on board is progressive and we are forced to hear a deluge of insults and jabs from her shipmates, particularly from protagonist Mal and the toxically masculine Jayne. While Firefly does have some cringe-worthy moments — most notably the eyebrow-raising attempt to make the future vaguely Asian with no actual Asian actors — it does offer the audience complex female characters that have inspired a generation of deeply feminist and queer creatives.

Photo/20thCenturyFOX

The Rating:

Firefly gets three unicorns. Overall, the take-home message of Firefly and Serenity lies in its broader storyline — resist conformity and embrace who you are — a truly bi subtext. Firefly introduces us to this random group of people who come together to protect one another. This is an essential reason why Whedon has such a massive queer fanbase, the concept of chosen family hits home. In a ‘verse where the system might be against you, you can find solace and support in your friends.

3 Unicorn emojis

Comments

Facebook Comments