sigelphoenix

I live. And what's more, I post! And now I'm back in classes, after what feels like a really long time. I mean, usually after summer it takes a while for me to readjust to school, but for some reason my old routine feels very foreign to me now. Perhaps it's because I had my first experience working full-time this summer (and also the longest work-free vacation I've had in a couple of years).

Anyhoo, I only had one class today, my intermediate poetry workshop. Only now the course is called "The Craft of Verse," though thankfully my instructor does not seem to aspire to the same level of pretension evinced by the name change. She seems energetic and friendly, which is pretty much all I ask for in a creative writing instructor. I actually didn't know her name until a couple of weeks ago, and I thought for a while that I might have a male instructor -- none of the creative writing courses I've ever taken (which is to say, the courses I've taken here) have been taught by a man, and I wonder what difference that would make. Perhaps next quarter.

My other classes are Fantasy (though it's really more about sci-fi) and Psychobiology of Women, which I'll have tomorrow. They both look good -- here, for example, are the discussion topics listed on the course syllabus for the latter: Gender and Gender Identity; Sex Education; Eating Disorders and Body Image; Reproductive Technologies, Designer Mothers and Designer Babies; and Motherhood Mandate: Social Pressures to Mother or Not. HEE.

This morning I went back to my usual job for the first time in almost four months -- they'd finished the remodel that began before I left for the summer, which made things even more different. Everyone remembered me, though (yay), and now I get to be back in a job that actually keeps me busy, woo! (Not that I'm complaining about the summer job, really. ^^;) It's weird sitting at the front desk (I help cover the receptionist's lunch breaks) for an entire half hour and not have a single person call. o_o

So, last night I went to a special advance screening of Serenity (organized by the campus film club, incidentally), dressed as Inara, with ratzeo as Wash, nekokoban as Kaylee, rivendellrose as River, zinjadu as Zoe, coramegan as Simon (perservering through illness!), chasdini as Jayne (complete with mama-made hat), and miss_arel as Mal. Upon entering the building, Charlie received a standing ovation for his hat. XD We also had sing-alongs inside the theater, "The Ballad of Jayne" led by Charlie, and "The Ballad of Serenity" led by Arel. The geek factor was definitely high that night. XD XD XD I have pictures, which I'll upload later tonight.

As for the movie itself ... What can I say but, 'wow'? It was ... gah! It was good. It really takes you for a ride, the way the best of the episodes did. Except now there's a lot more explosions and OMFG craziness.

When I finished watching the series, I remember thinking that I wanted more episodes ... and then thinking that the movie would be like getting another (longer, higher-budget) episode. In a word, that was incorrect. Serenity is, in every sense of the word, a movie, and not television. The stakes are higher, the consequences greater, the ramifications more profound. Also, in terms of practical concerns, the story has to be more compact, and the whole thing has to be flashier -- more 'movie blockbuster.' I don't think you can go from Serenity to another season of Firefly (nor do I think that's what Joss Whedon is trying to do). The movie has a grimmer, more desperate tone, and everything about the crew and their purpose has been taken to a higher level. I realize this all sounds vague, but if you see the movie (which you already should have, if you're reading this O_o), I think it'll make sense. I'm not just talking about the deaths of Book and Wash (WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH), but also the way Mal has taken on the entire universe as his responsibility, rather than just his crew; the way they're now directly engaging the Alliance, rather than just trying to fly out of the reach of its arm; the way the Reavers now invoke real, harsh memories for them rather than bogeyman fears. Everything is sort of beyond odd smuggling jobs and petty bickering (though I don't doubt they will continue to do both). This development is sort of encapsulated in the growth of Mal's character: he's willing to do things that he wasn't before, whether that's using the bodies of his friends for a disguise, or engaging the Alliance directly because, yes, he is still a freedom fighter. Mal from Serenity the movie is not Mal from "Serenity" the pilot. He's not even really Mal from "Objects in Space," because while the movie does jump off from there, there is significant (and really good) development in him over the course of the movie itself.

I admire Joss Whedon for being able to tell a story like this, and also for being willing to let go of Firefly-as-TV in order to make a good movie. It sort of makes me sad, though, and I want to go back and cling to my DVDs to remember when something like "Our Mrs. Reynolds" was the standard fare. :P I think this is the direction the TV series would have gone if it could have, though -- it would have taken several episodes or even seasons, but all of the stuff from the movie still would have happened.

The one thing that makes me unhappy, though, is the thought of all the people who will be introduced to Firefly through the movie, and what they'll miss. I don't mean this in a wanky "OMG you only saw the movie so you are not a true fan" way -- I'm talking about how moviegoers will see some of the characters translated into typical movie roles. They'll only see ten minutes of Book before he dies, and those ten minutes will make him seem like the standard wise-old-man-who-mentors-hero character. The thing is, Book isn't Yoda or Dumbledore; Mal does not take guidance from him exclusively, and Book himself has a lot of interesting conflict of his own. (Is he a former operative? That certainly seems plausible.) Wash will seem like the wisecracking-sidekick-who-dies-in-horror-flicks -- something I never thought of while watching the show, but within movie formula that's exactly who he appears to be. He even gets the witty-oneliner-before-sudden-death that happens all the time. People won't see the Wash of "War Stories," or his relationship with Mal from "Out of Gas" -- they won't see how his death is actually *innovative* rather than formulaic, because Zoe is the warrior and it always looks like she'll die first. I can take comfort in the fact that he went out with a bang -- showing off his insane piloting skills and quirky humor.

Also? I cried like a baby. I can't remember the last time I've seen the death of such important and lovable characters without expecting it in some way. I was inadvertently spoiled on the major deaths in Order of the Phoenix and Cowboy Bebop, or guessed who was going to die in Half-Blood Prince, etc. Looking back, I should have guessed that Alan Tudyk's burgeoning career would mean he'd leave the cast, but this really hit me blind-sided.

The last thing I'll say before shutting up is that the humor is still there. River being weird, Mal and Inara being awkward, Kaylee being over-sexed ... It was perfect, and a great tip of the hat to the fans. The audience in the theater, of course, loved it -- it was really the perfect crowd to see it with for the first time.



There isn't much to tell about the three weeks prior to last night. They involved Firefly, KareKano, X-Men Legends II, and other geeking and dorking and general disappearing-from-the-world happiness. The best vacation ever. XD