Joss Whedon's 2005 Serenity served as a sequel to the TV show, Firefly, and closed many of the plot threads that were left hanging in the wake of the show's cancellation. The way the film blended the sci-fi and Western genres to create a unique universe fascinated me that I wish Whedon or any other writers would produce more films in it.
The films' genre-blending is the subject of this new video essay by Digging Deeper. The video points out the parallels between the sci-fi and Western genres, and showing the conventions that they share: Malcolm Reynolds represents the heroic cowboy; River Tam is the typical sci-fi female Leeloo or Ripley-like protagonist. It also talks about how it deviates from certain conventions like how Inara's prostitute position is viewed differently from the way hookers are degraded in Western films. And it's interesting how the video points out how the Reavers in Serenity fit in conventions of both genres, and compared to Indians and Aliens. This video makes me want to watch Firefly and Serenity again.
Warning: This video contains major spoilers from Serenity.
Read: Firefly Cast Members Discuss Possibility of Second Season at New York Comic Con
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