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Getting something off my mind
Not too long ago I had my attention called to a school of thought concerning Firefly, namely that the Reavers are meant to be analogous to Native Americans. I didn't have the nerve to speak up in the post where it was brought up but it's been bugging me ever since.
Short response: HELL NO!
I'm sure there are some interesting arguments out there and I'm open to them to a point, but I think the arguments fall apart with more than a passing glance. It probably helps (hurts) that Firefly does have some legitimate problems with race. But the idea that the Reavers are meant to be the Native Americans in Firefly doesn't even hold up if you're going to insist that there must be Indians of some kind because it's a western.
The Reavers are Those Who Went Too Far.
This is made pretty clear when we first learn about the Reavers, long before we discover their true origins. The Reavers are those who went too far into to black. There are other theories of course, but this is the one meant to stick with us.
Those Who Went Too Far is an archetype that's been with us for a long time, probably most notably in Heart of Darkness. More contemporaneously there is a story in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried called "The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong". But the archetype only really works best in the and these days that usually means space, and the idea is used quite a bit in space-based horror, such as the movie Event Horizon and Stephen King's short story "The Jaunt". I'm sure it's used quite a bit in science fiction but my knowledge of the genre is a little light. It's also used in Westerns, such as the crazed mountain man. Incidentally, not all Western narratives require a Native American presence.
Most of the examples I have mentioned have been individuals but there are certainly groups to be found, such as lost civilizations, but can even apply to any closed-off society including prisons and mental hospitals.
I guarantee there are people out there who can speak on this subject with more intelligence and clarity than I can, but the idea that there are people out there saying Joss Whedon was equating Native Americans with Reavers is something I couldn't not comment on. There's enough genuine bad stuff to be found in media without adding in this kind of specious content.
Short response: HELL NO!
I'm sure there are some interesting arguments out there and I'm open to them to a point, but I think the arguments fall apart with more than a passing glance. It probably helps (hurts) that Firefly does have some legitimate problems with race. But the idea that the Reavers are meant to be the Native Americans in Firefly doesn't even hold up if you're going to insist that there must be Indians of some kind because it's a western.
The Reavers are Those Who Went Too Far.
This is made pretty clear when we first learn about the Reavers, long before we discover their true origins. The Reavers are those who went too far into to black. There are other theories of course, but this is the one meant to stick with us.
Those Who Went Too Far is an archetype that's been with us for a long time, probably most notably in Heart of Darkness. More contemporaneously there is a story in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried called "The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong". But the archetype only really works best in the and these days that usually means space, and the idea is used quite a bit in space-based horror, such as the movie Event Horizon and Stephen King's short story "The Jaunt". I'm sure it's used quite a bit in science fiction but my knowledge of the genre is a little light. It's also used in Westerns, such as the crazed mountain man. Incidentally, not all Western narratives require a Native American presence.
Most of the examples I have mentioned have been individuals but there are certainly groups to be found, such as lost civilizations, but can even apply to any closed-off society including prisons and mental hospitals.
I guarantee there are people out there who can speak on this subject with more intelligence and clarity than I can, but the idea that there are people out there saying Joss Whedon was equating Native Americans with Reavers is something I couldn't not comment on. There's enough genuine bad stuff to be found in media without adding in this kind of specious content.