Joss Whedon started his career as a writer for Roseanne and then became a script doctor for films. He has co-written several films such as Toy Story, Titan AE, and Alien Resurrection. In the early 90s he wrote the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but it is the TV adaptation that earned him quite the fan base. In addition to Buffy Joss has created three other television series, the spin off Angel, the short-lived but excellent Firefly and the currently airing Dollhouse. Joss Whedon has also been involved in the comic industry, writing for X-Men and then adapting his shows into comics. Whedon has also dabbled in the modern world of web series with Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. In his series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Serenity we can see a few similarities despite the differences in plot and content. They both place emphasis on strong femlae characters and family dynamic between friends.
Joss Whedon is considered a feminist by many, including himself. On DVD commentary Whedon has stated that his mother played a large part in his belief in strong women who can take care of themselves, which has carried over into his work. His idea for Buffy the Vampire Slayer came from being tired of the blond cheerleader always being the first to die. He wanted to take that idea and turn it on its head by making the cheerleader in the alley not only capable of taking care of herself, but being the thing that the monsters are afraid of. Buffy Summers is a petite girl who hits like a Mack Truck and doesn’t have to wait for the man to swoop in and rescue her. But with that great strength comes great responsibility. Buffy is charged with saving the world a lot, and she is able to handle that pressure. When the show starts she is but 16, she has to grow up very quickly, and while life could very easily overwhelm her, she doesn’t let it. It isn’t just the Buffy or the Slayers who have strength in the show, Willow Rosenberg starts the show as the shy computer girl who befriends the super hero, but by the show’s end she has become the most powerful character. Anya is a thousand year old ex-Vengeance Demon which gives her a lot of knowledge about demons. Even the female villains are particularly powerful and nasty, take the vampires Darla and Drusilla or the Hell God Glory.
While Firefly’s main protagonist is Malcolm Reynolds who captains the ship Serenity, the female characters are still strong. Zoe is his right hand and is pretty impressive with that shotgun. She served in the war with Mal and has time and time again proven that she not only is she physically capable, but she is intelligent. She is cool under pressure and has an air about her that lets you know she means business. Kaylee is the ship’s mechanic and while not a physical threat and the meekest of the crew, she is very good at what she does. She earned her spot after the male mechanic hired before her was unable to correctly identify a problem with the ship in weeks, and she did in a manner of minutes while in…a compromising position. And then there is River, she is beyond genius, able to read minds, insane and could give a Slayer a run for her money in a fight. So we can see that in two very different worlds Joss has created women that are strong and capable.
Both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly place a lot of emphasis on family, just not the typical kind. Buffy’s mother and father divorced before the series starts, and turns to her Watcher, Rupert Giles, for paternal comfort and guidance. The Scooby Gang, as they call themselves, includes Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles originally, and opens its ranks to Cordelia, Oz, Anya, Tara, Riley and other characters that have come and gone. This group cares deeply about each other, and they are the family of the show. In one of the original concepts for the series the idea was that you would never see Buffy’s mom. This further emphasizes that the key family of the series is her collection of friends. In the episode “Family”, Willow’s girlfriend Tara is being pressured to leave Sunnydale by her overbearing and most likely abusive father and brother. Although Buffy and the others are not particularly close to her at this time, they refuse to let her be bullied into leaving because she means so much to Willow. They literally stand between her and her biological family, showing us that the Scooby Gang is going to take over the role of family.
In Firefly the characters are stuck on Serenity much of the time, and as such they are around each other a lot. In the pilot episode “Serenity” it is noted by Shepherd that while he comes off cold and harsh, he is very protective of his crew. And this continues throughout the series. He cares very much for the members of Serenity, and they for him. In the episode “Out of Gas” the ship breaks down and Mal sends his entire crew out on shuttles but stays behind to try and fix the ship. He does, but after much hardship, including getting shot, and is unable to call the shuttles back. But once Zoe wakes up she commands that they turn the shuttle around and head back, not knowing if Mal is dead or alive, but knowing that they cannot leave him. They all came together on the ship in different ways, but the bond between siblings Simon and River is not more powerful than the bond between Mal and his crew.
Joss Whedon is just 45 years old and already his resume is truly impressive. In his different shows there are some recurring motifs, he creates female characters that are strong, not just physically but emotionally and intellectually. He likes women who don’t have to wait around for the man to swoop in and rescue them, so that’s how he creates them. In two different shows he gives different reasoning for the formation of the groups, and yet both are very close and become family. He presents group dynamics in a way that shows that even if you don’t have the biological family, you can have one with just as strong bonds.
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