Lauren Rule- Serenity (Other Topic #2)

Serenity. Peace. Serenity is one of my favorite movies of all time. It is a total syfy thriller. The main topic of our class that I could relate to Serenity would be the theme of chaos.  The film takes place in the future when Earth is no longer the only planet in which humans reside and spaceships are the main form of transportation. The protagonist, a veteran space captain named Mal, is joined by a scrappy but loyal crew. Mal volunteered in a rebellion against the reining 'government', called the Alliance. The rebels lost the war and Mal was forced into a life of petty crime and thievery. During the movie, there is chaos threatening to collapse in on Mal and his crew at any point. River, a young psychic who was experimented on by the Alliance, eventually brings the chaos and all it entails down on Mal. The troubled psychic has a deteriorating mental state due to a secret she uncovered in the mind of an Alliance member. Mal, at first, is desperate to keep the chaos away from his life; once it seems to be inevitable, he forces the rest of his crew on a mission to discover the secret.  The revers, aggressive humans who engage in rape, murder, self mutilation, and cannibalism, are at the heart of the chaos. They are the product of an overstepping government. Throughout the movie, Mal and his crew attempt to uncover the secret or die trying. In Mal's eyes, exposing the secret is the only was to restore order. Exposing the Alliance will once again bring peace (serenity) to him and his ship. One of Mal's confidents was a Sheppard. Even though the Sheppard was not part of the ship's crew, he was still very important to Mal. The final words of the Sheppard to Mal is what encouraged him to face the chaos and try to restore order. The Sheppard said to him, "I don't care what you believe, just believe". Earlier in the film it is also noted that the assassin who is after River, and by consequence Mal, is so dangerous because he is a believer. When Mal embraces the belief that exposure is the only way for order, he becomes just as dangerous as the assassin. This film is amazing. It has undertones of religion and themes such as chaos while it is also incredibly entertaining.