Heinlein vs Whedon
After reading a post over at Dean’s World about Ayn Rand vs Robert Heinlein (thanks to Christiana for the link), I remembered a thought that struck me some years ago: Joss Whedon reminds me of Robert Heinlein. The thought occurred long before the reasoning formed and it took me a while to figure out what it was that made me think that. But when Firefly came out, I started to realize what it was.
Both writers are excellent at creating societies. One of my favorite Heinlein books is “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”, which is written in a dialect unique to the Moon. Whedon creates a bit of a new dialect himself in Firefly, with new figures of speech and a bit of Chinese thrown in for good measure. Heinlein builds a society on the Moon full of Earth’s outcasts (the Moon is a prison colony) where most of the rules are unwritten and “families” are as much an economic as social alliance. Firefly’s protagonists are former rebels. They skirt the edge of the law and the edge of civilization, and stay alive by depending on each other, a family in spirit if not in name. There are some parts of the Moon’s society that will make you think about how different other societies can be. Due to a shortage of women, marriage has become a bit more… flexible. And there’s this whole thing with rolling the dice to see how much you’ll have to pay for things when you buy them. Whedon is also good at challenging his viewers with strange ideas. I mean, going all out with the Western frontier in space theme alone shows that.
Both men are good at presenting multiple viewpoints. Heinlein will often have characters discuss or express different ideas. His three most popular books – Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Stranger and a Strange Land, and Starship Troopers – are all very different. In all of Whedon’s shows, but Firefly in particular, he has characters with varied backgrounds and different, sometimes even conflicting, philosophies.
Both men also appear to hold women in high esteem. Though Heinlein had the philosophy that society must ultimately protect women and children, it was for the shear purpose of survival, not through any weakness of women themselves. His women did not run from a fight. And they tended to be highly intelligent (of course, most of his characters that didn’t meet undignified deaths were highly intelligent). One of my favorite Heinlein quotes: “Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." Most of Whedon’s female characters are strong in one way or another. If they are not strong physically, they are strong emotionally or intellectually. And they usually leave their male counterparts standing on their tongue.
Both writers are perfectly willing to kill off a popular character. It brings a certain realism to their stories that not everyone will survive. Don’t get too attached to any Heinlein characters named Mike. And with Whedon, there really is no telling who will be killed, maimed, or turned evil next.
There are differences, of course. Heinlein wrote mainly hard sci-fi while Whedon has mostly done fantasy. While Heinlein loved to conjure societies, the characters within those societies did not always have a tremendous amount of depth. He was more interested in technical aspects. How would this society work? He also delved more into the technology of the worlds he created. Technobabble is a greater source of angst than curiosity or wonder in Whedon’s worlds. He tends to focus more on the characters and their reactions to a given situation. Rather than asking “How does this society work?”, he presents the society and asks “How do my characters relate to that society?”.
I think the reason I like both writers so much is because I love universe building. I like to visit new worlds and news societies that make me think about the way my own world works. (And when I say “my own world”, I don’t just mean the universe inside my head). They are willing to show you the unexpected. And they will not insult your intelligence.
Both writers are excellent at creating societies. One of my favorite Heinlein books is “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”, which is written in a dialect unique to the Moon. Whedon creates a bit of a new dialect himself in Firefly, with new figures of speech and a bit of Chinese thrown in for good measure. Heinlein builds a society on the Moon full of Earth’s outcasts (the Moon is a prison colony) where most of the rules are unwritten and “families” are as much an economic as social alliance. Firefly’s protagonists are former rebels. They skirt the edge of the law and the edge of civilization, and stay alive by depending on each other, a family in spirit if not in name. There are some parts of the Moon’s society that will make you think about how different other societies can be. Due to a shortage of women, marriage has become a bit more… flexible. And there’s this whole thing with rolling the dice to see how much you’ll have to pay for things when you buy them. Whedon is also good at challenging his viewers with strange ideas. I mean, going all out with the Western frontier in space theme alone shows that.
Both men are good at presenting multiple viewpoints. Heinlein will often have characters discuss or express different ideas. His three most popular books – Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Stranger and a Strange Land, and Starship Troopers – are all very different. In all of Whedon’s shows, but Firefly in particular, he has characters with varied backgrounds and different, sometimes even conflicting, philosophies.
Both men also appear to hold women in high esteem. Though Heinlein had the philosophy that society must ultimately protect women and children, it was for the shear purpose of survival, not through any weakness of women themselves. His women did not run from a fight. And they tended to be highly intelligent (of course, most of his characters that didn’t meet undignified deaths were highly intelligent). One of my favorite Heinlein quotes: “Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." Most of Whedon’s female characters are strong in one way or another. If they are not strong physically, they are strong emotionally or intellectually. And they usually leave their male counterparts standing on their tongue.
Both writers are perfectly willing to kill off a popular character. It brings a certain realism to their stories that not everyone will survive. Don’t get too attached to any Heinlein characters named Mike. And with Whedon, there really is no telling who will be killed, maimed, or turned evil next.
There are differences, of course. Heinlein wrote mainly hard sci-fi while Whedon has mostly done fantasy. While Heinlein loved to conjure societies, the characters within those societies did not always have a tremendous amount of depth. He was more interested in technical aspects. How would this society work? He also delved more into the technology of the worlds he created. Technobabble is a greater source of angst than curiosity or wonder in Whedon’s worlds. He tends to focus more on the characters and their reactions to a given situation. Rather than asking “How does this society work?”, he presents the society and asks “How do my characters relate to that society?”.
I think the reason I like both writers so much is because I love universe building. I like to visit new worlds and news societies that make me think about the way my own world works. (And when I say “my own world”, I don’t just mean the universe inside my head). They are willing to show you the unexpected. And they will not insult your intelligence.
posted by SpakKadi at 10:40 AM
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