There
are some cosplays that you’ll see at every comic convention. There’s
always a Chewbacca, a Stormtrooper or two, and a contingent from the
Justice League and the Avengers. There’s usually a Link, a Mario, a
Princess Peach, or a Zelda. In recent years, they’ve been joined by
Power Rangers, bass-playing vampires, anthropomorphic ponies, and
whatever those Homestuck characters are supposed to be. Still, the one character I always look for -- and the one I never fail to see -- is Kaylee Frye.
Kaylee’s
a fan favourite, and it’s not hard to see why. As Mal observes in the
pilot, he doesn’t believe “there’s a power in the ‘Verse that can stop
Kaylee from being cheerful.” She’s optimistic almost to a fault, seeing
the best in people and the silver lining in any situation. One memorable
example involves a visit to see so-called evidence of alien life. The
alien turns out to be a mutated cow fetus, and Kaylee, rather than
feeling cheated out of her admission, cheerily observes that the “poor
thing never even saw the light of day and now it’s in show business.”
She looks up to Mal, verbally expresses her faith in the crew, and
befriends the ostracized River. Her catchphrase, “Shiny,” sums up her
tendency to look on the bright side of life.
Kaylee’s
darkest moments tend to occur when she feels that she has let the rest
of the crew down. In “Out of Gas,” she blames herself for Serenity’s
mechanical failure, saying, “Usually she lets me know when there’s
something wrong. Maybe she did, I just wasn’t paying attention.” This is
a particularly harsh assessment because her mechanical prowess is one
of Kaylee’s defining traits. In the same episode, we see how Kaylee
earned her job on the ship, and it basically boils down to being an
engineering genius of almost magical skill. To her, fixing ships seems
as natural as breathing; although she has years of experience working
alongside her father, her talent is innate. We get to see this talent at
work on several occasions, all of which involve Kaylee saving the ship,
making up for her failure in this one situation.
Whenever
Hollywood takes on the task of portraying a woman doing a traditionally
masculine job, it’s interesting to see how the creators will confront
the issue of stereotypical gender roles. In Kaylee’s case, the most
explicit treatment occurs in the “Shindig” episode. Her plot begins when
she spots a pink dress being modelled in a shop window and expresses
her desire to own the physical embodiment of traditional femininity. Mal
informs her that her wearing the dress would be “like a sheep walking
on its hind legs.” Still, the shady dealings of the episode necessitate
Mal’s attendance at a high society party, and he needs a date in a fancy
dress. Enter Kaylee, now garbed in her flouncy fantasy frock.
While
Kaylee is enjoying the glamour of the occasion, she is approached by
the planet’s mean girls. They poke fun at her outfit and enthusiasm, and
it seems like Kaylee’s night will be ruined until, lo and behold, a man
steps in to save her using the magical weapon of slut-shaming. The next
time we see her, Kaylee is wowing a large group of men with her vast
knowledge of engines, and the evening is saved. At the end of the
episode, we see that she keeps the dress at the end of her bed, where
she can admire it.
This
is the episode’s major triumph. It shows Kaylee to be something of a
“girly girl” at heart, someone who unashamedly loves to dress up and
walk among the beautiful people. It also suggests that this trait isn’t
incommensurable with her traditionally masculine job; in fact, Kaylee’s
mechanical know-how makes her the belle of the ball. She doesn’t have to
hide who she is or what she knows to be considered acceptable.
However,
while there is a positive message in Kaylee’s story about performing
gender however you like and being who you are, there is still that
looming spectre of the mean girls and their treatment. Kaylee doesn’t
defend herself against their attacks, arguing on behalf of her right to
wear whatever she wants. Instead, a man shows up and turns the clothing
discussion into a condemnation of one of the women, as he accuses her of
being much easier to get out of her dress than into it. This is treated
by the narrative as a triumph, and it shows that you can be a woman any
way you like, except of course, in a way that involves having a fair
amount of presumably consensual sex. It is particularly interesting that
Kaylee lets these accusations stand without comment considering her
close friendship with Inara, the show’s number one target for
slut-shaming. (More on that next week.)
Kaylee
and Inara’s friendship is a high point of the show. In a media climate
with a dearth of female friendships, it is refreshing to see that Firefly
made a point of dedicating screentime and dialogue to establishing just
such a bond. Kaylee visits Inara’s shuttle to enjoy what are basically
spa days. Inara refers to Kaylee by an affectionate pet name. We have
ample evidence to show us that they’re close. Unfortunately, unless my
ears and eyes deceive me, they don’t pass the Bechdel test. Although
their conversations often begin with comments about Inara’s job or the
terrible aesthetic value of locally made art for tourists, they all end
with the two women chatting about men. So, unless I missed something,
this show that features four women in principal roles fails to pass the
Bechdel test in fourteen episodes and a movie. That’s a pretty egregious
oversight when the creator of the show is known for his apparent
feminism.
One
of Kaylee’s other important relationships is her blossoming romance
with Simon. It begins as a one-sided crush, with Kaylee pining after the
doctor while he remains largely unaffected. Over time, however, it
becomes more mutual and Kaylee comes to wield much more power than one
might expect from such an initially unbalanced relationship. When Simon
is insensitive, she makes it clear that she will not accept it, often
explicitly calling him out on his behaviour. She demands that he become
more emotionally available and, as shown by her interest in Tracey
Smith, she is more than willing to move on to another man who can more
readily attend to her emotional needs. She knows what she wants, and
she’s not going to settle for less.
Part
of this facet of Kaylee’s character comes through in her focus on sex.
Kaylee is a highly sexual character. The first time she sets foot on
Serenity, it is to have sex with the mechanic. Even when she’s going
through a dry spell, she has no problem vocalizing her desire, asking
about the “boy-whores” in “Heart of Gold” and uttering the infamous
“Goin’ on a year now I ain’t had nothin’ ‘twixt my nethers weren’t run
on batteries” line in the film. The last time we see her, she’s having
sex with Simon, having gotten the guy.
This
makes the slut-shaming incident in “Shindig” particularly bizarre. If
Kaylee enjoys sex and seems to engage in it pretty willingly, why is the
mean girl’s promiscuity held against her? Why couldn’t she have just
been called out for being unpleasant and insulting? And, again, why did a
man have to step in to save her?
The
problem appears to be that, while Kaylee can exercise a certain amount
of agency and display a great deal of competence, she is Firefly’s
version of the silent cinematic woman tied to the train tracks. She’s
often used as a hostage and has to be saved by her fellow crew members
on multiple occasions. She’s sweet little Kaylee, and that means that
she is the one who most often has to be put in danger to make us care.
The
most disturbing instance of this occurs in the final episode of the
series. Jubal Early, a bounty hunter who boards Serenity in order to
find River Tam, threatens to rape Kaylee, saying, “You throw a monkey
wrench into my plans in any way, your body is forfeit. It ain’t nothing
but a body to me, and I can find all unseemly manner of use for it.”
Later, Early brings up the subject of rape once again, this time to
Simon. Lest you think that men and women are treated equally on this
show, I’d like to point out that Early does not, in fact, threaten to
rape Simon, but instead gets him to do what Early wants by threatening
once again to rape Kaylee. At no point is there a threat of sexual
violence made against any of the men. Early’s “You ever been raped?”
question frames the act -- as perpetrated against women -- as
commonplace. It’s like a woman being raped is simply to be expected.
Ultimately,
I’m conflicted about Kaylee. On the one hand, she’s a compelling
character with tremendous skill and a fair amount of personal agency
whose story arc was cut short before it could really go anywhere. On the
other, she’s a bit player in a narrative that delights in constantly
putting her in danger and having other people save her. She is a very
likeable character, but I can’t help but dislike the way she is treated
by the narrative.
Verdict: Somewhere between actual strong female character and Strong Female Character TM
No comments:
Post a Comment