“Forget morality. Imagine it’s true. Imagine this technology being used. Now imagine it being used, on you. Everything you believe, gone. Everyone you love, strangers. Maybe enemies. Every part of you that makes you more than a walking cluster of neurons, dissolved at someone else’s whim. If that technology exists, it’ll be used. It’ll be abused. It’ll be global. And we will be over. As a species, we will cease to matter. I don’t know, maybe we should.”

For the uninitiated, here’s the short description: The Dollhouse is a highly illegal organization, the real purpose and extent of which is just now being revealed, which hires out a group of people called “Actives” or “Dolls”. These Actives have willingly (or at least that’s what we’re led to believe) had the memories of their previous life wiped out so they can exist in a child-like state when not in an engagement – which range from crimes, fantasies, to the occasional good deed. When a Doll is hired, he or she is then imprinted with the persona that the engagement requires, which includes memory, muscle memory, skills, and language, and that the Doll fully embodies until the engagement is complete and is again mind wiped (which they call “treatment”) and kept for the next assignment.

For the last five episodes from the series premier, the show has been taking flak from viewers and critics alike that many believe it will not be picked up for a second season. The sixth episode which aired last Friday, Man on the Street, may change all that. The mythology of the show has finally kicked in. Giving up on watching a movie with bad lighting on the TV, I turned to my PC to look for this latest episode (Dollhouse is available on iTunes and Hulu.com for those residing in the US; for the rest of the world, there are other streaming sites online), and, boy, was that a fine hour of television! I finally saw Joss Whedon all over the episode – from the sly, off-handed humor to the dark, thought-provoking tones.

I don’t intend to summarize the episode because it will be pointless for nonwatchers and again pointless for those who are in for the ride. But I leave you with the quote at the beginning of this post to ponder on. The Dollhouse is a bad place, of that we are certain. But is there anything in the world that will make you want to give up your identity, your self-awareness, and your control over your own body? I wouldn’t think so.

I grew up in a patriarchal family amidst a very patriarchal society, so I’m not certain as to the extent of the feminist advocate I have in me. Sure, I support equal social, political, and all other rights for men and women. But it’s an all-encompassing concept that can be highly controversial when radical tendencies set in. At the same time, I have to be honest and admit that if, in the future, I will decide [inner-dialogue translations: hopeless romantic - I'll find "the one"; realist - I'll get lucky; snarky - I'll get desperate] to start a family of my own, I’m hoping it will be with a guy who can make decisions that I can trust and wholly support (maybe even admire) because I don’t want to be the one who shoulders that responsibility. Is that anti-feminist? Or maybe just plain lazy (j/k)? Here’s a related article from PDI regarding the effects of gender mainstreaming on the emasculation of the fathers and, in effect, the teachings of Christianity.

I was just over at Whedonesque, and I chanced upon a heated discussion about footwear (of all things) in the new Joss Whedon show Dollhouse. A fan questioned the practicality of having a doctor on duty wear high-heeled shoes. Did the costume department do it on purpose to flaunt femininity and entice the male viewers? Was it to follow certain stereotypes? At one point, the main character was wearing a pretty mean-looking pair of boots (not sure if it’s UGG boots; maybe not), while another woman character was walking around barefoot. Somehow, it all meant something, and Joss Whedon himself chimed in to have his say on “the issue that is tearing at the very fabric of my fanbase: shoes.”  Hell, yes, Whedon fans are that passionate about details. And it’s not too much to say that people look to Joss to create strong female characters and role models because that is what he’s famous for, starting, of course, with Buffy (THE Vampire Slayer, duh!).

I will not dwell on the politics of it because I figured feminism is a highly volatile and debatable topic.  All I’ll say is that I do want to live in a world where I, as a member of the female population, can be “awesome” (*in my best Barney Stinson impression*) and not be resented upon (or hindered) by the other sex. All’s fair in all.

On the eve (or the eve of the eve, depending on your time zone) of Dollhouse‘s premier, here’s a promotional picture with the creator, Joss Whedon, and the two leads, Eliza Dushku and Tahmoh Penikett.

Joss Whedon shows have always been rife with ‘controversial’ themes but what I like about it is that they never seem to be a ratings ploy. It’s always about the exploration of the human condition. Sure, TV is all about ratings and keeping things ‘mainstream’, which is probably why Whedon is said to be quitting TV after this one.

Dollhouse has been called the anti-Buffy by some critics who have already watched the first few episodes because it deals with a female character who has no control over her actions. Someone who willingly had her memory erased to be injected with one personality after the other depending on who hires her services (which range from sexual favors to high-profile assassinations). The NPR questioned the premise as possibly the ‘ultimate misogynistic male fantasy’. 

Whedon studied gender studies and feminism in college, and his interest is to “bring the world up to the fact that women are not less physically or morally incomplete beings.” Buffy was all about girl power. You don’t see women in sexy lingerie rolling around a bed just to titillate (when they do that, it’s because they’re under the spell of a demon, and then they kill it).  But, as Joss said, the point in taking the control away from the female lead, in Dollhouse, is for us to be with her as she gets it back. Some fans, however, can almost see the prophetic writing on the wall (Whedon’s last Fox show, Firefly, was cancelled after 12 episodes). There’s the stuff of the network pressure to keep things exciting and, again, mainstream and the writers’ aim of dishing out contemplative stories. My favorite quote so far from Whedon is this:

I believe the best way to examine anything is to go to a dark place. You can’t be a storyteller and a speechwriter at the same time.