Final Blog Post

 We—and in reality, you—have covered a lot of ground this semester (Blog, Memoir, Textual Analysis, Researched Argument, Website Project and their several parts). What was your favorite assignment and why? What was your least favorite assignment, and why?

My favorite assignment was the Researched Argument. I enjoyed being able to choose my own subject to study and research, and I found the genre very straightforward and useful in wording my arguments and presenting my views. I learned a lot through my research about bias in the media and environmental issues, and my views on certain topics changed significantly over the course of writing the paper. Finally, the editing and revision process for this project was very useful to me, and I intend on using those revision tools in the future.

My least favorite assignment was the Memoir. Since it was the first writing I did for this class, I was not very confident in its quality, even with the final draft. I felt that my writing was limited by having to find a specific pop culture text that related to a major life event. Ideally, composing a piece about my own life would require the least effort of all these assignment- no research, just memories. However, I had a lot of trouble pinning down a single pop culture text instead of many that influenced me. In the end, I felt my chosen subject still didn't satisfy the spirit of the assignment, so I was not satisfied with the assignment overall.

Through the process of each assignment, you built composition and writing skills that apply more broadly (such as generating ideas, drafting, revising/editing/proofreading, collaborating, beginning and ending, describing, narrating, reading critically, analyzing, researching, arguing, framing others’ work, guiding readers to name a few). Of the skills you built upon this semester, which ones do you think will be the most helpful in your future studies and/or employment?

As I mentioned briefly above, I learned a great deal about how to edit and revise based on one's audience and their feedback. Also, the editing and revision tools - reverse outlines, peer reviews, logos/ethos/pathos - all showed me ways of bettering my writing after the rough draft, something I rarely did in high school English classes. I believe that the ability to look at my own writing objectively and improve it through these methods will help me present my ideas clearly and effectively for a career in environmental science, where factual reports and analyses are common.

How has your understanding of the Rhetorical Situation changed this semester? How can you apply this knowledge to your future studies and/or employment?

The Rhetorical Situation was a concept with which I was familiar before this course, but not by that name. Over the course of this semester, I learned more about how writing for audience and with a certain tone, among other things, can influence how a piece is received. My understanding of the Rhetorical Situation has also improved how I structure my writing. The constant reinforcement of the Rhetorical Situation really did help me write in a way that clearly communicates what I wish my audience to read. 

I believe that I can use the Audience, Tone, and Genre elements of the Rhetorical Situation in my future career. As a major in environmental science, any reports, analyses, or researched argument papers I write would certainly benefit from a professional tone and a logical, straightforward genre - two elements that we used extensively in this course.

My Weakness is My Strength: Why Dollhouse was Doomed to Fail (and Succeed)

For my final post about Dollhouse, I am going to discuss why a show that has such good acting, clever writing, and compelling story lines failed to produce more than two seasons of 13 episodes. What went wrong? Was cancellation inevitable? 

In a word, yes.

The Man Behind the Mild Success

Behold! Joss Whedon, the Creator of the Whedonverse. Longtime science fiction and fantasy fans will recognize his creative works, spanning from the incredibly successful Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the short-lived space western Firefly. Yes, when Dollhouse was first pitched to studios, Joss Whedon was quite successful and prolific, with a wide fanbase eager for his next production. Thus, a sci-fi series with classic Whedon elements seemed like a no-brainer.

What were these "Whedon" elements? Let's list them.

While many of the main characters were new to the Whedonverse, many were regular faces on Whedon's other shows. 

• Eliza Dushku (as Echo) first came into the spotlight as the uncontrollable Slayer Faith in Buffy. 
• Dr. Saunders, as played by Amy Acker, first entered the Whedonverse as Winifred Burkle in Angel several years prior.
• The main villain of season 1, a rogue schizophrenic Active named Alpha, is played by Alan Tudyk, who also played Wash in Whedon's Firefly.
• In "Epitaph: Part I", the season finale of Dollhouse, Felicia Day plays one of the few survivors in an apocalyptic Los Angeles. Felicia also played the lead role of Penny in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, as well as having played a Slayer-in-training during the final season of Buffy
• And in the final few episodes, Summer Glau, known for her unique portrayal of River Tam in Firefly, played the Programmer for the D.C. Dollhouse (as well as Topher's love interest).

Besides the casting, the casual humor slipped into tense or serious situations, the technical babble that makes the whole show possible, several "forbidden" romantic relationships, and the focus on one woman as she struggles to overcome every obstacle in her path - all these are very Whedon-esque, and the show develops them very well. 

Clearly, Dollhouse had many elements of previously successful Whedon productions, and it still attracts new fans to this day. So why didn't it work back in 2009?

Great Story, Bad TV

I think that Dollhouse is not a story that could have grabbed the attention of a large audience through the television medium. The mythos of the Dollhouse is complex, and it deals with complex themes. Sure, there are certainly people who enjoy that kind of TV, myself included. However, not everyone is willing to commit to a television show that they don't understand or wait for a show to get better.

Let's look at just a few of the things about Dollhouse that both hook the audience and drive people away.

1. The Mission of the Week in the first season

Many TV shows have this problem, and I'm sure you're all familiar with it. For the few episodes of any sci-fi or fantasy series, each episodes is self-contained for the most part, with a new mission to complete/mystery to solve/monster to fight. Dollhouse certainly suffers from this problem. Not until the pivotal "Man on the Street" does the cycle of one-episode engagements break. However, Buffy and Angel also relied heavily on this trope. So what else is missing?

2. Character Development

I can't believe I didn't notice this sooner, but for the better part of the first season, there is very little character development. And this problem stems not from sloppy writing, but from the very nature of the show. Think about it: the Actives acquire the personalities of whomever is needed for an engagement, and after each engagement, they return to a blank, emotionless Doll state. There's no character there - there's barely any facial movement. Also, the handlers and staff of the Dollhouse, hired specifically for their amorality, are predictably neutral and bland for much of the first season. 

However, once Echo begins to develop her own personality, along with Sierra and Victor, true characters begin to emerge. Around this same time, the staff of the Dollhouse begin to interact and play off each others' characters, creating really interesting scenarios. But...

3. Too Little, Too Late

The key problem with Dollhouse is that it gets better, but gradually. The episodic nature of the show, combined with the blank stares and child-speak of the early Dolls, and the lack of a coherent big-picture for much of the first season does not bode well for a first-time viewer. 

However, once you get past the shaky start, the series only gets better. Honestly, I'm happy with Dollhouse the way it is: a complex story about identity, free will, love and loss. I enjoyed it very much, and I think you will too.

"Belonging" Part III

I wrote the last post on the Sierra-focused episode "Belonging", detailing her introduction to Dr. Nolan Kinnard and her eventual falling-out with him, as well as Sierra's passing encounters with her future Dollhouse companions Victor and Echo. However, all of those events took place within just the first few minutes of the episode. How Priya the young artist was forced to become Sierra is revealed much more slowly, yet the story still retains its impact once all is revealed.

Also, it's worth noting that this story is just as much Topher Brink's as it is Sierra. The normally amoral programmer of the Dollhouse feels somewhat responsible for Sierra, as it was he who decided to bring her to the Dollhouse. According to him, when Topher first met Sierra, she was a paranoid schizophrenic in a mental institution. To him, by wiping her mind of that mental disorder, he truly helped her.

However, a cryptic comment from Echo persuades Topher to dig deeper into the circumstances surrounding Sierra's recent repeat engagements with a certain Dr. Nolan Kinnard. He discovers to his horror that before she entered the Dollhouse, Priya was not psychotic, but instead had been drugged to appear that way. And who else would know more about simulating psychosis in the brain that the expert neuro-pharmacologist Nolan Kinnard.

What's more, Topher mentions a previous episode "Needs", in which Dr. Saunders and Adele deWitt allowed certain Actives to be partially imprinted with their true personalities so that they could relieve built-up emotional distress. In "Needs", Sierra heads for a mental health clinic with the doctor who diagnosed her. That clinic is also owned by Dr. Nolan Kinnard, who has a penthouse office onsite. Clearly, Sierra was trying to get to Nolan, and not Dr. Nikito.

Topher relays this information to Adele deWitt, who is furious with how she and her staff have unwittingly satisfied the wishes of what is essentially a serial rapist for months. She confronts the horrible doctor herself, and tells him that Sierra will no longer be his personal plaything. Dr. Kinnard, however, using his influence with the Rossum Corporation, instead forces Adele and Topher to permanently imprint Sierra with a "romantic" mindset and send her to him.

The next scene is a seamless transition to a flashback - nearly a year in the past, when Topher was first introduced to Priya in her drug-induced psychotic state. He clearly feels sorry for her, and Priya even manages to eek out a few lucid pleas to help her escape from the clinic (and Dr. Kinnard, the "expert" who has been feeding her psychotic drugs). 

Back in the present, Topher still feels this responsibility for Priya, now Sierra. And we the audience realize just what Topher's sense of responsibility means. It turns out that he imprinted Sierra with Priya's original personality, along with all the knowledge of her past engagements with Nolan. 

The results, however, are far from pretty. Priya is finally given the chance to confront her tormentor, yet Nolan is no stranger to physical intimidation and violence. A struggle breaks out, with Nolan attempting to force himself on Priya. Priya ends up stabbing Nolan in the chest to save herself. Priya calls Topher to tell him what happens, and Topher soon arrives at Nolan's penthouse with Boyd Langton. The two of them dismember Nolan's body and dissolve in acid, as well as removing all other traces of his demise from the scene. Topher all the while is still in shock at how badly things turned out because of him.

Priya, now in a state of mental anguish from both being repeatedly and recently sexually assaulted, as well as having killed a man, is returned to the Doll state by Topher, though as always a bit of Priya remains.

Next week, I'll end this little sub-analysis and wrap up my thoughts on Dollhouse. The show goes into so many ethical gray areas and compellive story arcs, but I will focus on why such a good show was doomed to fail from the beginning.

"Belonging" Part II

The very first shot of "Belonging" shows the blood-stained face of Topher Brink, the Programmer for the LA Dollhouse, muttering to himself "I was just trying to help." This is foreshadowing one of the key messages of this episode and the way Dollhouse will solidify both the tragedy of Sierra's existence and Topher's kind of "help".

Next, the scene fades to a California beach one year ago, where we see Sierra as she was before the Dollhouse: an aspiring Australian artist named Priya. Priya apparently makes her living selling novelty art pieces on the beach. 

Almost immediately, however, we are introduced to another character: a man named Nolan Kinnard.

Now, I know that I have described Kinnard as a creep previously, but for someone watching this episode for the first time, he seems much different. He avoids eye contact with Priya at times, yet is always stealing glances at her; Priya and her friend comment on how often he comes to their spot on the beach, with her friend insisting that Nolan is definitely interested in her. But just how interested?

Anyway, after expressing his admiration for her art, Nolan invites Priya to agree to a private art showing at his home to get her more exposure. Priya takes his number, and eventually, she agrees.

The next scene is that very art show Nolan promised to Priya. We hear, then see a well-to-do intellectual woman showering praise on Priya and one of her works, saying something to the tune of "I can't imagine life without owning a painting like this." Priya responds appropriately: "You must have a very boring life."

Indeed, this short exchange ties with Priya's overall feelings about her circumstances. She is obviously uncomfortable in this situation, but feels compelled to stay in the interests of her art career (and possibly some sort of obligation to Nolan?).

Now the episode presents us with two parallel conversations. In one, Echo (obviously hired out by someone for the evening) approached Priya, compliments her on her luck in meeting Nolan and encourages her to stay close to him, saying that he can really take her career to new heights. This meeting between a current Doll and a future Doll might seem a bit far-fetched, but it is no coincidence.

On the other side of the room, Nolan Kinnard is talking with one of the top executives from the Rossum Corporation, the operation of the Dollhouse. It is revealed that because of Nolan's "contributions" to Rossum's work, they have helped him stage this art show as part of his elaborate seduction of Priya. Thus, Echo's encouragement to stay with Nolan - all pre-programmed into her head. 

We also see that the Dollhouse has provided Victor for the evening, playing the part of an Italian art dealer. Priya and Victor seem to hit it off really well, and they try to sneak out of the building for some "privacy". 

However, Nolan spots them and tries to stop Priya. He is clearly becoming frustrated with his repeated failures at wooing the young artist. Victor is quickly whisked away by his handler, and Nolan starts to become aggressive and physical. 

Priya tries again and again to pull away from Nolan and leave through the door, but Nolan keeps standing in her way. Eventually, she wrenches free of his grip, slaps him in the face, and shouts, "You disgust me. Nothing in this could make me love you." And with that, she storms out of the building, presumably forever.

Or not. 

The very next shows the present-day Sierra as an Active on an engagement with Nolan in his home. Nolan snaps a picture of her with Priya's old Polaroid camera, and after she leaves, tosses the photo into a drawer filled with numerous similar photos.

The backstory up until this point is tragic enough. Once it is revealed how exactly Priya and the Dollhouse staff were tricked by Nolan into creating Sierra, Nolan will become absolutely the worst person ever to grace the Dollhouse cast.

"Belonging": How (Not) to Get the Girl

Just look at that guy's face. One glance at that slimy, self-confident, dead-eyed smile would be enough to send any girl running in the opposite, which is what Sierra will try to do throughout this episode of Dollhouse, "Belonging". As one of the last episodes of the final season, this episode serves as the show's way of tying up loose plot ends; specifically, Sierra's reasons for entering the Dollhouse.

Up until this point, one of the main moral objections to the activities of the Dollhouse has been how they force Actives to perform sexual acts, degrade themselves, and sometimes kill others, all without the Actives' knowledge or explicit consent. The Dollhouse, in the form of Adele DeWitt counters this point by showing how normal people with personal issues volunteer to be Dolls, and are financially or otherwise assisted for their service.

Anthony, a former U.S. Marine and veteran of the Iraq War, volunteered to become "Victor" for the Dollhouse in Los Angeles in exchange for the Dollhouse relieving him of his crippling PTSD. Madeline joins the Dollhouse as sleeper Active "November" in order to have the memory of losing her only child wiped away. Even Caroline somewhat "volunteered" to become Echo, trading her personality for the chance to not go to prison on terrorism charges (it's a long story). However, it has been up in the air as to why Sierra decided to join the Dollhouse, if it was ever her decision at all.

Which it wasn't. Not at all. Sierra had no say in the matter. Not even a little bit.

Next week, I'll detail exactly how Priya - a carefree bohemian artist from Australia - was trapped in the Dollhouse by the man above, Dr. Nolan Kinnard.

Damsel in the Dollhouse: Part 3

So far, I've written about how Sierra is the character who suffers the most in Dollhouse, yet looking back I don't feel that the points I've addressed have really supported that point. So today I will run through every major terrible thing that Sierra (and also her original self Priya) have gone through.

1. That scene of Sierra's first wipe

I believe that this short scene in the first episode "Ghost" is very important in establishing not only the theme of Sierra's suffering, but also the idea that the Dollhouse is not exactly what it seems. Up until this point, the actions of the Dollhouse have appeared for the most part to be consensual on both sides. We see the clients knowingly request the Dolls' services, and Adele DeWitt's conversation with pre-Dollhouse Echo (aka Caroline) informs the audience that individuals must voluntarily sign a 5-year contract with the House and are generously compensated after their contract expires.
However, seeing Priya about to be wiped into Sierra and the pained look on her pain conveys a implied message that the Dollhouse's operations are inherently harmful to the Actives (the Programmer Topher Brink admits that the first wipe, while necessary, "is always the worst"). This scene also plants the seed of the idea that those who join the Dollhouse may not exactly be doing it of their own free will.

2. Victor and Sierra's relationship

Again, within the universe of the Dollhouse, the romance that develops between Victor and Sierra should not be possible. According to the chief programmer Topher, all Actives have their sex drives removed as a result of the initial wiping process. Yet despite the efforts of the Dollhouse to stop it, the Dolls begin to form personal relationships, but especially Victor and Sierra.

In "True Believer", Topher and Dr. Saunders discover that Victor is having, as Topher calls it, "man-reactions" when looking at Sierra in the shower, this indicates a serious problem with the technology that keeps the Dolls blissfully unaware of their day-to-day activities. Later, in "Needs", when Echo, Sierra, and Victor all have their original personalities returned to them, Sierra and Victor still manage to come together and fall in love all over again. Their relationship only grows stronger with each attempt to separate one from the other.

3. The "Man on the Street" Incident

The man pictured above is Sierra's handler, Joe Hearn. We are first introduced to him in "Man on the Street", a episode that I have already described as a turning point in Dollhouse in terms of quality. And while "Man on the Street" focuses on Echo and Agent Ballard, there is a significant and disturbing side-story involving Sierra, Victor, and Hearn.

In this episode, people in the Dollhouse have noticed Sierra becoming very quiet and sad recently. We also see Sierra break down crying when Victor touches her shoulder, someone she normally gets along with very much. An examination by Dr. Saunders reveals that Sierra has had sex while she was in her Doll state in the House. Dr. Saunders, Topher, and Echo's handler Boyd investigate who did this to Sierra.

Victor is the first suspect - Sierra did shriek when he touched her, and he is known to have physical feelings toward her. If Victor did have consensual sex with Sierra, it would show at best a high level of self-awareness in the Doll state; however, if it was rape, then the Dollhouse can no longer guarantee its Actives' safety within their walls. 

However, a sting operation set up by Boyd uncovers the truth - Sierra's handler has been abusing her in a concealed section of the House away from cameras. The handler is appropriately disposed of by Adele DeWitt, and Sierra is wiped to help her forget the abuse. More importantly, this episode foreshadows a important point of Sierra's most tragic piece of backstory.

4. How Sierra got into the Dollhouse

Throughout the first season and most of the second season, Dollhouse hinted that the way Sierra ended up in the Dollhouse was not entirely on-the-level. Especially in "Needs", the audience is given reason to believe that Priya (Sierra before the Dollhouse) had less choice in the matter than her fellow Actives. Then, in the final few episodes of the series, just before cancellation, Joss Whedon presented "Belonging". 

"Belonging" is an entire episode devoted to Sierra's back-story. It ties all the hints and speculation of the past two seasons together very nicely. It also draws from the themes of the three above specific cases of Sierra's suffering. Showing how Priya became Sierra also explains how Sierra's relationship with Victor and that first pained expression in the very beginning of the series. Unfortunately, "Belonging" also explains why the writers of Dollhouse felt it necessary to use "Man on the Street" to establish Sierra as being a victim of abuse and manipulation by other men.

"Belonging" is an intense episode that I realize now as I write that it must be covered as its own post. Next week, I'll go into depth about this episode, and what it means for Sierra and ultimately the ethics of the Dollhouse.

Sierra: Damsel in the Dollhouse Part 2

Continuing from last week, let's again look at Sierra (portrayed by Dichen Lachman) and how nearly every element of her backstory and Dollhouse's plot puts her in terrible situation after terrible situation.

2. Victor and Sierra: Two Star-Crossed Lovers

In the first few episodes of Dollhouse, Sierra takes on many roles as an Active, from a obsessive fan-girl to a no-nonsense safecracker. However, her most interesting role is her development of an actual personality, despite being in the supposedly blank Doll state. In this way, Sierra's development mirrors her Active Echo's. But while Echo's new personality will empower her to escape and defeat the Dollhouse, Sierra's form of rebellion is her "impossible" love with Victor.

In a much later episode, it is revealed that before Sierra was part of the Dollhouse, she was an up-and-coming artist named Priya. We'll discuss the very suspicious circumstances under which Priya became Sierra later, but for now it's important to note that on one of her last nights as a free woman, she met and fell for the man she would later know as Victor.

A common motif of Dollhouse is that new personalities can be created intentionally and unintentionally. This holds true for Sierra, whose personality will develop into someone completely different from the original Priya.