How Much Is That Geisha In the Window?

How Much Is That Geisha In the Window? by Lierdumoa is a somewhat unusual vid in that it is not set to music with lyrics like many vids, but rather an instrumental piece. The vid is a critique of Firefly's orientalism and glorification of the Confederacy made for the 2008 Vividcon Challenge show. The theme for the Challenge show that year was "FUCK YOU!", and this video was created as a sort of "fuck you" to Joss Whedon, the creator of Firefly. 
It is notable for being one of Rebecca Tushnet's examples in the US Copyright Office's DMCA hearings regarding the fair use of ripping material from DVDs.Copyright Office DMCA Hearings: Noncommercial remix, wayback capture 07 May 2009. (Accessed 04 December 2010) Tushnet argued that the clarity of ripped video footage was what made How Much Is That Geisha In the Window? powerful, since using lower quality video likely wouldn't allow viewers to visually understand the message Lierdumoa was trying to convey.
==The Video==
Set to "Boyd's Journey" from the Ravenous (1999) soundtrack, the vid opens with a montage of various clips from Firefly featuring either Asian imagery or Asian background extras. These clips are juxtaposed with clips from Memoirs of a Geisha to help show Firefly's treatment of Asian culture. The montage also features several moments where clips have been edited so that the Asian character featured flickers in and out until they're gone. About a minute in, the montage shifts to footage of war and various dead bodies for 20 or so seconds. From this point, the vid then shifts to juxtaposing the clips of Asian background characters and footage from Firefly that features the more "Western" elements with footage of Chinese immigrants working on the railroad from 3:10 to Yuma. Then, the Confederate flag waving in the wind superimposed over Serenity Valley. As that footage fades out to footage of a red cloth in water, text appears on the screen:
This text stays on screen for a few moments before fading out and being replaced with different text:
Both this text and the music then fade out until the screen is black and then overlapping audio of the Chinese spoken in Firefly plays before Lierdumoa's voice comes through, saying "Fuck you, Joss, you racist asshole." As the credits of the video roll, an audio clip from the "Firefly Extended Gag Reel" plays and Nathan Fillion sings "how much is that geisha in the window / I do hope that geisha's for sale" while Gina Torres and Adam Baldwin accompany him."How Much Is that Geisha in the Window?" performed by Adam Baldwin, Nathan Fillion and Gina Torres in the "Firefly Extended Gag Reel."
Lierdumoa later clarified exactly which clips were external to Firefly in a comment on her Livejournal in response to someone praising "the progression in the external source from decorative, to violent exploitation":
==History==
Lierdumoa created How Much Is That Geisha In the Window? for the 2008 Vividcon challenge show, which had the theme of "FUCK YOU!", and summarizes the vid as follows on YouTube:
Originally, Lierdumoa wanted to made a vid to "Boyd's Journey," but didn't know what the vid would be about until a friend suggested Firefly.Comment Thread on Lierdumoa's Dreamwidth. Posted 26 Aug 2008. The vid critiques Firefly's appropriation of Asian culture and art while having an almost total absence of Asian actors with speaking roles. It also argues that Firefly tries to glorify the Confederacy. Lierdumoa, in the comments of her original Livejournal post about the vid, said:
After its premiere at Vividcon 2008's challenge show, the vid was subsequently posted to Lierdumoa's Livejournal and Dreamwidth to general acclaim in the community. Several people recced the vid, including thingswithwings. It was then cited by legal scholar Rebecca Tushnet during the US Copyright Office's DMCA hearings:
This vid came out within weeks of Shati's Secret Asian Man, a vid along similar lines.new vid - Firefly - Secret Asian Man. Posted 9 Aug 2008. It was subsequently posted to AO3 a decade later with a different summary:
==Reactions & Reviews==
==References==
category:Firefly
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