Assessment Essay
Doll house is a program that is above the average. The title uses a better criterion than the typical mission drama movies and television programs which employs the use of an advanced technology. This technology involves the wiping out of the memory of a subject and then the subject in introduced to a new profile that will enable them to perform better. The use of these new profiles and personalities is to enable the subject to perform better and to be better adapted to the environment where they are to carry out the missions appropriately. The TV series is very suspense and fiction filled.
Doll house is a company that carries out missions that may seem impossible for clients. This agency uses subjects that are referred to as ‘dolls’ since they seem innocent since they lack a definite personality. Prior to sending the subjects on a mission, the subjects are exposed to a machine that inputs in them a new personality in them. The subjects have their memories wiped clean after a mission. This is the main feature of the series as it focuses on separate personalities that are input to the dolls depending on the nature of the mission. The use of variant personalities is a creative move by the director.
The fourth episode of the first season starts off with Echo assisting a woman to give birth and on completion of the child delivery her memory is wiped clean. The wiping out of the memories is disadvantageous to the dolls since it takes ways their freedom and social life. For instance, Echo, Victor and Sierra are friends but with their memories being wiped out clean, they do not recognize each other. This is verified by Topher. In this Episode, Echo is given a mission which involves teaming up with other thief to steal precious pieces of art that had been stolen from the client. Echo has to work together thieves and the handler, Boyd.
The mission involves the breaking in, into a safe where these precious pieces are stored. The director of the company, Adelle, favors Echo in some and thus she is given a mission that was to be given to Sierra. Topher and Adelle thus decide to give her Sierra personality. This personality change completely alters Echo’s personality. She appears seductive, provocative and she has also acquired Sierra’s abilities. She is able to open safes and this is not her initial ability. The changes in the personality have had an effect on Echo’s language and wording used. She resembles Sierra in using the terms “Blue Skies”.
The changes in the personality have thus been of effect not only to the individual’s capability but also the language, accent and other traits that are related to speech. For instance, Victor was used by the company to spy and mislead an FBI agent who was investigating the doll house. Victor has been given a Russian accent which is very effective in convincing the FBI agent that he is from Russia. The identities change has thus directly been used to portray the subjects as totally different people. The use of varied language in the mission is a direct has an effect too on the audience.
The use of the different personalities in the characters suspence that makes the audience love it even more. The clever move by the director to change the personality of the main character, Echo, in every event ensures that the audience is always yearning for the next episode so as to view the personality that the director will assign to the characters. The suspense that is created ensures that all the episodes receive a better response from the audience. The changes in the personalities also affect the audience in that at times it results in the confusion of some of the viewers. Some of the critics have said that movies will a little confusion is very advantageous.
The changes in the personality of echo can be noted in the fifth episode of the first season. In this episode, there is a suspicious cult that the ATF have been secretly monitoring. Echo poses as a blind Christian. The organization, Dollhouse, had implanted cameras in her eyes to serve as the eyes for the organization. The episode is epical since Echo, who was evil and seductive in the previous episode seems like a saint in this episode. The changes of the personality also have an unpredictable effect on the viewers. It is impossible to predict the personality that will be given to the characters in the coming episodes.
The changes in the personality include the changes of the characters name and their memories. The memories that are added into the subject are the key traits that have contributed to changes in personality. Personality is defined by a person’s memory and other events that the individual has experienced in their lives. The dollhouse uses this strategy to develop a favorable personality. This personality is meant to suit the subjects in the conditions that these subjects operate in. In their doll sate, these subjects are harmless, innocent and thoughtless.
The characters that have the diverse personalities are able to achieve more success and quicker. The developed personalities fit appropriately in the societies and the communities where the characters are placed. In the communities where these characters are placed, the overall behavior exhibited by the members of the given society should be similar to the personality that is developed by the organization for the subject. For instance, in episode five, Echo, who is referred to as Ester, is given a personality that makes her appear as a saint who is blind. This trait enables her to fit in the group of believers that live in Jonah Sparrows residence.
The behavior of the individual displayed a totally different identity. One’s behavior determines the image that people view of the person. The identity that the person portrays, is defined by the personality. For instance, while Echo assumes Sierra’s personality, her new identity, which is characterized by thinking, reasons and acts as well as the people she knows, define her as an experienced thief. In addition, her new identity is sufficient in ensuring that the rest of the people believe that she is whoever she claims to be. For instance, while at Jonah’s residence, her new identity which defines her as blind, and saint and the people living there believe that she is who she claims that she is.
Doll house as a program has been very effective in defining identity. The use of varying personality to enforce the effectiveness of an episode is a very wise move. However, the technology used is overly fictions since it is not really existent at the moment. It also does not directly reflect an achievable phenomenon. However, it is very creative and effective in pleasing the audience. The director and the plot developer were successful in the movie.
Work cited
Chow, Lesley. “A Thousand Blooms: Inside Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse.” Bright Lights Film Journal 68 (2010). Web. 9 Aug 2010. http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/68/68dollhouse.php
Masson, Cynthia & Rhonda V. Wilcox. “Fantasy Is Their Business, But That Is Not Their Purpose’: Introduction to the Slayage Special Issue on Dollhouse.” Slayage 8.2-3 (2010). Web. 20 Sept 2010. http://slayageonline.com/Numbers/slayage30_31.htm
Williams, Bronwyn T. “Action Heroes and Literate Sidekicks: Literacy in Popular Culture.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 50.8 (2007): 680-85. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 29 Mar. 2010.
