“Nothing here is what it seems”

Initially broadcast in 2002, Joss Whedon’s short-lived science fiction series Firefly has attracted a dedicated fan following. The series is typically seen as an uncompromising critique of state authority, an interpretation that strongly resonates with core elements of the so-called American Creed. While this reading is not implausible, this chapter argues that it is unconvincing: Firefly, in fact, offers a profoundly ambivalent take on state power. In doing so, it troubles dominant views of the American Creed and, ultimately, American national identity. Analysing Firefly can therefore offer a number of valuable insights into the dynamics of nationalism – in particular, it demonstrates that popular culture is an important site in producing and contesting national narratives, it points to the role of “ordinary citizens” in the meaning-making process of nationalism, and it directs our attention to the inadvertent (as opposed to intentional) dimensions of nation-building and nation-contestation.