The Word-Pocalypse: Joss Whedon's Dollhouse and Dystopian Language

In a sense the ending is in keeping with the way in which the rest of the series sets up expectations through language that are continually undermined and frustrated. Dollhouse is subverting any expectations created through its own dystopian fixation with language by resolving the dystopian world of the Epitaphs through technology rather than mastery of language.  In the interest of tying up loose ends “Epitaph Two” concludes with a mass restoration of language and identity that is, presumably, the first step back from the chaotic dystopia. As Topher’s blanket signal sweeps the globe dumbshows and butchers are eradicated and people begin to regain consciousness from their “sleep.” The act seems to fulfill Echo’s desire to “wake” those who have been imprinted, but it does not feel wholly appropriate as the final act of the series. While the ending reads as an attempt to provide the viewer with utopian hope, Baccolini qualifies such hope in the context of science fiction endings:

What remains problematic about the end of “Epitaph Two” is that much of the world population has no awareness of what has taken place and no ability to learn from it. Unlike Echo, the majority of the survivors were susceptible to programming because they never mastered language to the extent that she did. Echo serves as an example of how individuals can fight “programming” through awareness and control over language, but rather than structure an ending that values her and her companions for their accomplishment of resisting linguistic manipulation, the end of Dollhouse places value on technology to restore identity. The global population has their voices stolen by technology and then restored by that same technology, and both are examples outside forces manipulating a vulnerable population. Rather than being an act of liberation, it reduces the world population to the position the Actives held earlier in the series, and transforms the protagonists, including Echo, the manipulators of language assuming the role of the Dollhouse. One shadowy organization is replaced by another and the apex of Echo’s quest to acquire language and maintain her identity puts her in the position of control she originally fought against, which compromises her integrity.

Conclusion

In conclusion I will briefly restate how the elements of language discussed above form a dystopian language that both responds and contributes to the formation of Dollhouse's dystopia. As the world of Dollhouse moves towards dystopia the language of the series reflects that trajectory. Words like“Attic,” “Active,” and “Doll” become a part of a dystopian language as familiar words that are made unfamiliar and threatening through the attribution of new denotative and connotative associations. As they continue to be used, these words produce a context that is altered by the

information contained in their recently added meanings. Since “Attic” “Active” and “Doll” have been associated with Dollhouse control, the context they then produce through each usage reinforces and builds upon that control. The call-and-response sequences of Dollhouse represent the dystopian intent on the part of the Dollhouse to manipulate a group of people. Designed to suppress and manipulate Actives, call-and-response uses language as the medium through which the Dollhouse exerts its control. The Dollhouse creates an imbalance of power by using its mastery over language to limit the language ability of the Actives, thus limiting their ability to resist manipulation. The breakdown of identity language in the series foreshadows the impending dystopian collapse of society. Language that defines identity is no longer able to provide structure for the rapidly changing notions of identity manufactured by Dollhouse technology, and as a result identity is destabilized. The collapse of identity language is the beginning of the wider destabilization of language in the world of Dollhouse which leaves the Rossum Corporation; and the Dollhouse as the only remaining entities with any control over language.

In the dystopia of the “Epitaphs” (1.13, 2.13) another word has taken on new meanings that reflect the most important threat to the remaining Actuals. “Tech” or “technology” in “Epitaph One” refers to any form of electronics that might be able to carry a broadcast signal. It is through “tech” that Actuals are imprinted against their will to be dumbshows and butchers, and all things considered to be “tech” are destroyed by the Actuals. While the word “tech” is broadly applied to all forms of electronic technology, the technology from which the threat to the Actuals stems is communication or broadcasting technology. Anything designed to transmit language can be corrupted to transmit dystopian language that destroys identity, suppresses intelligence, and manipulates bodies into violence. While “tech” is violently destroyed by the Actuals it does not eliminate omnipresent danger of being imprinted. What the Actuals must ultimately fear is what Dollhouse uses to create the dystopia over the course of the series: dystopian language.

Some additional concluding thoughts... After Topher restores the world with his sacrifice there will presumably be a process of reordering and recovering language that will create a structure for how the world will recover. Interestingly, it is a process from which the Actives are removed. We are told that the Actives will stay underground for as much as three years before rejoining the world, and therefore will be unable to participate in the initial restructuring. With their unstable identity language and their programmed call-and-response phrases, perhaps the Actives cannot be a part of the linguistic structuring of the world without starting the process towards dystopia again. It would be worth further analyzing what meaning can be taken from the continued segregation of the Actives and whether they can ever hold a place in a non-dystopian society.

Also, while I discussed how Echo and the Actives engage in a process of language acquisition and express individual identities through language, I did not address what motivates that acquisition or expression. The motivation for language ability is not something imprinted into the Actives, so it must stem from what I earlier termed “essential aspects” of the Actives that cannot be removed by a wipe. Within the series the idea of an “essential aspect” is acknowledged and related to the idea of a “soul.” Though the series contains very little overt religion many of the characters express a belief in the soul. Characters questions whether a person's soul can be wiped away, if the soul is a component that can be stored on a wedge, or if the soul remains attached to the body. A distinction between original personalities and imprints seems to be that original personalities are in some way connected to a soul while imprints are not. In order to be the seed of the desire for language acquisition the soul would have to be an element that remains attached to the physical body at all times and that cannot be influenced by technology. However, while the Actives' bodies seem to retain some essential aspect of their individual identity that cannot be removed during a wipe, the dumbshows and butchers show no evidence that they retain anything of themselves after their imprint. I am unsure as to whether any clear conclusion can be drawn from Dollhouse's references to the soul. The issue invites further analysis.

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