While the movie shows the Alliance as an all-powerful regime, Whedon is careful to point out that it is not that simple. "The Alliance isn't some evil empire", he says, but a largely benevolent bureaucratic force. The Alliance’s main problem is that it cannot and should not try to control all the different cultures that are a part of it. The crew of Serenity, and specifically Mal, show the idea that people should have the right to chose for themselves, even if those choices are bad.