Elliott @kakarot4school - Tumblr Blog

for the last class (4/24)

Serial Experiments Lain was probably one of my more favorite watches of this class, which is surprising considering its style and theme don’t really align with what I’d typically watch. What I got from this anime was a message about, you guessed it, identity. I also feel like the anime drew a lot of importance on the context of conforming to a “reality” and even touches a little bit on how mass communication really affects individuals. This made me reflect on how virtual realities and networks have affected society, and more relevantly to me, American society.

I feel like American society has a lot of trouble with establishing individualism. I think that once social media and blogs and forums were widespread, people started to publish this public identity that they wanted to be. In a lot of cases, this public identity is something that people consider ideal. People want to show off or display the most interesting aspects of their life, and there’s honestly nothing taboo about that; people want to be interesting. People want to be different, because different makes you stand out and in some cases it is synonymous with special. While I think that being special is not wrong, I don’t think establishing a virtual identity is necessarily healthy.

I think uprooting oneself from actual reality is quite dangerous. Becoming too engulfed online strips someone of who they really are. Think about it, once someone becomes too interested in establishing this persona, who are they? Now, instead of seeing one personality, you see two. There’s a reason behind this though, as people may not actually like who they are. Online, you can just create a new identity and have a new personality that’s entirely filtered and display that people who will never meet you. It’s easier than going through the emotional intensity of daily interaction.

Thanks for reading my blog posts, and I understand this one wasn’t quite as analytical as the others, but I wanted to do something new.

For the second-to-last class 4/22

Paprika was an okay film. At face value, it definitely sold me on how well illustrated the anime was, and that was it. However, I got caught up in the idea of dreaming. What is dreaming in the context of existence? I think Paprika attempts to make a commentary of what the subconscious does and what your identity is a function of. I feel like identity is something that people consciously show to others. This is encapsulated well; once I realized that the anime was more of a surrealist expression, it fell into place.

Identity is something that people struggle with everyday, because it’s necessary of humans to be self-critical and to view themselves from the outside. As we are social, we must make attempts to try to see in us what others see in us; we want to know how we’re seen from the outside. This alone is a very frustrating, conflicting idea. It forces people to question themselves, and from there, their integrity. So why does that matter? This is a completely conscious thing we do, we have to analyze ourselves and put in a substantial amount of effort to do so, but we have subconscious influences that restrict us from seeing ourselves truly. This is the prominent thing that restricts us when we look at ourselves. The subconscious in this context is destructive; it lays a film of bias through our lenses, which influences our judgement.

The best example of this is what you may feel when you talk back or argue with someone, one of the first things we do is deflect blame as a subconscious defense mechanism. That is madness. That is destruction. All of us have these subconscious ideas that influence the way we act and the way we think, if we were to allow this to affect our ego too much, we would all descend into madness. This is what I think Paprika commentates on. As for the symbol of dreaming? Dreaming is purely subconscious. Dreaming is how the subconscious manifests itself. Dreaming here is showing you how strong these thoughts are, even if you don’t notice their influence.

for class 4/19

Episode 21 really showed me how rage can be something that is blinding. The opening to the episode was symbolic of hysteric rage. Everyone was initially rooting and chanting for this violent cause, however, even they too perished. Despite being the ones who wanted the uprising, they perished alongside the people that they were uprising against (if I interpreted this right). I know this is something that’s relatively minor in respect to the episode, but it stood out to me. I also liked how the ogre stood up to the individual who ended up killing those people.

There was a dialogue in episode 21 that also stood out to me. One of the characters, not sure the name, claims that killing Shisei would be far too difficult for an ogre to do, since his powers allowed for repelling all of the ogre’s attempts. But here’s what that symbolizes to me, it kind of symbolizes how once people get comfortable or complacent in a system, trying to do anything that makes an effort to oppose it seems futile. It’s almost like people are blinded by comfort. This is definitely something that happens in society today. People, for example in politics, think that sometimes there is just nothing that can be done about current situations. I know I am personally part of this issue because I do not believe that anything I do makes a difference against anything considered much stronger than me. Or even much bigger than me.

This kind of rebellion that we saw towards the ending assigned episodes seems like a call to action for me. It seems to request that viewers try to break free of fearing people who have these gifts that others do not, even if you cannot understand them. People have these deep desires to understand perplexing things, and this is part of the subconscious effort to control the unfamiliar.

For class (4/15)

I think this anime was okay. The message was pretty clear: people in power are not above attacking their own people. This is a common thing from authoritarian nations throughout history, people will attack their nation to claim it’s for the betterment of their society. This has happened in so many countries that it’s ridiculous. It’s happened in the USSR, with the government killing its own people to embrace the purity of their nation. This happened in Germany where Jewish people were killed in massive numbers for the purity of the German nation. All of these incidences are just excuses of genocide so that ultranationalist prevails.

We see this in Eden of the East. In fact, the anime directly states that the leader of these so called games actually wanted to restore the purity of Japan to its former glory which was almost right after World War II. The culture of the NEETs essentially conflict directly with what the people in power want. They want a functional Japan that display high flavor in character, however the current society is evidently too apathetic for any form of success.

Naturally, the solution for this is to commit acts of terrorism against their own people! This is a good commentary on the people in power, regardless of if it’s a capitalistic or socialistic society. Although these types of economics go hand-in-hand, or occur more prevalently with other types of government systems, it’s not exclusive. I think there’s a sentiment amongst society to put forth at least a little bit of trust into the leaders because why wouldn’t successful people use good judgement when they’re in power? I think that’s another thing that we see here; we underestimate the successful people and we expect good decisions to be made.

Furthermore, I think that Mononobe is actually a representation of Lucifer, but that could be another blog post. I’ll initiate the idea by saying he did denounce Mr. Outside as the leader, by claiming him dead, and tried to assume the position.

For class 4/10

Zipang to me was mildly boring.

However, a lot of it interesting as it brought the idea of alternative paths of history to limelight. However, I think the main purpose of this anime is to commentate on the notion of nuclear weapons and how much they can change the entire mentality of those who either have them or do not have them. I think this alternative timeline where they encounter imperial ships and then sink the US ships bring nuclear weapons to the hands of Japan. Which in turn deters the United States from utilizing nuclear weapons on Japan.

This makes me compare the two main discussions that dominate the conversation of nuclear warfare. Was using the nuclear bombs on Japan a necessity or did the United States overdue it? Are nuclear bombs even ethical? What is their purpose? In my opinion, I think that nuclear bombs were somewhat necessary in the surrender of Japan. Think about previous manga we have examined. We have seen, firsthand, direct criticisms to the propaganda that was sent through wartime Japan. I do have a belief that Japan would’ve exhausted their resources and their people in defense of a homeland. We even originally anticipated three bombs as opposed to two, but after the surrender we stopped.

Obviously, nuclear warfare is not necessary, in general. And, it is definitely one of the least ethical weapon types out there. I think the fact that just having them can deter a country from even considering to attack, because they have the possibility to end human civilization, is horrible. There is no practical use for these; there is hardly any strategic use to them. However, I think the anime suggests that having them is strategic in and of itself, not the use. I can agree with that, as they’re almost like bluffs, although they have the potential to destroy everything.

For Class 4/3

Banana fish seems to be a commentary about poor mental health and potentially the drug pandemic. I think it’s interesting that someone who is familiar with the inner working of a drug ring and gangs is noticing how their actions actually influence people around them. This pertains to a lot of the culture surrounding organized crime today. For example, organized crimes takes so much from communities around them, especially in the form of corruption and drug abuse. This is something that has influenced entire nations and has started extreme conflict amongst governments and citizens.

For example, although this is not the entirety of Mexico and South America, organized crime is running the nations. How are they funding this crime and all of these organizations? Through drug use Drug use is also a major problem as it facilitates poor health practices and essentially destroys lives. This very fact is something I see in Bananafish, with the drug being, well, Bananafish. I think this anime does a good job trying to provide direct commentary on how these problems are very real and sometimes people turn a blind eye to them because it’s easier to ignore than it is to solve these issues.

I went ahead and did some research into the state of Japanese organized crime and Japan’s substance abuse problem, because I was sure there was issues that might have motivated the themes of this anime, and there is. Drug abuse in Japan has steadily increased to an alarming amount. Bananafish itself is such an obscure name for a drug it almost hints to me at the research-chemical market too, since Japan is not easily accessible, I assume they have problems with alternative drugs than what are banned. As for organized crime, there does seem to be corruption, but I wasn’t sure the extent.

Class, for April Fools Day

(I didn’t write anything).

Just kidding.

Your Name is a pretty fascinating anime to me and I think it has to do with how little it really felt like a traditional anime to me. Sure the character design as well as a lot of the designs make nods towards anime, but it felt very modern. The modernization almost made me feel like it was a “classically” designed western cartoon, although it isn’t. I think this is something that has led to the success of this piece as I have heard of it before.

As for the actual content or theme of the anime, I think everything about it is more commentary on the idea of fate. Instead however, I feel like this is actually making a commentary in a manner different to Penguindrum. This anime actually discourages the typical notion of “oh it’s all fate”. In fact, the anime actually kind of puts the concept of fate into the person’s hands. Instead of the two meeting in person just because “fate” insisted they do so, they actually met on terms that they settled on.

I think that fate definitely had a role in everything that happened, but it wasn’t like fate was actively being blamed for the whole thing taking place. Instead, fate is somewhat seen as a the mediator to what takes place. Rather than crediting that “randomness of love” and just going with that explanation, the anime practically asks “what are you going to do about it?” This is in stark contrast to how fate is typically depicted (even if this isn’t the actual message).

Another brief concept I would like to talk about is the concept of sacrifice. I think some attention should be drawn on how they left a version of their lives behind, and instead embraced a sense of change. Even if it wasn’t guaranteed. Furthermore, leaving things behind more or less enforced the idea of people coming and going, something that symbolizes a lack of permanence in the world, and instead illustrates temporaries.

Post for 3/25

I think the finale of this series actually had a few good things to point, one of the things I picked up on is the box imagery. I think the boxes have a representation over how they kind of experienced a sense of familial deprivation. Also, considering the entire series seems to be a dramatic commentary on fate, this could also represent the ultimate fate of everyone in the “family”. It was mentioned in class that the family wasn’t necessarily a family in the scope of being bound by blood relations, but it definitely holds for the meaning of family. I think the ending of this anime really pieced that together nicely. The anime likes to draw importance to the concept of having family and having a support system that doesn’t necessarily watch over you, but tunes into your life when necessary. There’s some historical context that may be motivation for why the anime creates commentary on the importance of family, and it ties to the cult bombings that took place.

One of the motivating factors for this anime was a major Japanese cult bombing on the subways. I feel like family is a huge reason that people join cults. Although it’s not always the case, people in cults are ultimately looking for a place to be welcomed in. They want a sense of spiritual purpose and they want others who will accept them for what they are and what they do. I think that’s something the anime may be trying to convey. These people are not related through blood, they are not related at all; the concept of family is strictly through their bonds they create. This is something that cult culture tends to prey on heavily. The people within are family in their eyes, not through blood, but through their bonds. I think that’s an idea that is demonstrated here.

For the class readings, I found a great deal of interest in the “Yamato the Brave” reading in the Kojiki. As far as Kojiki, I really like these types of Japanese… legends I believe? As I did more research about the legend, I found that he was incredibly influential throughout all of Japan. His figure and name has been implemented into animes and video games due to his great strength and courage.

Yamato was apparently extremely strong and, I believe it was accidentally, killed his older brother and that ultimately lead to his father trying to estrange him out of fear for how strong he was. One of the more notable things I picked up on was he crossed dressed to take out a prominent military figure. This particular action is depicted in modern media since he cross dressed. To me this seemed like something that was simply “intelligent” and as a disguise, but I can see it acting as a symbol for women being exceptionally strong despite their stature. Further on, I take it he met his aunt? And his aunt helped care for him and showed him humanity since Yamato’s father originally wanted him dead.

Now, the main thing that I picked up on was his pride for his country. I think the legend might have something to say about excessive pride for one’s country, which would fall into the scope of WWII. Yamato’s pride grew so large that it ultimately led to his downfall. After defeating all the enemies and expanding the land, eventually people around him made sacrifices to qualm the anger of nature. For example, the sea. As he was taking his last breathes, about to die, he wasn’t even allowed to see the capital of the very place he loved so much. After he died, he transformed into a bird. I think this meant his soul had been granted freedom.

The Heart of Thomas starts off with a blunt effort to portray feminine qualities of males. The entire story takes place at a male only Gymnasium (the German equivalent of a high school). The most obvious indication that the story is a discussion of gender is the illustration style. The style applies what would typically be considered female characteristics, to males. Something that I wonder is if this is a commentary on how women would behave granted they had the social advantages of being a man. The character's thoughts and emotions seem to flow freely without having to place much restriction on them. That behavior is something that was not commonly seen in previous generation of manga.

There is an exception to this trend: Siegfried. Siegfried is presented masculinely. Siegfried’s masculine appearance to me seems like he is the “man” in an environment that is surrounded entirely by “women”, despite all of the characters being men. To me there definitely still is some characteristics of men being portrayed quite heavily, certain characters don’t express as much emotion as others, which I believe is typically considered (at least socially) to be masculine.

Thomas’s suicide to me seems like he couldn’t face the idea of being a homosexual, or at least his desires were too estranged from him. This inability to express something that is considered, especially at the time, a cultural deviance is something that I see a lot of people struggle with. The thing to keep in mind though is that Thomas is depicted as a graceful “Fräulein” which symbolizes women. Because of this, the entire manga is actually a commentary on the inability to face homosexual desires from a female point of view. Taking account the intended audience, I have no doubt Hagio intended for girls to read this manga and think about the ideas of facing lesbian-esque desires.

There is also another symbol that represents a man-on-woman rape but that could have a post on its own.

In Mobile Suit Gundam episode 13, we see Amuro go home to see his mother once again. I believe this part of the anime draws comparisons to what it’s like for a child to go off and fight in war only to come back and see his entire world has changed, especially for the worst. Amuro comes home and his entire house is occupied by drunken soldiers and they laugh in his face when he asks where his mother went, as they claim it was abandoned. This thing is extremely common in war; the military exiles people from their homes to provide themselves a place to live. That is why places like the US have the third amendment.

Not only is Amuro’s house occupied, he goes to see his mother in a camp and while he is there visiting, the enemy faction comes into the camp and he fires at one of the soldiers and kills them. This is where the idea where a boy changes to a man and becomes unfamiliar to his mother. His mom cannot understand the idea of fighting and killing and suggests he resort to being the child he once was: soft and compassionate. This is also parallel to war sentiment as people would return home with joy but their families wouldn’t recognize who their personalities were.

I think this is pretty indicative of the war-oriented propaganda and themes that initially sparked the notion of modern anime. Seeing Amuro doing what he believes is correct only to come home and be criticized by his mother is saddening. We also see some sort of “risk-taking” behavior to represent rebellion as Amuro and Kai try doing a mid-air docking. I think this sort of behavior is an indication of him trying to individualize himself and justify himself. I know I would be doing similar things to establish individualism if my mother just criticized me as well.

For Monday’s reading, I found particular interest in the reading “Goodbye.” This manga was extremely taboo at first glance and I can see how some naive person could look at it and go “yep, this supports the perverted Japan” essentialist argument. However, this whole manga focuses on how rough it was to lose the war. I know last week we had a reading that was focused on the path Japan took as a society once the war was over, and prostitution was a key part of that in some sectors. In this manga, we’re immediately introduced to an American soldier working with a prostitute.

One thing I didn’t see when in the readings was substance abuse. When societies go through rough times, especially after losing wars, I expect heavy substance abuse to be one of the coping strategies. This manga seemed to touch on that a little bit, but not in the way I expected. I had expected meth abuse to be mentioned since that was something the axis had commonly used during war but instead I saw alcoholism. This is fairly enlightening because I have it in my head that alcoholism is more so a westernized issue. Think about the UK, Germany, France, United States, etc., you think alcohol would be the main problem. I don’t really think of Japan when I think alcoholism.

Finally, we have the father. The father seemed to subject his daughter to prostitution willingly so her could gather profits. The environment was really worn down, which makes complete sense. Depending on where they are in Japan, the area would experience some devastation due to war efforts, and that’s depicted in this manga. The only thing that confuses me is the need for the end. I am not sure what motivates the daughter to go through with incest. I understand she wants to rid herself of the supposed family she has, but were morals in Japan at an all time low? I’m not sure. Had I had read this without any historical context, I would’ve found this manga just as taboo as the average reader.

Class 1/24/24

For class, I want to write about the “Embracing Defeat” reading. The way it started off seemed to immediately hint towards an “obedient Japan” as they recount even more propaganda being issued during WWII. From an American’s perspective, I don’t think I really paid too much attention towards the aftermath of WWII from Japan’s perspective. Sure, I often wondered what the effects of an atomic bomb were since that’s something that’s only ever happened once in history.

When I think about major wars, since I wasn’t alive when they took place, I take things as fact. I don’t necessarily take the time to think about how a society functions after enduring so much. One thing that really stood out to me was the idea of rationing food. War is extremely taxing. I often heard in grade school that war is good for an economy, so I never thought that afterwards there would be struggles in that manner. I did know about the discrimination-aspect of war where certain demographics, one which are widows, were outcasted and viewed differently. I suppose I think about things in terms of solutions, such as “what will the government do?”, “how will food or buildings be repaired”. I don’t think about the individual aspects.

After reading through, the text took a little shift and talked about something that seemed to be miracle for the Japanese: a collection of comic-like illustrations. The illustrations were “ironic” and depicted hopeful ideas. Katō, the main illustrator, didn’t have the traditional “Japanese” style. These drawings draw many similarities to what I see in modern anime. They contain strong lines, high contrast, and motion.

One thing though, is the article claims that the Japanese utilized this to “transcend despair”. I’m not sure how I feel about that idea; sure, optimism is a critical tool for psychologically surviving these things, but I’m not sure if this is really engrained as “Japanese”. I think all cultures find things to cope with major issues and to cope with politics, but I don’t think it’s a defining factor to who they are. However, I do think this illustrative culture is has a role in their coping, but not in them.

Media (Class on 1/22/23)

1/21/24

Today’s media consisted of a longer anime and a reading. An Unholy Alliance of Eisenstein and Disney: The Fascist Origins of Otaku Culture stood out to me. This article was rather interesting as it sought to explain the backgrounds for what Americans might call “geeks”.

Initially, I thought this was a rather outrageous theory; however, Tagawa Suiho adopted animation techniques that closely resembled “westernized” animation. These adaptations can be closely tied to Disney, which was (and still is) a major influence in culture. In the 1930s, this notion was used by the Japanese Naval Department. They speculated that if Japan lacks animation that has an influence over the people, like Disney’s, then Japan’s influence will eventually fail. To me, weaponizing animation feels rather absurd considering we are all exposed to it daily, especially the idea of a particular style.

This animation style seemed rather appealing though, especially considering many countries (notably axis) had banned Disney media, yet claims state they illicitly watched it. In the media I attached separately, it’s apparent that the anthropomorphic-style juxtaposed with military themes seems to alleviate the severity of what a viewer could be watching. Not only does the animation contribute to it, several techniques (notably those from Eisenstein) were deployed to make the media more visually appealing. Although this sort of film-theory wasn’t studied in-depth, Japan knew that these westernized approaches were, indeed, appealing.

One of the most important techniques that is almost a key-characteristic of manga is the “Eisenstein montage” theory. This happened when a series of cinematic “cuts” were developed to create a single image. These images are significantly more encapsulating as they convey ideas such as motion far better than a still picture, and this is commonly used everyday.

It’s interesting to see that authoritarian ideas were a motivating factor for composing such fascinating media. The simplicity of animating a character and putting them into a scene where they don’t belong was used as a better form of propaganda. The fact that “war-time aesthetics” is a term that can, somewhat, describe manga’s development is so strange.

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