Brouillette- Perfect Blue and The Black Swan: Shifting Realities

I hate horror movies; they are, in a word, ridiculous in their attempt to try to scare or shock people. You can have all the blood and guts flying everywhere that you can imagine, but if a film doesn't delve into the depths of the human psyche to pull from the real origins of our fears and carefully manipulate them, you are practically left with a brainless comedy under all of that gore. A good psychological thriller, however... that's something I can go for.

The films Perfect Blue and The Black Swan are just that- stories meant to disturb the audience by blurring the line between the real and surreal, piling on multiple layers of reality as they plunge into the insanity of the distressed human mind. Both movies take a young woman character, innocent and unassuming, and have her tormented by the uncertainty of her indentity and her perception of herself. There are a good handful of similarities between the two women in these films.

Nina from The Black Swan falls prey to her own insecurities in the need to fullfill a role that imbodies both light and innocence as well as darkness and untamed lust. This later on causes her to lose grip on the person she truly is; she begins to have hallucinations about actually becoming a black swan as her reality takes a turn down a dark, twisted path in order to create a new image for herself. This is fueled by the desire to be a star. She wishes to be flawless in the eyes of her audience and in the eyes of the people who influence her; her identity is practically their possession.

Mima's sense of reality in Perfect Blue is victimized solely by those around her who impose what they think she should be over her real identity. However, none of these changes to her image make everyone happy at once; two characters in particular, Mr. Mi-mania and Rumi, are determined to force a certain image upon “Mima”, or their perception of her at least. Mima's real self is the only thing that stands in the way. It isn't long before idolization is taken to a murderous extreme. All three of these characters are driven to insanity by this need to fullfill their idea of who “Mima” should be.

When main characters from these two films cross over that line into their new personas, both begin to lose touch with their ability to tell what is real from the illusions brought upon by their fears and these facades of themselves. Ultimately, at points in both of the films, these two women come to fear what they have become. With the loss of control over their identity- Mima loses hers to Rumi's “version” of Mima, and Nina loses hers to the role of the Black Swan itself- comes the loss of control over their own behavior. They feel threatened by what has come to take over their perception of themselves and are soon enough owned by their fears. Both characters begin to have violent hallucinations. Mima hallucinates revenge upon the people who forcedly manipulated her image; Nina invisions herself commiting acts of violence upon her overbaring mother, her rival, and, eventually, the part of herself which was the innocent “white swan”- her former reality. The Black Swan murders the White Swan; Nina's succumming to her dark persona causes her to lose her touch with reality and her own life. Mima is nearly murdered by her “pop idol” persona when Rumi decides to try to dispose of the the tarnished “real Mima” in favor of her imagined “innocent Mima”.

What is most interesting, perhaps, about Perfect Blue is that it not only blurs reality in the main character's mind, but crosses the perceived realities of several characters and their hallucinations. In this way, it is difficult to distinguish at some points in the film whose point of view we are looking through, or if who and what we're seeing is what we think we are seeing. This adds to the confusion that makes for excellent suspence. By the end of the film, I was completely unsure whether the envents that occurred in the film had actually been from Mima's point of view or it was all from Mima's manager Rumi's warped perception of reality until I read more into the story to understand.

There is much more to these two films than meets the eye. With each viewing I find more and more hidden elements within them that I may not have considered before, new ways of perceiving the ideas they express as well as their visual symbolism. Perfect Blue and The Black Swan are two of my favorite examples of the psychological thriller genre. No matter how many times I watch them, I always end up on the edge of my seat.

Brouillette- Botchan: Keeping Up Appearances

Watching Botchan was a definitely a new experience; not one I was particularly entertained by, but there were a few things to take away from it. It is obviously a very traditional anime in every sense of the word, portraying Japan's recent past that still effects its culture today. On the surface I saw it as a simplistic, silly story of a man and his misadventures as a teacher in the Japanese school system, but underneath that it is yet another critique of the way a part of Japanese society functions. In the two other films we watched there were also underlying criticisms of these functions. The way the Japanese use stories and animation to reach its viewers about social issues is an inventive idea; a story always tends to stay in one's mind rather than a blatant argument against something. In Botchan we see in interesting satire of the corruption and shortcomings of the school system in Japan and how people simply acting like the imperfect, selfish creatures they are causes it.

Within a society that is so rigid and strict, human nature always finds little cracks to seep through. In Botchan we see it come through the actions of the story's flawed characters. Botchan himself is a rather flustered guy. The students at the school find it easy to anger him and so they take advantage of that; the teachers seem to pick up on this as well, making him their target. He is new to the town he comes to work in, straight from Tokyo, and so is treated as somewhat of an outsider because of that. His rash, impulsive personality clashes with the people of the town. This puts him in several bad situations, including being forced out of the house he was living in for being accused of flirting with the landlord's wife. The way Botchan reacts aggressively when things turn against him only eggs on his tormentors. The bullying behavior displayed by the young men as well as the adults shows that, underneath their professional appearance, the grown men are still self-centered and immature. The crafty Red-Shirt is a prime example of corruption in the film. He uses his sly ways to manipulate those around him to get what he wants. His pawns are the people around him and he is never punished for his actions because of his status, until Botchan stands up to him. Status plays a big role in their society and ultimately creates a hierarchy where those lower on the food chain are easily pushed around by their higher-ups(the teacher, 'Weakling', for example is denied the woman he loves because of Red-Shirt's greed. He is taken advantage of because of his lower status.) This only illustrates how easy it is for a system that looks stable and sure of its goal to educate can be easily polluted by an imbalance of power.

Brouillette- Ninja Scoll: Sexuality- The Two Edged Sword.

Ninja Scroll immerses the viewer into a legend told in a way only the Japanese can. The roaming samurai at its center is a figure of freedom, power and justice among the unjust. Jubei's story is the perfect example of a classic Japanese tale seeped not only in lessons of morality, but critiques of government and human nature as well.One of the movie's most important themes, the power and weakness which are both found in a woman's sexuality, gives its story an intense, intriguing edge. Sexuality itself, in the film, is portrayed much like a two edged sword. It can attract but also destroy, making it the "perfect" weapon in and of itself.

The ninja girl Kagero is a prime example of that two edged sword, sharpened to its deadliest potential. The way she carries poison throughout her body, killing any man who sleeps with her, is a device used to give power to a being that is generally considered weak- a woman. This is her strength in times where she is being abused; this power that she has causes her to live without fear of men, and, coupled with her skills as a ninja, makes her a genuinely strong individual. However, she finds her weakness in Jubei. Through the course of the film it becomes evident that she is both emotionally and sexually attracted to him. This turns her power against her and it becomes her weakness. Being unable to love is a source of great pain to her, and when she realizes that she can save Jubei by sleeping with him and countering his poison with hers, she is more than willing to oblige him.

The samurai, however, refuses her offer. He understands that even though he would be saving himself, sleeping with her out of selfish reasons would be just like playing with fire. Morally, he knows it would be unjust to her, even if she is willing, and that it would lead to corruption in their relationship. Just as he believes that the “end does not justify the means” when it comes to dealing with corrupt government, the same idea applies here. The romance in the film is highly tragic and probably one of the story's most realistic elements. It is an excellent portrayal of the power and pitfalls found in human sexuality- one of the most mysterious elements of our nature.

Brouillette- AKIRA: The Corruption of Power

Part of what Akira is at its heart is a cautionary tale about the control, and loss of control, of power. Through themes such as social injustice, corruption of the government, and rebellion it shows the abuse of power to an extreme level that effects its entire society. Through one of its main characters, Tetsuo, the film demonstrates how a hunger for control and to become a stronger, "greater" being  can eventually lead to destruction, both internally within the character, and outwardly as he impacts his environment.

Tetsuo and the remains of "Akira"

 The way Akira takes a weak teenage character and gives him incredible power is one of the elements that makes its story so interesting. It brings the idea of corruption of power down to a more personal level. It is definitely easier to relate to Tetuso's character than to an unjust government or group of people who hold ultimate control. He is essentially an unstable character who, against his will, comes into the possession of superhuman abilities. He is pushed forward by the circumstance he finds himself in, his beliefs and his fears. The great power he has is simply the result of the control the scientists and government take over his own life that is only heightened by his own personal potential. This raises the question of whether it is essentially the fault of the scientists who gave him the power, Tetsuo's abuse of the power, or a combination of the two. This question translates over well to our own society. To what extent are we responsible for the power we have through technology, weapons, science, government, etc.? Should the blame be placed on the origins of these things that have potential to do great harm, or upon those who abuse them? How we deal with these issues is very relevant to our modern world. Since 'Akira' itself is basically potential energy- potential to do incredible good or incredible harm- we can see that potential for power Tetsuo gains within ourselves, figuratively. Those who find themselves in control of great power should consider first and foremost how they intend to use it.

On a personal level as well, it is simple to understand the impact that the character Kaneda has had on Tetsuo's life. Part of what drives Tetsuo to use his power in destructive ways is how he compares himself to Kaneda and the way Kaneda and his friends treat him. For example, he is upset by the fact that Kaneda will not let him ride his bike simply because he is not strong enough to control it. He develops a sort of "Napoleon complex" as the weakest member of the gang and fights throughout the film to show that he can be strong and powerful. The repression that all of these young characters experience from the overbearing society in which they live has such a negative effect on their actions and motives, especially in Tetsuo's case. They find themselves fighting for survival, and the idea of "only the strongest survive" has a devastating effect when one of them literally becomes the strongest of his species, so to speak. Tetsuo pushes everything he once knew aside, such as his girlfriend Karori and all of his friends, to seize power over the society that abandoned him.

In the end we find, with the revealing of what Akira actually is, that the 'ultimate state of power' is actually a form of incredible energy. Akira's purpose, hypothetically, is to cleanse all of this corruption and deterioration that the world has undergone and start everything anew. With the intervening of the Espers(the children who were also test subjects and hold incredible power) Tetsuo fulfills his true potential and "joins" with Akira. At that point it could be said that all power is meant to eventually be corrupted, that society and human nature is and will always be flawed, but that when after it crumbles down upon itself and is destroyed there will always be some hope remaining for the future(symbolized in those left remaining after the great destruction Tetsuo causes at the film's end). There will always be potential to do bad or good.

While it is easy to look at the grand picture that Akira paints, a story about a post-apocalyptic sort of world in which the corrupt government controls society with an iron fist, it is also important to consider how some of the main characters develop and display the themes of the corruption and use of power. It may even prove to be more important.
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 Just as a useless extra, here's a spoof of Akira if an "American version" of it were made:

Brouillette - Introduction

Me and voice actor J. Michael Tatum at MechaCon 2011
(voice of Sebastian from Black Butler, Kyoya from Ouran High School Host Club,
France from Hetalia, Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, and many more)

Why hello there. I am Sydney Brouillette and welcome to my fabulous anime blog. I have been watching anime since I was very young, but only in the past three years has it become a significant part of my life. As a kid I grew up watching 'Sailor Moon' and many of the early Tezuka series such as 'Unico' and 'Kimba the White Lion', having no clue how huge the world of anime really was. About three summers ago, when a friend and I stumbled upon many of the works of one of the masters of anime, Hayao Miyazaki, we spent a great deal of time marathoning his movies and I ended up falling back in love with this highly diverse genre. My favorite film of all time, to this day, is still Princess Mononoke- I end up watching it at least once a month. I now have a pretty nice sized collection of anime movies and series that I often share with friends, and has even brought me closer to a few as a common interest. My top five favorite anime series (and why):

• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (It is hands down the best anime I have ever seen. Period.)
• Kino's Journey (The only anime to really change the way I view the world/my life in some way.)
• Baccano! (I really enjoy Quentin Tarintino films. And the prohibition era. This is the anime version of those two things mixed together- it's great stuff.)
• Wolf's Rain (All around beautiful and stirring. It really makes you think into its deep ideological and religious subtexts while still being action packed and entertaining.)
• Ouran High School Host Club (This semi-romantic comedy can always cheer me up, no matter what mood I'm in.)

What else is there to know about me? I am a fiction writer in my spare time. I love taking ideas, mythology and characteristics from different cultures, mixing them together and including them in my writing, the way the Japanese often do in anime. I was also a theater/choir "rat" all four years of high school and have had leading roles in plays such as 'Beauty and the Beast' and Rodger's and Hammerstein's 'Cinderella'. My favorite musical artists are Fleet Foxes, Florence + the Machine, Brett Dennen and Regina Spektor. I also love horseback riding, drawing and, of course, Asian food.

I am currently minoring in Asian studies, taking classes in Japanese as well as self teaching, and plan on studying abroad in Japan either my sophomore or junior year. After I graduate, no matter what field I plan on going into, I want to take the opportunity through the JET program to assist teaching English in the Japanese school system in the city of Mitaka in the Tokyo prefecture (if they will allow me the choice).

Mata atode,
Sydney

from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood