24m. Take the bookend with Asuka. Something changes in him. As the second episode closes, everyone praises Shinji for his transcendental violence against the Angel because it kept everyone “safe,” but he doesn’t feel good about his actions at all. Anno originally … Unfortunately for Shinji, it is his father who is the head of the organization. It is the continual act of strife. And it can’t truly change until he learns a better version of what “safe” really can mean. And by Anno connecting his authorship so close to Shinji, it is not a declaration of “you’re disgusting,” but that “we’re disgusting.” Unfortunately, so many men reject this notion of collective responsibility (witness: hashtag not all men). But that “YIKES!” is also necessary because some viewers keep trying to find a way to reason around the problems of it. And I’m hard-pressed to think of a word more apt for Shinji’s sexuality. (Episode 4). He literally recreates his wife in his new child, Rei, and then both sexualizes and purifies his daughter to lurid, conflicting degrees. And they must learn that vulnerability starts with self. And it would be easy to paint this patriarchal system of sexuality as something masterminded in some enclave — and politically speaking, that is sometimes true both in the show and real life — but it’s also largely the vomited-up nature of collective psychological possessive instincts that are inherited by men and used against women again and again through history. It is the engine of our bodies. Do you know that, regardless of what has been done to you or what you have done, you have the right to exist in the cosmic scheme? And it wants us to reflect on our own complicity as an audience. Shinji comes to two simultaneous realizations, which are reflected by the two different endings of the show. Write on Medium, “Get confident, stupid,” or: Other life lessons The Simpsons unintentionally taught me. The whole thing is that I don’t think Evangelion is interested in excusing itself at all. The truth is I have no real desire to debate this issue because the endless problems that come with sexualizing young people are already so well-documented. Especially when the machine-like EVAs start acting like beasts when the young pilots give in to their baser instincts. Which brings us back to the bookend sequence of The End of Evangelion, with Shinji and Asuka at the hospital. Because if you watch more recent comedies like 2012’s Project X, you see something far uglier in the depiction. Is the sexualization thoughtful? We can get literal with the definition: “the quality of being devoutly religious; piety.” Which all just evokes the traditional notion of man feeling humbled before the Creator, fearing him, wanting to obey, all in order to be loved and let into heaven. Going back to the part when Shinji says, “I’m sure I’ll keep realizing the obvious, over and over, just so I can keep being who I am,” we have to realize he is saying this precisely because this particular depressed, hellish state of existence is the safest thing he knows. ), we are taught those vulnerabilities are “wrong,” and thus it is so difficult to feel that safety because we are so filled with shame. The second half shows quite a bit of footage left out of the original series, including … And in the modern version, there is no pedestal, just the resentment and wish for obedience. It’s so sudden and out of control and outright terrifying. Misato: But you don’t want to? Or she is the seducer of fallen angels. The first is what I will call “the nightmare of actualization.” That means the ability to step into an adult body (read: EVA) and suddenly realize your own capacity for power. And I dove in. These details aren’t just cool iconography someone picked up without thinking. You probably already know what it means. This rarity was part of its legendary status. Take the central crux of the Third Impact, an event that the mysterious cabal known as SEELE says will bring about the end of the world. So if you have not seen it, please do so immediately. What has happened after he killed the last angel? Because, yes, he does need to learn to embrace a larger notion of life. She lashes out and hates everyone around her, even acknowledging that the thing she hates most is herself. You perpetrate humiliation while being a victim of it. That’s because she wants to be “good” and to meet the expectations of the men around her. This reputation was earned not just for its perceived quality, but through many intangible factors as well. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. The cross (十字架, juujika) is a symbolic religious reference frequently used in Neon Genesis Evangelion, though often particularly loosely. And so they teach empowerment through fantasy, or debauchery, or purity. And the problem with our brains is that nothing can be truly suppressed because it will end up bubbling out in problematic pathological behavior. Go back to your old life! And when men have the power? If you don’t really want to, then leave! The EVAs were built to be a means of salvation, but at their core, they are designed to kill and demolish just as they see the enemy do against them. Naturally, more fighting ensued, and the whole thing bubbled over to the point that I realized I’d have to take a hot minute to talk about semiotics and what is “OK” for us to interpret. Here Asuka finds the incredible power of what we call “normalization,” where the charged nature of the traumas that truly torment us suddenly come back into a more normal emotional range. Who am I to put my opinion in the mix?” In other words, his interpretation is just as good as theirs. In fact, it renders the art didactic. No, it’s all the other power and control that comes along with it. Look, there’s so much to unpack there, and Lord knows I’m not equipped to take on a country’s sexual legislation, nor the culture of an entire society that I won’t pretend to understand. It allows Shinji to finally see the truth that “the enemy” is so human and empathetic. And while I understand that many rigidly insist it’s all platonic, I don’t think it is much of a stretch to say their relationship is codified as gay or bisexual. [2] It consists of 14 volumes, each composed of several “stages” or chapters. Because what she is really after is a complete sense of control and autonomy. Rei realizes “I am not your doll,” and she joins with Lilith on her own volition. What others think doesn’t matter! But some of it also has to do with the fact that it spent many years being difficult to see in America, from VHS to bootleg Blu-rays. Robert Fludd M.D. As a result, Kaworu ends up embodying the positive male flip-side of Lilith, because he is the kind, non-toxic counterpart (this definitely makes him a contrary example to the father, too). Similarly, with his cello-playing, Shinji tells Asuka: “I started because my teacher suggested it. ‘Father Brown’: S08.E10. And they leave the children to suffer in their wake. So we see this metaphor made clear again and again as this show constantly portrays the blurriest lines that ever blurred, to the point that even Sophocles would echo a “YIKES!” But those blurred lines keep bringing us to the thematic crux. But of course, Rei reaches her own point of collapse. She’s not validating her mother’s neglect, but she finally understands why it happened like this. Looking broadly, each story of religious origin makes its claim for objective truth, but from the secular outside, what can we really argue in terms of veracity between the Bible, the Torah, or the Quran? This song was written without any involvement from the show's creators. OK. And even though local laws are more complex (and can stretch up to 18), there is no doubting the undercurrents of hebephilia and ephebophilia that are normalized within the culture and should be examined at length. In something like The Walking Dead, the brutality feels relentless but monotone, as if the violence is a constant, nihilistic drone. And that’s when the real nightmares rear their heads and strike with renewed menace. One character says piloting the EVA is a “convenient symbiotic relationship,” which is clearly a metaphor for Anno’s own relationship to making the show. And it’s not that she’s completely closed off from her sexuality, because at the same time, she is very quick to position herself as an “adult” and pines after the much older character of Kaji. Anno admitted that he didn’t actually know what most of the imagery meant and only used it because he thought it looked cool.”. However, this may be Shinji's imagination, because Asuka is dead at this point. Which leaves Neon Genesis Evangelion in the weirdest possible space when it comes to looking at it from a critical perspective. The confusion over these terms has nothing to do with the behavior of women (who, like men, simply show a range of behavior) but men’s inability to reconcile their range of behavior. One moment you’ll feel paralyzed, then embarrassed, then angry, then lonely, and all to the point that you’re feeling like you’re being turned inside out by the strength of these very emotions (or sometimes the lack thereof). Note the way they only meet each other through their avatars that look like slabs of Stonehenge, as they all try to create eternity for their own consciousness. The infectious song creeps in, and suddenly the horror feels less horrible. Twice as cold. In this new space, Shinji suddenly finds vulnerability and openness and safety. Neon Genesis Evangelion: ending? To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. No, our anger must be a passion that ignites and fights for justice. Likewise, we see how much pop art deals with the question of whether Mary Magdalene was Jesus’s wife or simply a “whore” he helped along his way. He is running from his demons and the loss of his wife (an action cloaked in his own responsibility for it). But for Shinji, letting people in is not an easy choice …. Tree of Numbers. But the children are far more primal. And yes, lies are absolutely at the center of all of it. Faced with this Catch-22, Shinji realizes he must go on piloting an EVA, but he comes to an even more terrifying realization about what that actually means. And so his shame cycle worsens. But in going inside himself, he realizes he has the right to exist. But this discussion is going to require a little conversation about how we view the subject with a modern lens. The names of the Apostolo are the names of angels and not the apostles, as seen in the media. Which means unpacking the whole mess is going to take a lot of discussion. I spent many years living that way, and now that I know the alternative, I can assure you that I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I mean, there’s a reason “Genesis” is in the damn show title. And they all tend to smash together in our brains and behaviors. It’s easy and free to post your thinking on any topic. Which tells us plainly: The real original sin is man’s inability to coexist with others and blame women for all of it. That’s because we inherit these problems through the very act of watching. Which often makes first forays into sexuality all the more important and psychologically dangerous. It’s because answering doesn’t actually help the art. For instance, there are so many fans who would say Shinji’s story is the story of “otaku” (defined as “(in Japan) a young person who is obsessed with computers or particular aspects of popular culture to the detriment of their social skills”), but I’m more interested in the ways Otaku lines up with the broader systems of male sexuality. One needs to make a choice. Before Adam and Eve partook of the Tree of Knowledge, it is said they “were naked and felt no shame.” But after, the shame was everywhere. Unfamiliar Ceilings. Neon Genesis Evangelion and the Meaning of Life How to overcome depression, anxiety, and the feeling of purposelessness. Rei is literally his mother, sister, and object of sexual desire. When he puts his sexuality out there in a way that tries to connect him, he’ll cross boundaries and stare too long or try to kiss Asuka when she’s sleeping, which means he often ends up just hurting himself and others. Sex and real-life connection, on the other hand, can often seem far more difficult in comparison. Behind all the portents of the EVA project being done for the good of “humanity,” it comes back to the selfish heart of Shinji’s father. Once up in the sky, Lilith makes a decision. It is utterly impossible to talk about Evangelion without first talking about how it outright sexualizes 14-year-olds. More arguments over translation abound (and honestly, it’s quite similar to the way I’ve seen people arguing over dubs/subtitle choices in this particular series). Now, there’s a nuanced fancy-pants argument around the finer points of this topic, which is often called “The Death of the Author,” and if you want a brilliant deep dive on that, go to this great Lindsay Ellis video. Or perhaps you think of the word as being descriptive, as in “god-like,” where we apply such notions of power to our creators, our fathers, our authority figures, and those whose power directly shapes our lives. Now, the most immediate way to react to this is with one big “YIKES!” because, as I said, the characters are 14 years old. Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン 劇場版 DEATH & REBIRTH シト新生, Shin seiki Evangerion Gekijō-ban: Shi to Shinsei), romanized in Japan as Evangelion: Death & Rebirth, is a 1997 Japanese animated psychological science fiction film. Let’s start with Asuka. To that, Christopher Nolan actually said one of my favorite things: “If you get to that place where people are passionate about it and arguing about what the end of your film means, that’s great. And, all the while, you creep along a path of dread, instinctively understanding that you are heading toward certain doom. Scheduled to release on January 23, 2021, the pillow will convert to … And Evangelion is always telling you something on a thematic level when it chooses which is what and why. But these blurred lines of who “women” are get at the entire point the show is making. Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth. James’s review published on Letterboxd: An existential crisis rendered visual. Doctors. Born again and again into the hopeless situation before her, she feels she must get through life as painlessly as possible, which often means not connecting to the pain she is feeling (note the way she barely reacts to her many injuries). And so those other coping skills never develop. And while it is literal in his case, it is also true for the general notion of “father,” which is the system of toxic masculinity around him. Or will he make it all reborn in a better image of his choosing? Thus, he makes horrific decisions that harm others, but unlike Shinji, he swears he does so “rationally.”. There’s a reason the first proto-Angel is called Adam. And the ability to stare at that same abyss and say, “OK, sure” just tends to scare the panickers even more. They will have to face the stark reality of the demons they have been running from. Here, the personal becomes universal. Experiencing attraction? Note: an extended discussion is found in Veit (2018) there focusing on Bojack Horseman and Rick and Morty. You’re not going to? This will not be done by rejoining Adam and Eve (who, like the EVAs, was made from man’s rib), but by rejoining Adam with Lilith, a female mythological figure of endless variety. Note the way the pilots actually control the EVAs with their brains, much less with actual controls. The organization that oversees this operation is called NERV and was founded by the UN to protect humanity from extinction. And this comes with the acknowledgment that these same problems persist within the United States and play into the same troubling results of mixed messages being sent to young women, which gets them caught in the endless maze of male-controlled power structures that deal damage time and time again. “What the heck is going on?” we wonder. If only there were a word in the show’s title that was based on the Latin “neo,” meaning new, and a word that referred to the origin story of the Bible, and a word that meant gospel … huh … if only you could put three words together that did that! The more I sunk into what the series was trying to do, the more I felt that 2019 was a good time for it to become so accessible. The big reveal for Asuka is that she witnessed some horrific tragedies at her foundational moment. He wants to sacrifice to Lilith so that he may ultimately “be with her again.”. When you are the one entrusted to act during great moments of violence, the only way through the nightmare is to become a nightmare. For me, and for many others, godliness evokes the notion of existentialism. They say that “only then will peace return to our souls” (“Seele” itself is the German word for soul). He now associates his own persona with his identity as an Eva pilot. In Neon Genesis Evangelion: Campus Apocalypse, there's a very Les Yay scene between Asuka (playing the Virgin Mary) and Rei (playing Gabriel) during the Nativity Play. Neon Genesis Evangelion Ending Interpretation. If you keep acting like this, you’re more trouble than you’re worth! And this is how he is finally able to release himself from his prison and feel truly vulnerable. That reality is your reality. But more than that, there’s a reason why David Lynch and our most enigmatic artists tend to refrain from clarifying the symbolism in their work. Evangelion isn’t a power fantasy …. Because it requires shining light in the darkest of places. They are at the edge of a bloodstained lake. It just comes down to the specifics of how we portray these problems through art. While that’s obviously a factual statement, it doesn’t change the reality of how adults should view these situations when looking in on them.
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