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[NGE ending spoilers]
ok i made it, finished earlier today. suppose many saw this coming but the finale really blew me away
should write down these fleeting thoughts for future reference. will probably need to rewatch these last 2 episodes a few times to really let it sink in https://twitter.com/miftah___ra/status/1323577851141001217
ok i made it, finished earlier today. suppose many saw this coming but the finale really blew me away
should write down these fleeting thoughts for future reference. will probably need to rewatch these last 2 episodes a few times to really let it sink in https://twitter.com/miftah___ra/status/1323577851141001217
been thinking about it this whole time instead of studying for midterms and even now still haven't quite developed a satisfying interpretation
i expected a 2001 space odyssey-type ending but did not expect this level of experimentation. they really brought it
and this show is super popular in japan?? man the japanese audience is a very special crowd
and this show is super popular in japan?? man the japanese audience is a very special crowd
might as well start with the obvious: last 2 episodes occur completely on the symbolic level. the Thing and the Representation of the Thing melds together to deliver the ultimate message in the bluntest way possible
in retrospect there was really no other way to do it
in retrospect there was really no other way to do it
the "Human Instrumentality Project" is a plot device, it doesn't even make sense in the object-level context of the story. the main story is abandoned because it has served its purpose
the purpose of the Project is purportedly to "unite mankind" in such as way that it resolves the "Hole in the heart" of each person. the universal Lack, which manifests in loneliness, angst, and melancholy
each main character is interrogated to find the Hole within them
each main character is interrogated to find the Hole within them
by doing this, we tackle head-on the main theme of the whole series that was somehow unknowingly inception'd into me, to the point i hitherto thought was something totally unrelated https://twitter.com/miftah___ra/status/1323324835271856128
the characters interrogated comprise a big Net meant to capture the entire audience. each represent a different way the Hole can manifest (which are all actually the same thing). the characters' personalities solely consist of how they cope with the Hole
asuka copes with anger & disdain for other people. this is me at my worst, which is why i disliked her so much https://twitter.com/miftah___ra/status/1299647714020352001
shinji copes with avoidance. he was not properly socialized to the point of having no telos, yet deeply craves human attention. scared of failing, but scared of running away.
paralyzed https://twitter.com/miftah___ra/status/1294706795655569408
paralyzed https://twitter.com/miftah___ra/status/1294706795655569408
he only rides the robot for external validation because for people like this, once you achieve it, you become a junkie for it. it's a drug, and everyone's on it. but when it's withheld your entire life, and then you feel it, it becomes your everything https://twitter.com/miftah___ra/status/1322243129282457602
rei is the most lucid of the three. the least human, the most enlightened. and her only want is Nirvana, which she can never have because they keep resurrecting her
her struggle is the Buddha's struggle https://twitter.com/miftah___ra/status/1323578746134171649
her struggle is the Buddha's struggle https://twitter.com/miftah___ra/status/1323578746134171649
the show goes through each of them to capture the whole audience. existential angst in all its forms. with this we are now in their shoes, and so it can ask the question. the purpose of the "Human Instrumentality Project" is to ask the audience this question
many ways to frame the question, and i suspect they are all the same question essentially. my current iteration of it is:
would you wilfully cease to exist if it meant an end to your suffering
would you wilfully cease to exist if it meant an end to your suffering
the Self, product of society, craving 幸せ which is also socially generated. suffering is the default state, happiness is just an absence of suffering. the Hedonic Drive built to seek this
this is why "eternal happiness" doesn't make sense https://www.economica.id/2020/02/29/dr-sisyphus-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-hedonic-treadmill/
this is why "eternal happiness" doesn't make sense https://www.economica.id/2020/02/29/dr-sisyphus-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-hedonic-treadmill/
and what is shinji's answer?
the ending is absurd to the extreme, and this was tongue-in-cheek, i think. there is no way to interpret the final scene, which is to say you could interpret it in infinite ways
the ending is absurd to the extreme, and this was tongue-in-cheek, i think. there is no way to interpret the final scene, which is to say you could interpret it in infinite ways
the ending doesn't mean anything because the author cannot answer the question. there's no way to answer the question, Man is infinitely stuck on this logical loop
the unanswerable-ness of this is built into the nature of reality itself. おめでとう、because congratulations, we are back where we started, in bumfuck nowhere
but also maybe おめでとう because you can live your life better with this in mind, or something
but also maybe おめでとう because you can live your life better with this in mind, or something
given this, now i'm not sure if the biblical themes (read somewhere that NGE is supposedly a retelling of Genesis?) & other lore stuff even mean anything. feel like they didn't fill in the holes bcs it doesn't matter, they are only means to an end https://twitter.com/miftah___ra/status/1321914350441934848
