July 27th, 2013
Dystopian books
Anime Relations: Shinsekai yori, Psycho-Pass
[SPOILERS ALL OVER THE PLACE]
I’ve always liked the genre, so I was happy to get two animes like that in last fall’s lineup. Just for fun, here is a list of similarities between Psycho-Pass/Shinsekai Yori and some well-known dystopian books.
Psycho-Pass starts a lot like Minority Report, and then shifts to a storyline similar to that of This Perfect Day, all along with a hint of 1984. Here are the details.
- Minority Report: It goes without saying, in both works, the whole plot is about arresting criminals before they commit a murder. Some of the technologies are also similar in the two universes, like omniscient face scanners and floating screens. They even share a plot of stealing someone’s eyeball for biometrics purposes!
- This Perfect Day: In both universes, society is entirely regulated by a god-like computer system. In Psycho-Pass, they call it Sybil, whereas in This Perfect Day, they call it Unicomp. But it gets better: in both stories, the protagonist ends up discovering that the system is actually ruled by humans!
- 1984: In Psycho-Pass, the police/government can get private infos about anyone, and they have access to camera recordings from about everywhere. Put it another way, they are watching you, just like Big Brother was. Another similarity between both worlds is that the government controls the news.
I felt Shinsekai Yori had an original take on dystopian future. At least it was new to me, since I've never seen or read anything quite like it. Nevertheless, here are some books it shares charateristics with.
- This Perfect Day: The old lady says at one point that the kids were part of an experiment where their doses of medications were reduced to allow them - to a certain degree - to think freely. The society depicted in This Perfect Day also relies on drugs to numb its population into docility. The action then involves individuals who gain awareness by skipping their mandatory treatments. They see the world as it really is and decide to run away, like Maria did.
- Brave New World: It is heavily implied that the kids are brainwashed using hypnosis and other conditioning techniques. It reminded me of how children are educated in Brave New World. From the moment they are born, every child undergoes constant conditioning to produce wanted behaviors later in their life.
- Hunger Games: Both stories are set in some kind of post-apocalyptic future where the human population has decreased. People live in isolated districts, and the environment outside of these districts is hostile and forbidden. Also, humans use genetic engineering to create or alter animal species. We could even note that both stories feature oppressed people (in one case Katniss and in the other Queerats) rebelling against their oligarchical oppressors.
- Gattaca: Gattaca revolves around the whole question of eugenics. Humans are genetically engineered to create flawless individuals. Oppositely, in Shinsekai Yori, humans without cantus were genetically modified to look like animals. In both cases, the result is that weaker individuals are discriminated against, if not disposed of.
- Fahrenheit 451: Fahrenheit 451 was a blatant criticism of censorship. Just like it, Shinsekai Yori depicts a world where all books were forbidden and information was concealed.
Now, are there any similarities between the two animes themselves? They are miles apart in terms of universe and atmosphere, yet they both feature a resilient female lead (Saki was sought out for her exceptional mental stability, whereas Tsunemori always has a clear psycho-pass.), who does nothing to change the system in the end, even after learning the horrible truth behind it all. I think they put preserving the present order of society above everything else.
Obviously, beyond plots and universes, all these animes and books and movies share themes and sociopolitical commentaries. But that would make the object of an essay or something :P
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley (1932)
Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell (1949)
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (1953)
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins (2008)
The Minority Report, Philip K. Dick (1956)
This Peferct Day, Ira Levine (1970)
Gattaca is a 1997 movie written and directed by Andrew Niccol
I’ve always liked the genre, so I was happy to get two animes like that in last fall’s lineup. Just for fun, here is a list of similarities between Psycho-Pass/Shinsekai Yori and some well-known dystopian books.
Psycho-Pass starts a lot like Minority Report, and then shifts to a storyline similar to that of This Perfect Day, all along with a hint of 1984. Here are the details.
- Minority Report: It goes without saying, in both works, the whole plot is about arresting criminals before they commit a murder. Some of the technologies are also similar in the two universes, like omniscient face scanners and floating screens. They even share a plot of stealing someone’s eyeball for biometrics purposes!
- This Perfect Day: In both universes, society is entirely regulated by a god-like computer system. In Psycho-Pass, they call it Sybil, whereas in This Perfect Day, they call it Unicomp. But it gets better: in both stories, the protagonist ends up discovering that the system is actually ruled by humans!
- 1984: In Psycho-Pass, the police/government can get private infos about anyone, and they have access to camera recordings from about everywhere. Put it another way, they are watching you, just like Big Brother was. Another similarity between both worlds is that the government controls the news.
I felt Shinsekai Yori had an original take on dystopian future. At least it was new to me, since I've never seen or read anything quite like it. Nevertheless, here are some books it shares charateristics with.
- This Perfect Day: The old lady says at one point that the kids were part of an experiment where their doses of medications were reduced to allow them - to a certain degree - to think freely. The society depicted in This Perfect Day also relies on drugs to numb its population into docility. The action then involves individuals who gain awareness by skipping their mandatory treatments. They see the world as it really is and decide to run away, like Maria did.
- Brave New World: It is heavily implied that the kids are brainwashed using hypnosis and other conditioning techniques. It reminded me of how children are educated in Brave New World. From the moment they are born, every child undergoes constant conditioning to produce wanted behaviors later in their life.
- Hunger Games: Both stories are set in some kind of post-apocalyptic future where the human population has decreased. People live in isolated districts, and the environment outside of these districts is hostile and forbidden. Also, humans use genetic engineering to create or alter animal species. We could even note that both stories feature oppressed people (in one case Katniss and in the other Queerats) rebelling against their oligarchical oppressors.
- Gattaca: Gattaca revolves around the whole question of eugenics. Humans are genetically engineered to create flawless individuals. Oppositely, in Shinsekai Yori, humans without cantus were genetically modified to look like animals. In both cases, the result is that weaker individuals are discriminated against, if not disposed of.
- Fahrenheit 451: Fahrenheit 451 was a blatant criticism of censorship. Just like it, Shinsekai Yori depicts a world where all books were forbidden and information was concealed.
Now, are there any similarities between the two animes themselves? They are miles apart in terms of universe and atmosphere, yet they both feature a resilient female lead (Saki was sought out for her exceptional mental stability, whereas Tsunemori always has a clear psycho-pass.), who does nothing to change the system in the end, even after learning the horrible truth behind it all. I think they put preserving the present order of society above everything else.
Obviously, beyond plots and universes, all these animes and books and movies share themes and sociopolitical commentaries. But that would make the object of an essay or something :P
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley (1932)
Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell (1949)
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury (1953)
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins (2008)
The Minority Report, Philip K. Dick (1956)
This Peferct Day, Ira Levine (1970)
Gattaca is a 1997 movie written and directed by Andrew Niccol
Posted by Flashmud | Jul 27, 2013 2:16 AM | 1 comments
May 25th, 2013
Soylent green is people!
Anime Relations: Shinsekai yori
Let's talk about the resolution of Shinsekai Yori. That ending. That revelation. Did anyone else feel like running around screaming "Soylent Green is people!" ?
OK, not exactly the same concept here, but equally shocking! Probably more. I was flabbergasted.
[In case anybody reads this, this post is technically not a spoiler, because all I'm saying is that something shocking is revealed by the end.]
OK, not exactly the same concept here, but equally shocking! Probably more. I was flabbergasted.
[In case anybody reads this, this post is technically not a spoiler, because all I'm saying is that something shocking is revealed by the end.]
Posted by Flashmud | May 25, 2013 9:42 PM | 0 comments
Super cut and literate man needed
Anime Relations: Psycho-Pass
Seriously, what’s up with badass guys reading philosophy books between body building sessions? Is that something anyone can relate to?
Yes, it was absolutely relevant to include quotes from various philosophers, but isn’t there a way to do so without making your characters casually speak them at gunpoint?
They pulled the same thing in Zetsuen no Tempest where our two rebel boys kept quoting Shakespeares. Is that such a common thing?
Yes, it was absolutely relevant to include quotes from various philosophers, but isn’t there a way to do so without making your characters casually speak them at gunpoint?
They pulled the same thing in Zetsuen no Tempest where our two rebel boys kept quoting Shakespeares. Is that such a common thing?
Posted by Flashmud | May 25, 2013 4:08 PM | 0 comments