The movie Akira follows the theme that a corrupt city is made that way by the people who manage it. It plays on the fear that the government is involved in projects that have the potential to harm those that they are supposed to be governing. The citizens in Neo-Tokyo don’t seem to feel the need to follow a government that cannot do its duty to the people. There are no respectable political figures in the movie, and even the military is treading on dangerous ground that has the potential to harm more than just one person. The military’s genetic experiments within the story were led by individuals who did not seem to care that their work was hurting the people that they were testing them on and that necessary precautions must be taken when an experiment is being pushed that far. Then there are also the ethical ramifications. Even if Tetsuo would have agreed to the experiments, would it have been right to put that much power in the hands of a child?
I feel as if Tetsuo’s final transformation reflects how power has the ability to corrupt a person completely. Tetsuo was unstable before the experiments began and the consuming power didn’t do anything to improve that state. The power that he was given not only changed his personality, but it also had a very damaging effect on him physically. In the end, he’s completely unrecognizable from the person he was in the beginning of the film.
I think that one of the most interesting things about the character Akira was the different reactions that he inspired from the people in Neo-Tokyo. Akira was kept a mystery for most of the movie so the only explanation of what he was is hinted throughout the film by other characters, and even then the viewers are not given a complete clarification. The government saw Akira as something that should be feared, experimented on, and considered dangerous. They created Akira, but at the same time they were the ones that tore him apart. However, the citizens within Tokyo seemed to see Akira as a savior from a corrupt government. To them, Akira is a sign of rebellion that can be used to support their cause.
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Dear Destiny,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog on the anime movie Akira. You took a different approach then I did on my blog. In your blog you talked more about the corruption that was all throughout the movie. Personally reading your blog made me feel as though I was reading a professional blog on the movie. I feel that someone who hasn’t even seen the movie could read your blog and understand the movie. I would have to say that my favorite part of your blog was your last paragraph. Your paragraph on Akira was moving. You talked about the mystery of Akira. I’m glad you mentioned that throughout the movie the characters hinted about Akira but the audience wasn’t really sure who Akira was. That was a small but important detail and I’m glad you put it in. I just wanted to say one last time that I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog, it made me think more about the movie. I might even watch the movie again.