- This topic has 8 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 5 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Who or what (if anyone or anything) is in control in Perfect Blue? How do actions happen and what are their sources? Who or what is responsible for them?
Figal sensei, I have a migraine and I’m questioning everything that I know at this point. But I can’t answer these questions; I really don’t know where to even begin. I’ll be back in a day.
Niah, I hope the film didn’t instigate the migraine, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it did–sorry!
Rest up and come back to the questions later. They aren’t easy to respond to.Haha, the film was quite disturbing, I’d like to say it’s Kon’s most “traumatizing” work though not his weirdest.
A lot of people dictated the events in Perfect Blue, but what seemed to be the ultimate source of control in Perfect Blue (thus, Mima’s life) is the image of Mima, the pop idol. The plot of the film revolves around Mima trying to escape this image (“I want people to see me as Mima the actress”).
In one way, her former reputation as pop idol motivates her to do whatever she could to transition to becoming an actress rather than an idol, such as her agreeing to do the rape scene and photo shoots. In another way, it haunts her through Me Mania’s and Rumi’s actions.
This struggle of public identity which Mima went through, the transition from pop idol to actress, fueled her psychosis and the spiteful actions of former fans like Me Mania.Though not entirely relevant, I think it’s interesting to not that for most of the film, we see Mima being driven around by her managers, symbolizing her lack of control in her life. However, at the end, she is drove herself to visit Rumi, signifying her newfound sense of identity that she created for herself, not her fans, managers, peers, etc.
I agree…that Mima’s image of her ‘former’ pop idol self seemed to have dictated many of the events that followed in the film. Mima attempted to completely strip away this persona from herself–she wanted to rid herself of this identity as a pop idol. But, is that really possible? Just because you want to, and just because you try to, does that mean that you can strip away the different identities and personas of yourself? Mima will always be remembered by at least some people as a pop idol–she can’t just take those memories from people. As hard as she may try, she really can’t disconnect herself from the person and identity that she once was. Her fans will always remember that identity of hers. They will always claim memories of her as a pop idol, and even when they see different versions of Mima in the future–rookie actress, and acclaimed actress, even–they will always have memories of her singing on stage as a part of CHAM.
Because of Mima’s strong determination and motivation to move past her former self and become a different person, in a sense, she instigates the future actions of Me Mania and Rumi–and no, it is not in any way Mima’s fault for what Rumi did. Rumi becomes, or already was, mentally unstable and even develops a psychiatric syndrome. But, Rumi wasn’t ready to let go of Mima’s pop idol self, so badly that she deluded herself into thinking that she IS Mima, and that the true Mima that the viewers know, is a fake. This sets forth a series of actions, the murders, the stalking, the instillation of fear, and so much of the responsibility can fall onto Rumi.
But… it’s still hard to say. Mima might be wrong in trying to break herself apart from her former self, and with this thought in might, it could have been the catalyst for everything that happens in the film.
I agree with everyone else who has responded so far. I think her “pop idol” image was in control for most of the movie. I also think it was more reinforced by herself than anyone else. Her eagerness to quickly shed her pop idol image became a catalyst for her delusions. Although it was reinforced by different people: her fans, Rumi, Me-Mania, it was ultimately an internal fight the whole time. Especially after the rape scene that she does, she starts hallucinating her former pop idol self, who tells her that she’s “filthy” and “damaged.” This hallucination definitely sets her off into a steep downward spiral of delusions and doubt about her career. The delusions finally stop when she accepts her past self as a part of her rather than try to essentially erase her “pop idol image.” This is seen when Rumi chases her and nearly kills her, until Rumi accidentally impales herself with a glass shard and becomes debilitated in the street. When Mima saves Rumi/her formal pop idol self, to me, it symbolizes that she’s finally accepting that the pop idol portion of her life will always be a part of her. Rather than reject it and try to erase it, she should accept it. Once she saves Rumi, her hallucinations and delusions finally stopped.
Although I do agree with the earlier posts about Mima’s pop idol phase being in control, the media industry is ultimately the driving force of the anime. Mima’s pop idol image is a fabrication of the media; the countless cameras pointing at her and the decisions of the media executives shape Mima’s pop culture identity. Some characters (such as Rumi and Me-mania) become obsessed with this image of Mima and do everything in their power to preserve the pop idol aspect of Mima’s identity. When Mima changes her career path toward acting (and thus away from pop idol), the characters obsessed with the pop idol Mima begin to act and this drives the plot of the story. While Me-mania attempts to save the pop idol Mima by eliminating aspects of the actress Mima, Rumi takes a step further and becomes the embodiment of pop idol Mima (which is quite disturbing).
P.S. It is really hard to write about this anime.
I totally agree opinions above about Mima’s controlled life. Just like my response in the “Media Mima” topic, Mima’s career is planned by others instead of following her own willings. Others’ control over Mima’s life forces her to question her decisions and further her identity as an actress: Has she been an actual actress, or she is still a pop-idol sheathed by a hollow shell called “actress”?
As the movie deepens, Mima’s life is more and more involved with her former identity, which is especially the pop-idol identity Rumi and Me-mania create for her: during this period, she is always haunted by her past illusions, and she even has to look at the webpage “Mima’s House” to remember what exactly happens in the past. At this point, Mima is like a puppet manipulated by her former identity that overpowers her true self, and by her pop-idol identity that are “possessed on others,” such as Rumi and Me-Mania.The sources of being controlled can be generalized as Mima’s fear and Rumi/Me-mania’s obsession with Mima’s pop-idol identity. She fears to let others down, so she decides to sacrifice herself to proceed on her actress career that others had planned for her. She also fears that her former identity will override her current reality.
As for Rumi and Me-mania, they are people refusing to accept Mima’s drastic metamorphosis. In their perspectives, the current Mima as an actress is not the real one, while the real Mima is the former, and imagined figure as a pop-idol. Thus they exert their paranoid influences on Mima’s actual life through “Mima’s House.”
The question of who is in control of any series of events does not have a simple answer, at least not in the real world. In our realm, what happens around us is the product of billions of individual decisions and random events. Technically, this is not the case with the world of Perfect Blue, where Kon Satoshi is god. Yet within the context of the world itself, taken as though it were a real place outside the influence of a Japanese animation director with a taste for dark and confusing plots, there appears to be a clear dichotomy between the empowered and the powerless. Perhaps this is only true to the extent that Satoshi frames it, but it seems that Mima is, like the audience, along for the ride, subject to decisions made around her that she hardly participates in. Even when Mima makes decisions, they do not seem to be her own. The two visions of self that she is torn between are the imaginations of her mentors. Her future as an actress and career trajectory are plotted by her male agent, while her longing for a return to simpler times as a pop idol are manifested in the deranged, murderous alter ego that Rumi possesses. Mima is often as powerless as the viewer, damned to witness the horrors that unfold and question her sanity as the story progresses.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.