Feb 7, 2011 9:28 AM
23 & 24
(Contains heavy spoilers for Cowboy Bebop Sessions 23 and 24)
I was bored Saturday night/Sunday morning, and found myself tuning into the Adult Swim anime block. I'm not really a fan - they show the same thing over and over - but it's a decent way to pass the time when compared to my usual sit-still-with-a-glossy-look-over-my-eyes-then-fall-asleep routine.
Part of the reason that I tuned in was because the 4th and 3rd to last Cowboy Bebop episodes were on. I have long maintained that the last four episodes of Bebop might just be the best seqeuntial four episodes of any anime I have yet seen. The only one that may contest that is the wonderful work "Kuuchuu Buranko." But after seeing episodes 23 and 24 of Bebop, for what has to be at least the 6th time, I am inclined to say that it just doesn't get any better, and might never.
One of the first things I find interesting about both these episodes is that, on a show often predicated on action, these two episodes are almost entirely action free. Episode 23, for all intents and purposes, is.
For those who need a quick brain jog; episode 23 - or should I say Session 23 - is Brain Scratch. Let me begin by posting the opening dialogue, a statement by one Dr. Londes.
"What is a physical body? The body is merely an object. It is an existence all too impure to store the gods within us called souls. Now you will remember. The blood stained history! Material desire. Hunger. Sexual drive. Desire to dominate. Desire for fame. As long as there is a body, desires will be born. As long as there is desire, human ego will not disappear. Humans will continue to fight to fulfill their bodies' desires, and it will never end. At this rate, there is no future! Now awaken your soul! Now be rid of that filthy body!"
Cowboy Bebop is a lot of things; classy, sleek, well-produced. But it is rarely anything more than a really, really well-done space western. Brain Scratch changes all of that, for at least one 24 minute segment.
Dr. Londes is modelled in part after Marshall Applewhite, the, for lack of better ways to describe him, batshit crazy founder and leader of the Heaven's Gate cult that led to the mass suicide of 39 people in 1997.
I don't want to paint a black and white picture here, and neither does Cowboy Bebop. Dr. Londes, in this session, is the leader of a religious cult that seeks to essentially "digitize" the human brain as data and upload it to the internet, allowing the human soul to exist forever, free of the confines of the human body. He is not exactly a role model. But while Marshall Applewhite is totally batshit crazy, Londes has moments where you can sympathize... almost. Maybe.
Being a Japanese animation, and considering the influence Buddhism has had on Japanese society, it's easy to see some carry over. Notice the reference to "human ego" in the opening statement by Londes. Portraying desire as flaws. While the latter is not exclusively Buddhist, the idea of an unchanging ego mostly is. Buddhism holds that an unchanging ego (Ātman) is a direct result of ignorance. Ignorance is, in turn, the source of suffering. An enlightened person, one who's ego or self is highly developed, is no longer at the mercy of desire.
And yet, there is also something deeply humanist about the SCRATCH cult Londes founds. Mortality is something we all have to face at some point, and the idea of transcending it is incredibly appealing to many, many people.
In this day and age, it's also easy to seen some comparisons to Scientology; the aggressive recruiting, the steps taken to be admitted, etc. But I don't think that SCRATCH is as crude or criminal. To an extent. When Dr. Londes is asked about why so many members of SCRATCH are committing suicide, he falls back on the argument that he is not forcing anyone to do anything. And he isn't. But it doesn't take a PhD to recognize the persuasive power of religion on people (later on, we do learn that he has essentially murdered people in an unrelated case, which basically casts any sympathy for him aside).
This is a wonderful episode though, and the technology aspect is great too. The "brain uploading" I alluded to earlier is done through, of all things, a brand new virtual reality gaming system. But this is one that directly "taps" into your brain; you are in the game, your thoughts control it.
The mix of internet recruiting, video games, and savvy marketing of SCRATCH portrayed by Cowboy Bebop seems way ahead of its time, considering the show is a 20th century production.
Londes is also a bit of an odd-one... well, duh. But his SCRATCH group has a couple statements on various religious beliefs:
"What lies beyond that [death]? Heaven? Hell? Reincarnation? Such things cannot possibly exist. Those are mere excuses..."
"Why do you think people believe in God? It's because they want to. It's not easy living in this rotten world. There is nothing certain while living on in this world. Do you get it? God didn't create humans. Humans created God."
Londes' biggest beef is actually, though, television, which he claims has become a religion. His rant about television isn't particularly new or revolutionary, but it's just one part of Londes. And, considering the end, it becomes a facet of a complex case.
You see, Dr Londes isn't "real." That is, he is not a person. He never was. Dr. Londes is the creation, or dream, of a 15 year old boy in a constant vegetative state for two years after a medical accident, a former hacker who was hooked up to a brain reading device much like the aforementioned video game. He then used this to create Dr. Londes and put forth his ideals through the creation of SCRATCH.
Dr. Londes is eventually "shut down," screaming for life, ironically, as his existence is erased.
Session 23 ends up being an incredible mix of religion, technology, mortality, self-doubt, and some good old fashioned soul searching. It evolves Bebop, for a moment, into a much more reflective, introspective show.
Session 24 is radically different and yet eerily similar. It once again forgoes action, but packs much more of an emotional punch. And that's it. Really. Faye Valentine begins to wonder where she belongs. As Call Me, Call Me blazed out from my speakers, I felt a deep sadness well up in me when Spike and Jet looked on at Ed's "Bye Bye" message. Ed is one of my favorite characters of all time; a goofy, original antidote to sexualization and stereotypes, a tomboyish girl, sometimes a boy, with a flair for technology and hacking. Her leaving begins the somersault of emotions that is the conclusion of Cowboy Bebop.
See you cowgirl, someday, somewhere.
Sadly, we might never again.
I was bored Saturday night/Sunday morning, and found myself tuning into the Adult Swim anime block. I'm not really a fan - they show the same thing over and over - but it's a decent way to pass the time when compared to my usual sit-still-with-a-glossy-look-over-my-eyes-then-fall-asleep routine.
Part of the reason that I tuned in was because the 4th and 3rd to last Cowboy Bebop episodes were on. I have long maintained that the last four episodes of Bebop might just be the best seqeuntial four episodes of any anime I have yet seen. The only one that may contest that is the wonderful work "Kuuchuu Buranko." But after seeing episodes 23 and 24 of Bebop, for what has to be at least the 6th time, I am inclined to say that it just doesn't get any better, and might never.
One of the first things I find interesting about both these episodes is that, on a show often predicated on action, these two episodes are almost entirely action free. Episode 23, for all intents and purposes, is.
For those who need a quick brain jog; episode 23 - or should I say Session 23 - is Brain Scratch. Let me begin by posting the opening dialogue, a statement by one Dr. Londes.
"What is a physical body? The body is merely an object. It is an existence all too impure to store the gods within us called souls. Now you will remember. The blood stained history! Material desire. Hunger. Sexual drive. Desire to dominate. Desire for fame. As long as there is a body, desires will be born. As long as there is desire, human ego will not disappear. Humans will continue to fight to fulfill their bodies' desires, and it will never end. At this rate, there is no future! Now awaken your soul! Now be rid of that filthy body!"
Cowboy Bebop is a lot of things; classy, sleek, well-produced. But it is rarely anything more than a really, really well-done space western. Brain Scratch changes all of that, for at least one 24 minute segment.
Dr. Londes is modelled in part after Marshall Applewhite, the, for lack of better ways to describe him, batshit crazy founder and leader of the Heaven's Gate cult that led to the mass suicide of 39 people in 1997.
I don't want to paint a black and white picture here, and neither does Cowboy Bebop. Dr. Londes, in this session, is the leader of a religious cult that seeks to essentially "digitize" the human brain as data and upload it to the internet, allowing the human soul to exist forever, free of the confines of the human body. He is not exactly a role model. But while Marshall Applewhite is totally batshit crazy, Londes has moments where you can sympathize... almost. Maybe.
Being a Japanese animation, and considering the influence Buddhism has had on Japanese society, it's easy to see some carry over. Notice the reference to "human ego" in the opening statement by Londes. Portraying desire as flaws. While the latter is not exclusively Buddhist, the idea of an unchanging ego mostly is. Buddhism holds that an unchanging ego (Ātman) is a direct result of ignorance. Ignorance is, in turn, the source of suffering. An enlightened person, one who's ego or self is highly developed, is no longer at the mercy of desire.
And yet, there is also something deeply humanist about the SCRATCH cult Londes founds. Mortality is something we all have to face at some point, and the idea of transcending it is incredibly appealing to many, many people.
In this day and age, it's also easy to seen some comparisons to Scientology; the aggressive recruiting, the steps taken to be admitted, etc. But I don't think that SCRATCH is as crude or criminal. To an extent. When Dr. Londes is asked about why so many members of SCRATCH are committing suicide, he falls back on the argument that he is not forcing anyone to do anything. And he isn't. But it doesn't take a PhD to recognize the persuasive power of religion on people (later on, we do learn that he has essentially murdered people in an unrelated case, which basically casts any sympathy for him aside).
This is a wonderful episode though, and the technology aspect is great too. The "brain uploading" I alluded to earlier is done through, of all things, a brand new virtual reality gaming system. But this is one that directly "taps" into your brain; you are in the game, your thoughts control it.
The mix of internet recruiting, video games, and savvy marketing of SCRATCH portrayed by Cowboy Bebop seems way ahead of its time, considering the show is a 20th century production.
Londes is also a bit of an odd-one... well, duh. But his SCRATCH group has a couple statements on various religious beliefs:
"What lies beyond that [death]? Heaven? Hell? Reincarnation? Such things cannot possibly exist. Those are mere excuses..."
"Why do you think people believe in God? It's because they want to. It's not easy living in this rotten world. There is nothing certain while living on in this world. Do you get it? God didn't create humans. Humans created God."
Londes' biggest beef is actually, though, television, which he claims has become a religion. His rant about television isn't particularly new or revolutionary, but it's just one part of Londes. And, considering the end, it becomes a facet of a complex case.
You see, Dr Londes isn't "real." That is, he is not a person. He never was. Dr. Londes is the creation, or dream, of a 15 year old boy in a constant vegetative state for two years after a medical accident, a former hacker who was hooked up to a brain reading device much like the aforementioned video game. He then used this to create Dr. Londes and put forth his ideals through the creation of SCRATCH.
Dr. Londes is eventually "shut down," screaming for life, ironically, as his existence is erased.
Session 23 ends up being an incredible mix of religion, technology, mortality, self-doubt, and some good old fashioned soul searching. It evolves Bebop, for a moment, into a much more reflective, introspective show.
Session 24 is radically different and yet eerily similar. It once again forgoes action, but packs much more of an emotional punch. And that's it. Really. Faye Valentine begins to wonder where she belongs. As Call Me, Call Me blazed out from my speakers, I felt a deep sadness well up in me when Spike and Jet looked on at Ed's "Bye Bye" message. Ed is one of my favorite characters of all time; a goofy, original antidote to sexualization and stereotypes, a tomboyish girl, sometimes a boy, with a flair for technology and hacking. Her leaving begins the somersault of emotions that is the conclusion of Cowboy Bebop.
See you cowgirl, someday, somewhere.
Sadly, we might never again.
Posted by
GoodEnoughForMe
| Feb 7, 2011 9:28 AM |
Add a comment