I wonder I wonder what it's like to live in a world of ever-perpetuating conflict. I wonder what it's like to live in a world with an unstoppable entity, one that will ensure the destruction and misery of billions of lives, sometimes for selfish unexplainable reasons, sometimes for no reason whatsoever. I wonder what it's like to feel powerless, faced with this *entity* knowing that it *is* there, but not knowing what it is.
The truth is, this is not me insinuating the similarities between a world that is ours and a world that is Attack on Titans', but rather, I'd argue that AOT's is happier. They got a happy ending- or did they?
When I first started watching this show, I was mesmerized by not only the story-telling techniques used but also the perfect telling of symbolism whatever it was. But, I never really got down to actually structuring my interpretations of the show, in some sort of one big chunk of text. So, here I am, doing just that.
The show starts showing us the smaller picture, 3 friends (Eren, Mikasa, and Armin), Mikasa living with Eren's parents. They're happy a bit- leading simple lives in a village surrounded by walls.
Eren represents a natural entity, like a weather pattern, that forces conflict upon the world, in pursuit of some sort of equilibrium that this very entity does not comprehend.
Armin represents the idealism, the pursuit of the beyond and of the better, that creates an imbalance in the first place. Idealism is necessary for a search for equilibrium.
Mikasa is the embodiment of the power that enables any fruition of the equilibrium. Conflict will not be realised without this power.
But, they're happy. They're ignorant, and I'd argue that it is quite possible ignorance was the correct path for this epic of a storyline, but for the sake of realism, I'll leave that in the basement for now (see what I did there?).
Now this is a technique that's always on my mind whilst watching this show; the idea that Isayama starts from a magnified version of the world. 3 friends are given complexity, family, and trauma, and then they are multiplied. They meet other children with similar traumas, complexity, and background, but with some differences.
It's a small circle, that expands to engulf more details, each detail slightly more different than the one before, totally eliminating the need to start over. Hence, we don't need to see the backstory of Connie and Sasha to be able to tell what they went through, we don't need many flashbacks into their lives to tell how deep their friendship and connection are. It's already been established with Eren, Mikasa and Armin. We already understand that everyone went through some sort of trauma, and was brought up in similar environments. Of course, some variables change, but then the equation is the same.
We are then introduced to the scout regiment, an older generation, with countless healed wounds, and possibly many more unhealed. They have the mature rage that the kids don't. They're the dead skin, ready to fall off as the new skin takes its place. The circle is getting bigger, as we're introduced to significant characters such as Erwin, Levi, and Hange.
Erwin is an idealist, the difference between him and Armin is that he has a closer horizon, for his will to continue whatever he started, will disappear as he reaches the horizon. Armin's however is more abstract, for it will continue as long as he lives. Abstract idealism is very unlikely to fade away instantly when a certain goal is reached. Erwin also happens to be more able to let go of his emotions when it comes to sacrificing for the greater goal, which is why it was much easier for him to forgo human lives when it was necessary when it possibly wouldn't have been the case for someone like Armin. Erwin's idealism was needed up to a certain point, and then it was either him or Armin, and that's when Levi made his choice, and it was the correct choice. Erwin's idealism was to take him no further than the basement. The moment he finds the truth is going to be the moment he is lost for the first time in his life, for the last was before his father was killed for having forbidden information, and he pledges to find the truth. His story started somewhere and ended just before the end. And, that, was the right choice.
Levi is.. humanity's strongest warrior.
Hange is the sense of wonder, the exploratory idealism. She does care about humanity, and about titans and all that is happening, but to her, what she wanted to achieve is to learn, and to know.
If you haven't noticed, leading the scout regiment, humanity's way out of the world, or maybe into the world, requires idealism, which I believe is a main theme of the show.
More characters are introduced, more titans are introduced, we are told of a world beyond the world, we are told of a parallel world, with parallel characters, but they do converge don't they? We don't have to learn about this new world, for now, we should have gotten used to the pattern of a growing circle. The world of Marley, is just as complex as that of Eldia, possibly much more.
Eldians on Marleyan soil are second-class citizens. Treated in the worst ways possible, forced to wear an armband to identify them from the others. We then learn about how they're being punished for what their ancestors did ages ago, and how the Eldians are actually devils, having to live a hell of a life as revenge for what they did not do- How ironic. Now, the control of information and propaganda portrayed in the show, is honestly realistic, well explained, and well developed, showing that it is plausible to fall for the lies and to believe in certain ideals, that, for a neutral observer may seem absurd, but that's exactly the point.
Sonder is the realisation that all bypassers on the street have their own complex lives and aren't just faces that serve our own perspectives. Their world is as big as ours. What this show should make people realise is that our enemies, countries and nations, are as complex as ours. They are as right as we are, and just as wrong as we are.
It is also hard to hate any of them. It just makes sense what they all feel and yet it's so wrong. The way this is executed is taken way further in every single episode and it's not the hype and excitement induced by fights and battles that make this a good show, it's how we "feel" the characters and apply our own moral stances to situations we are never gonna experience and yet finding them relatable and understandable.
This is why I think the growing circle is perfect. The shift of perspective is not sudden, but rather, gradual.
Think about this. Let's say that Attack on Titan is a closed system. Compared to the real world, AOT's world is simple enough to understand because it's just a show. The question is, what did any of us wish for when we had Eren's perspective, and what did any of us wish for in the end? The show does shift our very own image of idealism when it comes to a very simple world. What if, this was applied to the real world? One is incapable of such a change of perspective, or at least it's much seen, and even harder to believe.
The perspective changes, and now everyone is trying to save the world, what's left of it, at least. The friends who become enemies, are once again, friends, fighting alongside one another for the right cause. But, what is the right cause? Why is Eren doing what he's doing in the first place? I don't think it matters. In fact, I think it's better that he's portrayed as just a plot device, rather than a proper character, for that IS exactly what is. He's just a once in a 2000 years lighter that just so happens to be the one to light all the matches. Before it was Ymir, and in 2000 years it's the kid in the finale. This makes me want to shed the light on something though. Attack on Titan is not a story, but rather, a formula, one that shows how human conflict, how human though progresses, and falls, and then progresses, and then falls. It describes a cycle. But then, many shows, many books do that right? I don't think that they do in the same way. I think that AOT is not reflection of reality but rather a proof of reality. It shows one cycle of many, one that does indeed differ than the one we have, but does it really?
I appreciate that it offers no solution, I appreciate that it shows how insignificant one cycle is, for 3 minutes in the credits when it's a show we've been watching for a decade. It just so shows how insignificant our circle is, furthering not only the radius of the story's circle but also it's temporality. The circle is now infinite, with nothing really of what we've seen making that big of a difference. Had it not happened, it would've been the same, for it is a never ending circle. Who knows, maybe 4000 years ago was the kid who died leaving something for Ymir. We'll never know, and it'll never matter, as that was never the point.
The truth is, this is not me insinuating the similarities between a world that is ours and a world that is Attack on Titans', but rather, I'd argue that AOT's is happier. They got a happy ending- or did they?
When I first started watching this show, I was mesmerized by not only the story-telling techniques used but also the perfect telling of symbolism whatever it was. But, I never really got down to actually structuring my interpretations of the show, in some sort of one big chunk of text. So, here I am, doing just that.
The show starts showing us the smaller picture, 3 friends (Eren, Mikasa, and Armin), Mikasa living with Eren's parents. They're happy a bit- leading simple lives in a village surrounded by walls.
Eren represents a natural entity, like a weather pattern, that forces conflict upon the world, in pursuit of some sort of equilibrium that this very entity does not comprehend.
Armin represents the idealism, the pursuit of the beyond and of the better, that creates an imbalance in the first place. Idealism is necessary for a search for equilibrium.
Mikasa is the embodiment of the power that enables any fruition of the equilibrium. Conflict will not be realised without this power.
But, they're happy. They're ignorant, and I'd argue that it is quite possible ignorance was the correct path for this epic of a storyline, but for the sake of realism, I'll leave that in the basement for now (see what I did there?).
Now this is a technique that's always on my mind whilst watching this show; the idea that Isayama starts from a magnified version of the world. 3 friends are given complexity, family, and trauma, and then they are multiplied. They meet other children with similar traumas, complexity, and background, but with some differences.
It's a small circle, that expands to engulf more details, each detail slightly more different than the one before, totally eliminating the need to start over. Hence, we don't need to see the backstory of Connie and Sasha to be able to tell what they went through, we don't need many flashbacks into their lives to tell how deep their friendship and connection are. It's already been established with Eren, Mikasa and Armin. We already understand that everyone went through some sort of trauma, and was brought up in similar environments. Of course, some variables change, but then the equation is the same.
We are then introduced to the scout regiment, an older generation, with countless healed wounds, and possibly many more unhealed. They have the mature rage that the kids don't. They're the dead skin, ready to fall off as the new skin takes its place. The circle is getting bigger, as we're introduced to significant characters such as Erwin, Levi, and Hange.
Erwin is an idealist, the difference between him and Armin is that he has a closer horizon, for his will to continue whatever he started, will disappear as he reaches the horizon. Armin's however is more abstract, for it will continue as long as he lives. Abstract idealism is very unlikely to fade away instantly when a certain goal is reached. Erwin also happens to be more able to let go of his emotions when it comes to sacrificing for the greater goal, which is why it was much easier for him to forgo human lives when it was necessary when it possibly wouldn't have been the case for someone like Armin. Erwin's idealism was needed up to a certain point, and then it was either him or Armin, and that's when Levi made his choice, and it was the correct choice. Erwin's idealism was to take him no further than the basement. The moment he finds the truth is going to be the moment he is lost for the first time in his life, for the last was before his father was killed for having forbidden information, and he pledges to find the truth. His story started somewhere and ended just before the end. And, that, was the right choice.
Levi is.. humanity's strongest warrior.
Hange is the sense of wonder, the exploratory idealism. She does care about humanity, and about titans and all that is happening, but to her, what she wanted to achieve is to learn, and to know.
If you haven't noticed, leading the scout regiment, humanity's way out of the world, or maybe into the world, requires idealism, which I believe is a main theme of the show.
More characters are introduced, more titans are introduced, we are told of a world beyond the world, we are told of a parallel world, with parallel characters, but they do converge don't they? We don't have to learn about this new world, for now, we should have gotten used to the pattern of a growing circle. The world of Marley, is just as complex as that of Eldia, possibly much more.
Eldians on Marleyan soil are second-class citizens. Treated in the worst ways possible, forced to wear an armband to identify them from the others. We then learn about how they're being punished for what their ancestors did ages ago, and how the Eldians are actually devils, having to live a hell of a life as revenge for what they did not do- How ironic. Now, the control of information and propaganda portrayed in the show, is honestly realistic, well explained, and well developed, showing that it is plausible to fall for the lies and to believe in certain ideals, that, for a neutral observer may seem absurd, but that's exactly the point.
Sonder is the realisation that all bypassers on the street have their own complex lives and aren't just faces that serve our own perspectives. Their world is as big as ours. What this show should make people realise is that our enemies, countries and nations, are as complex as ours. They are as right as we are, and just as wrong as we are.
It is also hard to hate any of them. It just makes sense what they all feel and yet it's so wrong. The way this is executed is taken way further in every single episode and it's not the hype and excitement induced by fights and battles that make this a good show, it's how we "feel" the characters and apply our own moral stances to situations we are never gonna experience and yet finding them relatable and understandable.
This is why I think the growing circle is perfect. The shift of perspective is not sudden, but rather, gradual.
Think about this. Let's say that Attack on Titan is a closed system. Compared to the real world, AOT's world is simple enough to understand because it's just a show. The question is, what did any of us wish for when we had Eren's perspective, and what did any of us wish for in the end? The show does shift our very own image of idealism when it comes to a very simple world. What if, this was applied to the real world? One is incapable of such a change of perspective, or at least it's much seen, and even harder to believe.
The perspective changes, and now everyone is trying to save the world, what's left of it, at least. The friends who become enemies, are once again, friends, fighting alongside one another for the right cause. But, what is the right cause? Why is Eren doing what he's doing in the first place? I don't think it matters. In fact, I think it's better that he's portrayed as just a plot device, rather than a proper character, for that IS exactly what is. He's just a once in a 2000 years lighter that just so happens to be the one to light all the matches. Before it was Ymir, and in 2000 years it's the kid in the finale. This makes me want to shed the light on something though. Attack on Titan is not a story, but rather, a formula, one that shows how human conflict, how human though progresses, and falls, and then progresses, and then falls. It describes a cycle. But then, many shows, many books do that right? I don't think that they do in the same way. I think that AOT is not reflection of reality but rather a proof of reality. It shows one cycle of many, one that does indeed differ than the one we have, but does it really?
I appreciate that it offers no solution, I appreciate that it shows how insignificant one cycle is, for 3 minutes in the credits when it's a show we've been watching for a decade. It just so shows how insignificant our circle is, furthering not only the radius of the story's circle but also it's temporality. The circle is now infinite, with nothing really of what we've seen making that big of a difference. Had it not happened, it would've been the same, for it is a never ending circle. Who knows, maybe 4000 years ago was the kid who died leaving something for Ymir. We'll never know, and it'll never matter, as that was never the point.