Tuesday, May 19, 2020

The Sociology of Akira




INTRODUCTION
            Since its release in 1988, Katsuhiro Otomo’s film Akira changed the cultural landscape for animation. A film that showed the possibilities of hand drawn animation at a time when animation itself was not validated, especially in the west. Because of this, many people consider Akira to not only be a seminal work in the genre, but also one of the greatest films ever created[1]. In this essay, I will be taking a more Sociological approach to Otomo’s Magnum Opus, focusing on the historical and cultural impact of the film while trying to wrestle with the complex and sociologically relevant themes the film presents.




PLOT
Set 31 years after WWIII that was sparked by the “Akira Event” in 1988. The 2019 city of Neo Tokyo is beset by biker gangs, civil unrest, and a society that is under military control. We are introduced to Kaneda, the teenage leader of the biker gang known as “The Pills” and his best friend and fellow gang member Tetsuo. During an ensuing battle with their rivals “The Clowns”, Tetsuo is injured when he comes in contact with a fleeing child that is part of a government/military experiment into psychic weapons (called ESPERS). Upon retrieval of the subject, Tetsuo is also taken and experimented on by the Government. As a result of this experimentation, Tetsuo begins to unlock unimaginable power. As that power grows, Tetsuo begins to wreak havoc across the city looking for the answer to the question “Who is Akira”? In the end, it will take Kaneda, a resistance fighter named Kei and the ESPERS to stop him. 



HISTORICAL CONTEXT

 The creation of Akira can be traced back to the cultural and generational responses to WWII, and Japan’s obsession with atomic imagery afterward. After its release, the film takes on a life of its own becoming a source of inspiration as a cultural product.          


 Military and fear of Youth  
            After WWII, the Japanese signed a treaty that forced their army to be disbanded. This lead to the Article 9 Amendment to the Japanese constitution during US occupation.

 It states:
  1. .      Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes
  2. .      In order to accomplish the aim of the proceeding paragraph, land sea and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained


 The interpretation of this article defined japan as a pacifist nation for several years. However, in 1954 there was an establishment of a regulatory agency and police force that would eventually become The Japanese Ministry of defense and the Japan Self Defense Forces. Slowly, over the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, the existence and expansion of the military and the police force was rationalized. This came to a head in 2014, when it was ruled that the Japanese Police Force could defend allies and themselves in times of war; effectively ending the idea of a pacifist nation through these broad changes. 
            Created in 1988, Akira is barely one generation removed from WWII. Thus, the depiction of the military is a cautionary tale. Since there were those that still vividly remembered the horrors of war, it makes since that their depiction of a Military totalitarianism in the pop culture future of Akira would be equally bleak. This is illustrated in the film’s first major sequence. As Takashi, #26 is fleeing with his liberator, we learn about protests against military control and the existence of an anti-government resistance movement.  Additionally, we see images and hear passing references to a military curfew through martial law, roadblock checkpoints, and a military style coup ( more on this later). While a lot of this is atmospheric to the overall plot of the film, the viewer understands the palpable fear and an air of mistrust the people have for the military institution and military officers Otomo had, which was shared by other creators at the time (look at the other work by famed animators Takahata and Miyazaki).
            This fear of government authoritarianism was so strong in the generation born in the shadow of WWII (1946-1970) that there was an engrained cultural norm of governmental distrust especially in the youth culture which was strongly anti-nationalistic. Therefore, creators of this generation feature young and or teenage protagonists while the government or some other institution (usually a corporation) is depicted as the antagonist[2]. There is a sense here that within the cultural product, the governmental distrust is refracted, depicting a fear of the youth culture by the government. Thus, a lot of stories from creators of this time show the government suppression of the youth or a lack of understanding of the youth by the government (again through the work of Takahata and Miyazaki)  In Akira, this is clearly visible through the interactions the government and the military have with the teenage bikers. The soldiers are ready to use deadly force when they first encounter them Then, the government interrogates them twice: first through the police, then again through corporal punishment by their vocational school Principal.



Atomic Imagery

A lot of the imagery and state of society (specifically Tokyo) in the opening of AKIRA has its roots in the cultural and social impact of the violence of World War II, specifically the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended the Japanese involvement in the war. Since Aug 6th, and August 9th 1945 the Japanese, in their fiction and popular culture, have been fascinated with the imagery of the atomic bomb as a form of collective coping strategy.
Frank Fuller, political Science professor at Villanova University investigates this in his article “ The Deep influence of the A-Bomb on Anime and Manga.”  In it he mentions that Akira is not the only film to reflect the imagery of the atomic bomb and its fall out, but many creators living through and in the shadow of WWII also were fascinated with the same image.  In fact, the image has permeated the consciousness of Japan so completely that 75 years later creators are still coming back to it. From Direct allegories like Godzilla and Barefoot Gen, to the litany of more subtle imagery that encompasses a lot of  more current anime from Naruto and My Hero Academia to One Punch Man and Demon Slayer all incorporate the same or similar imagery of the atomic bomb.
 However, the importance of the A-bomb in Japanese popular culture extends beyond just the visuals of the explosion. Often Japanese works of fiction deal with the social, economic, and political fallout of the bomb in addition to its radioactive tendencies. The subjects of orphans, radiation mutation of plants, animals, and people, a lack of trust of technology and hope being born out of tragedy.  The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki transformed popular culture of Japan and through global distribution has allowed other cultures to understand the enormity of such an event, and the strength one needs to have to survive it.

Cultural Relativity

   Any piece of media that is created carries with it the cultural, social, and historical context in which it was created. These products then become a measurement for several social, political and social issues at the time of creation, regardless of the themes each work has, or the meaning they are trying to convey. Therefore, the standards by which we judge these cultural products should take this into account. In Sociology, we call this process cultural relativity. This is the process by which individuals evaluate a piece of media (or other cultural products) by the standards at the time it was created without judging it by the standards of the current or different (international) culture.
While the process of cultural relativity is important there is a strong criticism that needs mentioning. If one fully adopts cultural relativity completely, without exception, then an individual could explain away any behavior, regardless of the type of behavior, or what it represents. We see this type of rationalization in all parts of society especially around people’s behaviors. Someone will say “Oh, it was a different time, back then.” Or “They are just a product of their times.” Usually these rationalizations are not being culturally relative, but instead are using it as a shield against criticism.  A specific example of this is when the public attempt to use this to rationalize individual behavior. Unlike media, individuals are not trapped in amber, sealed as a relic of history. As humans we have the ability to grow and change as we learn and accept new realities and truths that we did not before Thus, trying to use this to explain away behavior (that is usually racist and sexist) of people is at the very least problematic, and at most, tacitly accepting bigotry. Additionally, even while there is a separation between behavior and product when invoking cultural relativity that does not mean that the product is free from historical scrutiny.
While cultural relativity is important to understand a product’s cultural place in history, the cultural product can be scrutinized by “not aging well” or to be downright canceled[3] as social and political values have shifted and even progressed. This is a debate that has continued into our contemporary culture. The line of acceptable and offensiveness seems to be one of personal taste. However, there is some merit to our ability to resistance cultural norms, and depending how present they are, judging a cultural product on the possibility of inclusiveness at the time.  For example, a film made in the 1970’s that does not have a lot of female representation can be “canceled” because there are several examples of multiple types of female characters in film at that same time.[4] This criticism is warranted as it shows that regardless of the norm(s) of the time period in which it is created, there are always outliers that can be used to identify what was possible regardless of the historical context.   





Akira as a cultural product

.Akira began as a manga (Japanese comic book) first published in 1982-1990 within the pages of Young Magazine. The manga was then collected into a six-volume series. The series went on to critical and commercial success becoming the first Manga to be completely translated into English. It was this work that complete broke the boundaries of what a Manga could be, especially the audience it could reach. Thus, Akira (The manga and the film) a cultural product of Japan, validated anime as a legitimate genre, sparked an artistic movement, and initiated the global profitability and western obsession with Japanese animation.
 As stated, Akira both the manga and the film from which it is adapted are specific cultural products. Yet, due to a difference in media distribution, the manga and the film end up diverging in terms of plot, motivation, and scope. Because the manga is a serialized format: the length, depth and detail of the story can be explored in minute detail. This is the result of market pressure to have to sell the next issue. This is the same reason why there are little stakes in western superhero comic books. You know Batman is not going to die, or if he does, he will come back. Why? Because capitalism deems it so. Whereas, if this same process is this was attempted in a theatrical format, the production would not only be impossibly laborious, but it would be a length that would be ostensibly unwatchable and/or completely unsatisfying. Thus, in its adaptation, the film version of Akira condenses the plot of the manga, removes ancillary characters and changes narrative focus to make sense in the theatrical format.[5] However, I believe both the manga and the film benefit from being created and overseen by Otomo himself. Allowing the aspects of the story that were truncated, being approved by their creator.
The overall impact the film adaptation has on the culture of anime in general can not be overstated. Costing a whopping 10 million (in US dollars) this was the largest budget for an animated film in Japanese history at the time (until it was overtaken by Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke in 1999). You can see the difference, care and craft in the film compared to other animated films at the time. Many of the sequences, character motivations and even individual shots are referenced, presented as homages, and adored by many in the industry even outside animation. It is because of this care and attention to detail that the film is constantly being cited as an influence on directors and various genres many of which the typical viewer would not expect.
These two Video Essays on the Influence and Impact of the film really illustrate just how monumental the film was and the film’s continuing permeance in entertainment.









In the 30+ years since its release, Akira  continues to be a focal point for both inspiration and duplication. Even becoming a seminal work in the style called Cyberpunk. Cyberpunk is a branch of the science fiction genre that is differentiated by a lawless or institutionally oppressive society that is dominated by advanced computer technology.  This extends into the creation of cyborgs and other biotech science fiction. The mood of cyberpunk is both style and substance. It has the neon of the 1980’s punk, dance aesthetic with the grimier world of Noir. This makes the usually pristine imagery of advanced societies/ technology seem more tactile and lived in. A lot of futuristic Neo-Noir films and stories have a cyberpunk edge to them.    

This documentary should shed some light on the genre:  



    

SOCIAL ANALYSIS

            The analysis of such a thematically rich and dense film as Akira, is complex and multifaceted.  There are several ways in which to dissect this film which would be valid interpretations.  In this section I will breakdown the themes and plot of the film from a sociological perspective. To that end, we need to look at the work of C. Wright Mills, Mishel Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu, , Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Peter Berger.




Mills and The Military Industrial Complex.

C. Wright Mills (2000) points to a social structural organization of powerful social institutions that sees the collusion and corruption between three structures politics, the economy and the military. According to Mills (2000), individuals that make up these intersecting structures are deemed “The Power Elite” and it is their positions in these institutions of power that give them influence and control.  This eventually develops into what Mills describes, and a term coined by Eisenhower as The Military Industrial Complex.
 This is a social organization and process that reinforces these institutions and expands them. In this system, the government expands military budget and the scope of military actions, while the biggest sectors of pour economy is in the defense industry. Thereby leading to many elected officials having ties to both the military and private industry; making them the prime recipients of the global presence of the military, shaping the global economy and international relations.
In the beginning of Akira, “The Akira Event” causes World War III and out of the ashes of this conflict is Neo-Tokyo controlled by a corrupt group of politicians who fund the mechanization and weaponization of space (SOL) and the Human mind (Tetsuo and The ESPERS). Throughout the course of the film we not only hear references to military checkpoints, but we witness the violent suppression of student protests and the annihilation of revolutionary leaders.  In the film’s climax, this structure implodes into a military style coup resulting in a complete military dictatorship.     




Foucault Madness and Drugs

   The work of Michel Foucault began with a study of The History Madness as his doctoral dissertation, then continued on in one of his first books about the genealogy of the subject titled Madness and Civilization. These texts, along with the lecture series published later (specifically Abnormal and Psychiatric Power) frame madness as an altered state of consciousness that needs to be understood. Unfortunately, these altered states were not conducive to the organizational structure of society that is built around typical consciousness. Thus, through various interpersonal and institutional mechanisms of social control the “othering” of madness took place; forsaking individuals in the name of systemic order which reigns supreme.
Foucault (1999) (2003) states that:
1)      The Human is a monster, and what makes a monster a monster is that it introduces disorder into the legal system.
2)      Organizational emphasis on Science allows for the defining and vilifying of “madness” as “illness” allowing for intervention.
3)      The individual needs to be corrected through the training of bodies, behaviors and abilities of those who have escaped a system of norms
4)      This correction is usually achieved through confinement to get individuals to see the error of their ways and restore their “better feelings” [meaning those more conducive to the structure in place].
5)      “Recovery” is not about truth, self-actualization or health, it is about achieving Normalcy as dictated by the system.  
            Additionally, Foucault believed that you could also glean knowledge from “madness” through the use of (usually psychotropic) drugs.  That, through the experience of drug use (specifically, LSD), one’s consciousness could open reaching a difference plane/perspective which was only afforded to those deemed “mad”. Thus, by illustrating the connection of psychosis and knowledge results in a popular correlation between drug use, madness and genius; many citing that they often exist in tandem.
According to Simeon Wade (2019) it was a drug induced epiphany that eventually lead to some of Foucault’s greatest work, and was, by Foucault’s admission the greatest experience of his life. This then begs the question the role drugs play in reaching a higher plane of existence or an aspect of consciousness that one could not reach on their own.







In Akira, these Foucauldian ideas around madness and drug use is embodied in the experiences and fate of Tetsuo.  The Japanese Government/Military, to grasp at untapped potential of the human mind, attempt to weaponize people for their own purposes through experimentation on those with psychic potential and Pharmacology. Realizing that the encounter with Takashi (Esper # 26) unlocked Tetsuo’s psychic potential, The Cornel and The Doctor in charge of the program decide to start him on “level seven capsules” to develop his abilities.  The trauma of the accident with Takashi, and the pharmaceutical drugs used to unlock his latent power, causes Tetsuo to “go mad” and shift into another state of conscious where his power can be fully realized. Towards the end of the film, when Tetsuo loses access to the drugs he has been administered, he turns to illegal narcotics which not only increase his psychosis but expands his psionic capabilities beyond the capacity of his human body.  While he was able to achieve these feats through these means, in the film, it acts as a cautionary tale of Man’s “ability to reach beyond their grasp.”





Symbolic Power within Religion

Modern French Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002), the founder of “The European Center of Sociology had a broad subject area in which he wrote. From culture and social class to language, gender dynamics, and social analysis, Bourdieu was a Sociologist with eclectic “taste” 😉.  However, in regards to the subject of Akira, it is through Bourdieu’s work on Symbolic Power  that we can understand the abilities of Tetsuo and Akira and their impact on the social order.
According to Bourdieu (1991) Symbolic power [soft power] is a transformed and misrecognizable, transfigured and legitimate form of other forms of power. It is an almost magical power which enables one to obtain the equivalent of what is obtained through force. The dominant has this power over the subordinate within a social system. This is a power that is given and maintained not by direct violence but can be achieved through the threat of violence (which that in itself is symbolic). One of the areas in which this soft power is used is through the institution of Religion and the deification of the prophet.
It needs to at least be acknowledged that for generations, Religions (especially western religions) used hard power to maintain control over the social order. As structure of societies have shifted becoming more outwardly secular religions have had to rely on the soft power mechanisms in order to maintain influence.  These soft power influences are usually orchestrated through social and cultural norms established by religion through the power of socialization. Religions therefore create objects and behaviors that are identified as special, which become ritualized to develop soft power (Durkheim 2008).  That soft power is then used to develop the importance of certain institutions, (or a radicalization of those institutions) into achieving hard power in the form of economic and or military control (Weber, 2002).
 Through the various displays of hard power (in the form of massive psionic blasts that destroy Neo Tokyo) both Akira, and Tetsuo after him, become deified and achieve soft power. Akira through his actions prior to the plot of the film, and Tetsuo during his escape from the hospital when a mob forms being driven by the “Cult of Akira” believing Tetsuo to be the literal second coming. Here, the public has relinquished their power and acquiesces in the face of Tetsuo’s abilities; thereby giving him soft power.  Interestingly enough, in this same process, as Tetsuo wreaks havoc across the city, we witness the religiosity of science.





Peter Berger and the Relationship Between Religion and Science

The religiosity and deification of science, or more clearly the use of science to reach a state of deification in Akira, is paralleled in various places in our modern society. First, those that are devoted to science often display behavior that is like religion. This is partly due to science and religion expressing themselves socially and existing within society. Religion and society are not the same thing, but they behave in society similarly; meaning to some, they serve the same social function.
   Sociologist Peter Berger (1996) discusses this in the way he sees religion and science working off each other.  He states that yes, science has replaced religion in explaining the world. However, when science fails to explain reality (when you should have died in a car accident for example) we often fall back on religious explanations (such as guardian angels) as an explanation. Currently, there are other real-world examples of this in society:
1.       The God Particle explaining why something that should not have mass in the Universe but does.
2.       The 21 gram experiment which was an attempt to measure the weight of the human souls
3.      The fact that we are all made up of space dust  

This relationship is again merged at the climax of the film Akira when Tetsuo’s power is growing out of control and Akira comes back to take him away. The Doctor mentions that Akira’s energy enveloping Tetsuo is that like the birth of the Universe as both Tetsuo and Akira vanish to another plane of existence. Then, the final image on screen is one of supernova with the final line in a serine voice over: “I am, Tetsuo” now a god. Science and religion, together.





CONCLUSION

Akira is one of my favorite films of all time. I first saw this film in the basement of my best friend’s house when I was 15.[6] I was overtaken by all the implications of philosophy sociology, psychology and religion that I could not articulate until now. The film has become so important that it has been attempted to be remade and converted into a live action film for decades. The most current of which is a new series based on the Manga.   
In the end, Akira is one of those seminal classic works that everyone should see it at least once. Additionally, if you like it, and you decide to own it, you should have it in the best quality possible. Luckily, it was announced that the film is getting a 4k Blu-ray release based upon the original 35mm print. The film is worth it, and worth multiple viewings to get all of the deep cultural and social nuances of a film which gets better with every presentation.


References:

Berger, Peter L 1996. “Secularism in Retreat” in The National Interests 46 (3) Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 27 Sep. 2011.

Bourdieu, Pierre 1991. Language and Symbolic Power Massachusetts: Harvard University Press
Durkheim, Emile 2008. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life New York: Oxford University Press  
Foucault, Michel 1999. Abnormal: Lectures in the College de France 1974-1975 New York: Picador Publishing
Foucault, Michel 2003. Psychiatric Power: Lectures in the College de France 1973-1975 New York: Picador Publishing

Mills, C. Wright 2000. The Power Elite New York: Oxford University Press
Wade, Simeon 2019. Foucault in California: A True story- Wherein the Great French Philosopher Drops Acid in the Valley of Death California: Heyday Publishing
Weber, Max 2002. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and other Writings New York: Penguin Publishing


[1] The film often shows up on the best of animate film lists, many of them at the top
[2] A perfect example of this is in the brilliant Novel Battle Royale by Koshun Takami The Government fear the next generation so much that they force them to kill each other in order to thin out their ranks, create subservience, and maintain resource levels.
[3] This is used as a slang term to mean To dismiss something/somebody. To reject an individual or an idea
[4] For example, if anyone says There weren’t any female assassin movies in the 1970’s and 80’s turn them on to Gloria directed by John Cassavetes starring Gena Rowlands  
[5] Like with any adaptation, there are some detractors and many that say that what was left out of the film is important and minimizes the themes the film is trying to present.
[6] To this day my best friend and I have a pact that if one of us goes crazy with psychokinetic powers it is the job of the other to stop him.  Testuso and Kanada’s relationship became my friendship goals.