-Vandire's Guide To Neon
Genesis Evangelion
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-Vandire's Guide To Neon
Genesis Evangelion |
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Chapter 2-Shinji Ikari
The name Shinji means ‘child of god’. This helps signify his place in the series (to eventually become god, and recreate the world) and casts on odd reflection on the fact that for a while, Adam became god, and was later absorbed into Gendou Ikari, Shinji's father. Shinji has always been related to Eva. His parents both worked on the project since before his birth and after his birth his mother was absorbed into Eva-01, and his father placed in charge of Nerv. Due to this, it is little wonder that he synchronises with Eva-01 so easily and effectively. Gendou Ikari predicted this, and that is why he was one of the first children to be used in conjunction with Evangelion. Shinji represents the Ego. This is the part of the mind that defines our sense of self. (Where we end and the rest of reality begins, and also what we are capable of, what our role in existence is.) The Ego also manages disputes between the other parts of the mind. A strong (healthy) Ego will have a clear sense of identity and purpose, and can manage the other parts of the mind with little difficulty. Shinji, however, is originally very weak in his role, as shown by his inability to deal with the differences between Rei (the superego) and Asuka (the Id), which is one of the largest parts of the Ego's responsibilities in the mind. This changes slightly, as he grows as a person, but it is not until the End of Evangelion that he realises the different struggles inside his mind and begins to understand how to deal with them. Gendou and Yui Ikari are also examples of the Ego, and show how different the same part of the mind can be, whilst still being the same at core. The Ego is, in Evangelion, generally represented by the colour brown. It is also associated with animalistic nature and the earth. There is no meaning behind Shinji being the 3rd child- in psychology, the Ego is the 2nd part of the mind to be formed. Originally a child is egocentric- self-centred, and cannot differentiate between itself and the rest of the universe. Then it develops a sense of self, then an awareness of conventions. Therefore, if there were any meaning Shinji would be the second child, Asuka the first, and Rei the third. The term 3rd child is simply for the story line (he was the 3rd child to actually be given an Evangelion), nothing more. In general terms, Shinji is a troubled child. Distraught over the absence of his father, and the death of his mother, he became very insecure of his role in life as a child. According to leading psychologists, it is the empathy of parents that teaches children how to interact with others and, more importantly, how to be aware of and understand ones self. (Though a certain amount of this is instinctive and biological, hence some people having what is called ‘Aspergers syndrome’, where they are born without a basic understanding of social situations. However, Shinji is not one of these people.). Without parents from a young age, but too old to truly accept any substitutes, Shinji’s sense of self and social interaction skills are very poor. This is a direct antithesis of what Shinji, the Ego’s, role would be in a healthy and normal setting. As the Ego he would have to manage, co ordinate, and settle disputes between all other parts of the mind, whilst still retaining a strong sense of self. Shinji’s Superego is stronger than his Id, and his Thanatos stronger than his Libido. In layman’s terms, he places a higher value than is healthy on conforming to society’s conventions over his personal desires, and his desire for death (in order to stop suffering) is stronger than his desire for life. The only reason he is still alive, and not suicidal, with this psychological make-up is because the society he was brought up in told him that suicide is bad. So, his Superego reinforces his Libido, and represses his Thanatos. This is very unhealthy, and leads to huge amounts of pent up frustration. While it is possible to fully repress the Thanatos, and the following frustration of the repression, with a strong enough Superego, it also requires a very strong Ego, which Shinji lacks. This is part of why Shinji is so unusual, and while usually timid, can flip out for brief periods at unexpected times (ie strangling Asuka). It also increases displacement of his frustrations- according to freudian psychology, frustrations can be relieved through means not directly associated with them, hence why he gets more and more frustrated regarding his relationship with Rei and Asuka without the series, at a much faster rate than woul be expected. Thats the frustration from being unable to satisfy what he thinks he should be being displaced into sexual frustration. (To a small extent, anyway) In a normal person, the Thanatos is dealt with by channelling the need for self-destruction outwards, through aggression, violence or catharsis. (Catharsis-relieving aggression through watching aggressive situations. Sports are the most commonly quoted example of this, but it is my personal belief that sports are not really applicable- peopel get too involved with them, and associate themselves with their favorite teams, and so in that respect it is not catharsis at all because there is hardly any difference frustration-wise between them being involved in aggressive behaviour and the team beign involved. The only difference is the lack of control, which will always increase frustration.) Because Shinji’s Superego is stronger than normal, he is unable to overcome the idea of aggression is bad in normal situations. The only time he is able to release the aggression of his Thanatos is when he is piloting Eva, which is one of the reasons he continues to do so. Therefore, piloting Eva is its own antithesis- Piloting Eva reinforces his Thanatos because he can only associate it with pain. However, it is also good for him because it is the only way for him to reduce the frustration and aggression caused by his Thanatos being repressed in methods acceptable to the Superego. His overly strong Superego is why he is usually so anxious. When the Superego feels that it is contradicting parental/societal conventions, it responds with the creation of anxiety. Fighting against the Angels, an enemy he does not understand, with the Eva’s, weapons he does not understand, in a war to which he can see no purpose, he has no idea what is expected of him. Normally the Id would be responsible for increasing his confidence, but with a weaker than normal Id, that does not happen. The result is a nervous wreck, again held together by the Superego. While it may seem like Shinji is dominated by the Superego, that is not actually the case. The Superego is simply all he properly understands and is sure that no one will criticise him for, and is therefore his escape from reality. Proof that it is not his true nature lie in actions such as his mantra ‘”I mustn’t run away”. He doesn’t want to follow the conventions of his Superego, but he’s scared of what will happen if he does not, to the point that he will disobey and ignore direct orders from figures of authority to calm his fear. (for example, fighting against Shamshel, he attacked with barely a minutes power supply left, when directly ordered to retreat by Misato) The term ‘Beast that shouts I at the heart of the world’ is further proof that he is the representation of the Ego. With all of humanity considered one entity (the 18th angel, Lilim), then dissected and represented piecemeal in different characters, Shinji’s role as the Ego is to define the sense of self. In other words, to tell all of himself (in the world of Eva, with all humans being one angel, that means the entire world) what the term ‘I’ means. He tells the world what the world is. Therefore, Shinji is the core of all humanity, and the part that is I. He, through Eva-01, the antithesis of man, a monster made in mans own image, from the engine of mankinds destruction, shouts I at the heart of the world. There is a reason why Shinji is male. In Freudian psychology, there is something called the Oedipus complex. This stated that subconsciously (and so, pretty much, not literally) males are born wanting to kill their father and marry their mother. (In girls, it is called the Elektra complex, and obviously has the parent-genders reversed.) In Rei, Shinji sees his mother’s soul, though he doesn’t understand it as such, and so becomes infatuated with her. This is a representation of the Oedipus complex, and so helps represent the human condition in Evangelion. It also helps highlight the struggle between the Id and the Superego- both want the Ego to pay more attention to itself, and so both try and tempt the Ego. Shinji, being male and 14, is going through puberty, and that both Rei (the Superego) and Asuka (the Id) are attractive girls of similar ages is enough for there to be a similar attraction. Also related to the Oedipus complex: When a child is first born it directs both its Libido and its Thanatos at its mother. In Evangelion, Misato acts as Shinji’s surrogate mother, but because Shinji is infatuated with Rei, who in a way he recognises and loves as his mother, Rei receives the attention of his Libido, whilst Misato receives the attention of his Thanatos. This doesn’t make much of a difference, because Shinji directs his Thanatos inwards, but it explains why Shinji is so bothered about Misato’s messy personal lifestyle. (It’s a whole lot of depth you have to go into just to explain something you don’t really notice anyway, isn’t it? I wasn’t intending to write this part, it just struck me as I was typing out the standard explanations of infatuation and Oedipus complex.) Ultimately, Shinji must achieve a balance between all parts of his mind. Otherwise, he would not be able to synchronise with Eva-01, and come Instrumentality, he would be unable to decide upon his choice of action. His mind would be so unstable that it would be lost completely to the nothingness that is the ‘perfect’ form of the 18th angel. Fortunately (for him) however, he was able to understand that his imperfect existence was worthwhile, and so refused to become one with Lilim (the 18th angel, child of Lilith). Due to this, Lilim had no Ego, and so could not exist on its own, and died. Afterwards, there’s the somewhat strange scene of Shinji strangling Asuka. Shinji hates the world with AT fields- The light of a soul is a unrivalled force of destruction, that is no less than absolute terror. This absolute terror is the result of the chaotic argument between the Libido and the Thanatos- The Thanatos wants the soul to die, but the Libido directs this destruction outwards. Instead of this, he tries to recreate the world, using the powers of Sephirothum. Without an AT field directing his Thanatos outwards, his Thanatos destroys his Ego. However, being Sephirothum, his Libido works to recreate his Ego (God can't die that easily :P), and so by refusing the AT field he creates a world without it, but the need for physical aggression, and pain is much greater now. His Superego tries to step in here- the Superego knows that through proper boundaries a compromise can be made, and the world can be the way it was before- the pain dampened. Shinji, however, knows that this would mean humans could still never truly be themselves, or understand each other. In the moment that his Superego takes charge, he sees Rei. Rei is the Superego of Freud’s theories, so, as long as there is the original order, Rei will exist. However Shinji rejects the Superego. (This is similar to episode 1- he saw rei appear, then disapear before he had even met her, just before Sachiel attacked. All this while Rei was in hospital, severely wounded. The mirage of order in reality was slipping away, and there was no force to challenge the Angels AT field, and its beliefs as to the order of the universe. Therefore, the human sense of order, the superego, could no longer exist.) Referring back to the Oedipus complex- this means that Shinji is no longer infatuated with Rei. He no longer confuses his love of his mother (filios, family love) for Eros (romantic/sexual love) regarding Rei, meaning that theoretically in the struggle of attraction between the Superego and the Id, the Id is at an advantage. This means that Shinji is balanced more in favour of the Id, and so is attracted to Asuka, being the Id incarnate. This does not mean that Shinji is in love with Asuka at the End of Evangelion, but it is likely that he is infatuated with her at this point. This series of events is also Shinji’s acceptance that he does not need his mother to be a normal person- throughout the series he was continually obsessed with his ‘betrayal’ at the hands of his father, and the loss of his mother. He is unable to look past it to see his current situation clearly. However, at the end of Evangelion he realises that although he could be with his mother, in the perfect Angel, Lilim, the cost is too great, for something he then comes to understand is unnecessary. Shinji finally understands that the world is only as bad as we perceive it, and let it be. He comprehends that letting himself be consumed by his past, scapegoating his problems on an event that he could move past if he had the will to, is not the way forward. He creates a world without the darkness of absolute terror filling the soul, so therefore humans are at this point free to truly understand each other, and to be themselves. There is more pain in this world, but there is also great amounts of joy- true empathy is now possible. This is the world Shinji wanted, even though he did not truly understand it himself until the very end. Since Shinji represents the Ego, this chapter would be the most relevant to explain the AT field. Throughout Evangelion, there is considerable emphasis on how our perception shapes our own reality, and how althouh we cannot completely control reality, it is our sense of self (gained through interacting with others to see reflections of self) that defines us in the physical world. Angels, being unique and complete in of themselves, do not need to view reflections of themselves in others in order to gain an understanding of themselves. Their sense of self, or Ego, is their AT field. This means they have near complete control over their own form of existance, which while limited by the perceptions of others of them, and the universe they inhabit, means they can break physical laws by simply willing such to be- self delusion on a normally impossible scale, resulting in physical law being unneccessary. This is what is defined as their AT field. In humans, we can only see ourselves through reflections, so our AT fields are much, much weaker, though we do theoretically have exactly the same potential as the Angels. Becase there is more to existance than any one angel, their AT field is far from impenetrable- but, to do so requires either a huge application of what is generally believed to be physical law, or the will of another, another opposing sense of self and perceptions of the universe, to balance out this delusion and return the space around the angel to normal, natural law, making them vulnerable to attack. An oversimplified comparison would be viewing it as a shouting match, each side saying "this is how the world is", and while the angels are (usually) louder, they're outnumbered (3 on 1 odds, when just fighting against Eva-01) The Anti-AT field is not the opposite of this, despite what first thoughts might suggest. The anti-AT field is in fact, divinity and the effect it has on the world around it. Divinity requires perfection, and perfection requires order. Perfect order. In addition, what comprises perfection is a matter of opinion- it varies from person to person. This being said, perfection as a concept changes as frequently as the souls that dream of it. However, perfection in motion could not change- with a fixed set of rules, no matter if the rules allow for adaptation of movement/actions, and for any/all situations, the same set of rules will always apply. In other words, no matter how different its actions seem to be, or how frequently it appears to be changing, it is all superficial, the core, or soul of perfection is always the same. Without change, it is impossible to define oneself. without definition, the ego cannot exist, and therefore life cannot exist. So, the anti-AT field can be viewed as one of two things- the AT field of the superego, or as the fact that existence cannot bear the presence of God. Or, you could view it simply- Anti-Absolute Terror would mean a complete lack of fear, which could be generalised into a lack of pain. Without pain, there would be a lot less to compare yourself to when forming your self image, and so humans could not exist as they do not. So, the Anti-AT field, the light of god, could be percieved as perfect kindness. (If you find this concept interesting, i would recommend reading The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant- a book set in a world created by god, but so fragile that if god were to enter it, the presence of gods perfection would destroy it. Unfortunately, the same isnt true for fallen angels cast from heaven before the world was fully formed...) Chapter 1-
An Overview
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