Akira: The Consequences of Control
The animated film Akira takes place in 2019, 31 years after the nuclear explosion in Tokyo and is about two friends named Tetsuo and Kaneda. Tetsuo ends up getting into a motorcycle accident, which grants him supernatural powers. The military experiments with Tetsuo, but Tetsuo escapes and wreaks havoc trying to find Akira while Kaneda tries to figure out what is going on.
As the film progresses, we find out that the cause of the bombing was that a group of people, per the government's request, were trying to control Akira's power, and this ended up failing, so Tokyo ended up being bombed. Additionally, throughout the film, we see acts of terrorism performed by protesters rebelling against government control. These are two examples of negative outcomes due to controlling other people or things that are unknown, and this can be seen throughout the history of the United States.
During World War II, the United States government forced Japanese Americans into concentration camps due to the fear of spies being in the country. More than 1,800 Japanese Americans died, mostly due to disease, and it turns out that there weren't any spies in the United States. Although the United States did this as a precaution, there weren't any benefits from this, and everyone in those camps suffered. Controlling these people was unnecessary and only caused more problems for everyone, especially the Japanese Americans.
Controlling things or people usually results in something bad happening, and this can be proved by events that happened throughout history and in fictional scenarios, such as Akira. People should be allowed to do whatever they want, as long as they don't harm themselves or anyone else. We should also stop controlling nature because there can be negative effects that can result in an even bigger consequence.
Hello Elmer, you made some interesting observations. However, I would also argue that it's not too far off to say that we're being controlled in modern society more than ever. We might think that the creation of the internet has given us much more freedom, when in fact we are being tracked and converted to data more than ever before. As for your example of forcing Japanese Americans into concentration camps, that seems to be an example that stems more from discrimination and anxiety. If controlling people is bad, would society be better if there was no power center? If we didn't have a president and were allowed to do anything we want? Maybe it's also not just a matter of control but the idea of control falling into the wrong hands-- which then also becomes a problem of judgement and the debate between 'right' and 'wrong.' Just some food for thought!
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that you compared the controlling of Akira by the government to the controlling of Japanese Americans during WWII, since the government present in Akira is a Japanese government, but the more that I think about it the more the government seems to resemble an American government. The governing officials resemble Americans more than Japanese, and they rebuilt Tokyo after the Akira explosion much like the Americans rebuilt Japan after the a-bombs. However, I think the point you make about forgoing control in favor of complete freedom or even anarchy is refuted by the events of Akira itself. Not only is the cult that follows Akira made out to be laughable, but it is stressed throughout the events of the story that Tetsuo is unable to control his power if left to grow unchecked. This turns out to be true; Tetsuo's power consumes him and jeapordizes the greater population. I'm interested in how you would argue further that allowing freedom to people like Tetsuo might actually have a positive effect.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how you jump from the government controlling Akira to the government controlling the Japanese in concentration camps. I wonder – what lead you to jump to this comparison? I do think they are similar in some respects, but in the case of internment it was more of an unjust oppression and abuse that resulted in the ruining of lives rather than the full out destruction of civilization. In the case of Akira, the government is trying to control something that they do not at all understand, which to me relates to how the Americans developed nuclear weapons without fully understanding the implications and consequences.
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