Postby Bobtheduck » Sat Aug 30, 2003 4:39 pm
Lain is NOT Christian in the same way that Matrix is NOT Christian...
(I'm gonna edit this to give a detailed explanation complete with massive spoilers, I'm in the middle of a big long post)
Serial Experiements Lain is a psychological Puzzle. If any of you have played Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, the styling for much of the show is the same as the styling towards the end of SoL.
basically the show is about the internet. The internet has become a separate world, and people have, bordering on blasphemy, "created" new people inside this new world (themselves only with different personalities...) This effect was one of the reasons that people had such a hard time with the PnP RPG known as "Dungeons and Dragons" People on the internet live out a completely different life from their boring day to day lives. The internet is the concentrated unfiltered essence of human nature. It's everything that people wanted to do in real life without the constraints of culture and social issues. People are exhibitionists, voyeurs, abusers and the abused with no one to stop them. This has in a false way elevated man to the position of creator.
Here is where the spoilers come in, and these are very very big spoilers, so you may not want to view.
[spoiler="Spoiler paragraph 1"]If you have gotten to the episodes about Eiri Masami, hes the person who called himself God. He was very dissatisfied with his Job (which was to help advance the wired to a place where people were connected to it with no need for a computer) and on the wired, he considered himself God because he had so much power. [/spoiler]
now onto: [spoiler="Spoiler Paragraph 2!"]In his mind, what God is is someone who has power and people to worship him. Thats what the Knights were.[/spoiler]
[spoiler="Spoiler par. 3"]Eiri noticed that everything centered around Lain, so he spent his time trying to convince her that he was God, and that they were one in the same. Lain was a shy girl normally, but she had another personality that lived on the wired (Lain of the Wired)[/spoiler]
Hmm... It's been a while since I saw it, so I know I'm missing big chunks, but...
[spoiler="part 4"]Lain was placed in a fake family. Her father and mother being real, and her sister being somewhat fake (I think... I havent figured this one out yet) Lains sister was playing out her role naturally, and very well, but in the episode that freaks everyone out, there was an accident. Basically, she was killed in the accident but she didnt ...know... it and she wandered around (probably her persona on the wired) and she finally realized what had happened when she found her ...replacement... in the house and thats where she left. Things had to be in the guise of a real family to raise Lain.[/spoiler]
[spoiler="part r"]Eiri (or should I say, Eiris Wired Persona) was the one talking to Lain through the dolls and the images of her mother and father. That was NOT, however, her real mother and father. Her Father and Alice were the only ones in the show who actually loved Lain. Alice was also the only one who Lain had no control over and neither did Eiri.[/spoiler]
**gasp** all this editing is making me tired...
[spoiler="part nein"]Lain of the wired was a demonstration of Human nature. She was cruel, manipulative and sadistic. She knew everything about everybody because everyone was open in the wired. They opened themselves up the things they wanted kept secret.[/spoiler]
[spoiler="Pier 1"]Im gonna get to the end, although I know Im missing big pieces... Eiri wanted Lain to say she was God, becaus in his mind that would solidify his place there.She thought through all the things she had been told, that Man created God sorta humanistic crap, but she realized that for Eiri to get into that position, there had to be a God all along, guiding all of the things up to that point. Thats when Eiri realized the truth, and when he left... What Lain did, as one last gesture of Love for Alice (not homosexual thing by the way) was to erase herself, thereby erasing everything that had happened because of her. Lain of the wired lingered on, until the truth overrided what LotW canceled her lies out.[/spoiler]
[spoiler="The part that we can draw a Christian lesson from"]She went into rest with her ...Father... who Im guessing is quote...a God all along...unquote that Lain said to eiri at the end.[/spoiler]
Ok, now I think that like the Matrix or any really good movie or TV show that tackles philosophy you can pull good things out of it. It also goes in the right direction, but it is NOT Christian. It ends on a question mark and everything is left up to personal opinion and interpretation. I somehow doubt the creators of Lain are Christian, but the analysis of the Internet alone merits a viewing and discussion. It is something that causes you to think, and if you have the Bible as your primary source, you won't go wrong.
Now, i can't reccomend this to everyone. I'd say you should be at least 18 years old because much of this show is incredibly disturbing. It's not violence or sex or swearing that I'm talking about, but events that can leave scars particularly in some of the younger viewers (if they even understand what's going on)
If you are over 18 and like deeply complex stories that you have to decode, Lain is excelent. It's my favorite anime in fact...
[spoiler="age warning"]There is the murder of a child, a venture into a pornographic chatroom (nothing explicit), female masturbation (once again, no body parts are shown...), 2 suicides, and very disturbing scenes of people losing sanity, all of which add up to a potential visit to a shrink. Oh, and less than barbie doll nudity, but if youre freaked out about that, you have some issues.[/spoiler]