The terror of Perfect Blue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJmK5SOeQBc - 13:28
Like Paranoia Agent, Perfect Blue is another example of a work that explores the conflict of
reality vs. fantasy (both were created by the same person, so that makes sense - another example will
be seen next week). In Perfect Blue, however, this example is more specific, as it focuses on the
conflict between who we actually are and who we present ourselves as, which is mentioned by the
video in this reflection.
Another interesting example of this conflict, besides the example given in Perfect Blue, as well as
how this example is seen, is something that I experience due to my life as a monk. Besides having a
Facebook account (monks can have social media, but I only have a Facebook account at the
moment), monks can choose to have a new name as a monk, provided it is the name of a saint. I
didn't have to choose a new name, but I ended up with one anyway (my birth, or given, name is
Timothy, but my monk, or religious, name is Thomas Aquinas). This can create confusion as to who
I am, even with me, but the point is that I am still one person (interestingly enough, my Facebook
name is my monastic name - part of it anyway: I have several different names).
Anyway, what makes Perfect Blue terrifying is the fact that the conflict that it focuses on is real,
which only grows truer as time passes. As the video mentions, Perfect Blue should not be seen as
something to be figured out, but just as something to be seen since it can already be seen in our own
lives. What Perfect Blue does is to help us see that. Figuring out what this movie is about is not
important. What we need to do is see the terror of Perfect Blue so we can see what this terror is like
in our own lives, which is what we need to figure out.
Like Paranoia Agent, Perfect Blue is another example of a work that explores the conflict of
reality vs. fantasy (both were created by the same person, so that makes sense - another example will
be seen next week). In Perfect Blue, however, this example is more specific, as it focuses on the
conflict between who we actually are and who we present ourselves as, which is mentioned by the
video in this reflection.
Another interesting example of this conflict, besides the example given in Perfect Blue, as well as
how this example is seen, is something that I experience due to my life as a monk. Besides having a
Facebook account (monks can have social media, but I only have a Facebook account at the
moment), monks can choose to have a new name as a monk, provided it is the name of a saint. I
didn't have to choose a new name, but I ended up with one anyway (my birth, or given, name is
Timothy, but my monk, or religious, name is Thomas Aquinas). This can create confusion as to who
I am, even with me, but the point is that I am still one person (interestingly enough, my Facebook
name is my monastic name - part of it anyway: I have several different names).
Anyway, what makes Perfect Blue terrifying is the fact that the conflict that it focuses on is real,
which only grows truer as time passes. As the video mentions, Perfect Blue should not be seen as
something to be figured out, but just as something to be seen since it can already be seen in our own
lives. What Perfect Blue does is to help us see that. Figuring out what this movie is about is not
important. What we need to do is see the terror of Perfect Blue so we can see what this terror is like
in our own lives, which is what we need to figure out.
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