Allegorical Interpretation (*SPOILERS*)

[Batous Eye [ANF]]

I have a very allegorical interpretation of NGE that most of you will probably find very strange.

I have already reviewed some of the posts here and noone is even coming near to any of the themes I have noticed while watching it. I was wondering if anyone knows where on the internet I can find these interpretations echoed or expanded on.

(I have only begun to investigate the series, so I hope you forgive me if I don't name something correctly. Also, I have not done all my homework, so I don't always know which scene appears in which Episode number. I'll try to break up some of my interpretations.)

1 . Neon Genesis Evangelion is rife with sexual inuendo hidden in the dialogue. It's mostly invisible, that is, until you pick up on it, and then you cannot ignore it. For example, in the episode where Asuka is sent into deep lava to rescue Shinji, the episode ends with Misato with a big, corny smile on her face. She says to Ritsuko (also with a corny smile on her face) "All the tension was released at the end!" This is a double-entendre where the proper word would have been "pressure" not "tension". It was a skewed reference to an orgasm.

2. There is some sort of violation/sexual assault theme between Gendo and Rei. In one scene he has Rei in the bio-extraction tank/device. The fact that she is NAKED inside this thing only adds to the implication. And he calls out "Rei" and she opens her eyes. Then he says "Let's Eat. It's time for lunch." Ritsuko is standing behind him. This scene ends with Ritsuko flashing this superbly evil glance at him under her hair. It's clear that this is supposed to imply that Gendo is *VIOLATING* Rei. Ritsuko's evil look is like her saying "You are taking advantage of this shy girl! You are violating her! You are a sick pervert." But she cannot say anything lest she be fired from NERV. I will continue on this theme below.

3. There is a scene where Shinji is about the take on the 12th angel, Liliel. He says "I will attack first! This a man's job, right?" And Misato chimes in "It sounds like Shinji's hormones are kicking in." So the common anime theme of COMING OF AGE is invoked. Usually in anime, coming-of-age means a boy gains things like a "male ego" and a very Japanese disrespect for women. (cross-reference FLCL fooly-cooly).

4. So sometimes I wonder if Eva is really about an =ABUSIVE FATHER ARCHETYPE=. Rei and Asuka represent allegorical "sisters" of Shinji. Gendo is the allegorical abusive father who is raping your sister in the next room, while you lay still in your bed, powerless to stop him. Rei's personality reinforces this theme. Gendo rapes Rei because she is like the quiet, inhibited sister that is an easy victim because she is too eager to please "daddy". Gendo is equally abusive to Shinji, especially since he is his father. The scene in which Gendo yells at Shinji to kill Toji in his infected Eva Unit, there is a scene of extreme violence after he tells them to send Shinji's Unit into autopilot mode. During this carnage and blood-spray, Shinji is continually screaming "No! Make it stop! Stop it now!". This scene is obviously a metaphorical reference to a father beating his son because he won't "be a man". Indeed, the dialogue right before they send Shinji's unit into autopilot is Gendo barking at him to kill, and Shinji refuses like a coward: "I would rather die than kill him!"

5. Thus in the movie, Death and Rebirth, there is a scene in which Asuka is laying comatose in a medical bed. While Shinji is shaking her, her gown comes unhinged and she lays there with her breasts exposed. Shinji masturbates over her. What is this other than a *RAPE*???

6. So in order to defeat/overcome his abusive father, Shinji turns into him, and becomes a rapist himself. But he is able to condemn his father because after the "rape" he feels ashamed. His shame "redeems" him, while his father's unapologetic actions condemns him to hell.

Originally posted on: 03-Mar-2006, 01:26 GMT

[Mr. Tines [ANF]]

Good first post.

Not so strange...

NGE might not be quite so full of twisted relationships as, say, SKU, but there is a lot more to unearth here - a next level of gender role confusion to go on to consider, with Shinji and Misato both; and a profusion of mother figures whose apron strings must be cut.

I've seen it reported that Anno stated that one of his motives was to understand women.

Taking your points, some other things to consider:

1 - the build up of tension/satisfying release pattern is more widely spread than that. That's a description of a well structured narrative, for example.


2 - that is jealousy, as Ritsuko's reaction to being sent in Rei's place to SEELE in ep#23 shows. Food is a recurring theme in ep#17

3 - Shinji is at his most out of character in the first part of ep#16; he reverts to type after that

4 - Misato also has an ambivalent relationship with her own father. That Rei is a clone of Yui just adds to the fun.

5 - You missed Asuka's mind-rape, Rei's tentacle rape, and what happened to Ritsuko off-screen in ep#23. Shinji is all "look but not touch" at the start of EoE. The only other time he makes a move on Asuka is while she is asleep in ep#9 - and he can't cope with her desperate advances when she's actually in possession of her faculties.

6 - Gendo is claimed by his own wife. And Shinji ends up trying to strangle the one woman who has never been a mother figure to him. That rather turns about the conclusion you reach.

Originally posted on: 03-Mar-2006, 06:30 GMT

[Dr. Nick [ANF]]

Cool, never heard of this sort of interpretation before. But hey, I've got an allegorical interpretation as well! This might sound a bit weird at first, but please, try to remain open-minded.

Rei is Santa Claus.

Yes, I know what you're thinking. "Why Rei? Isn't Gendo the obvious candidate for that?" Or why not Asuka? She is, after all, associated with the color red and cardboard boxes that could well represent Christmas presents. But with Asuka or Gendo, the thematic elements simply won't connect well enough. With Rei they do.

The strength of this theory is how it explains things for which we haven't had any convincing explanations this far. Fast-forward to EoE: here's a classic question? Why does Shinji develop a stigmata in his hands? It is obviously a some kind of bastardized pseudo-Christian reference, but what does it mean?

Well, think about the thematic links here.
Stigmata.
Jesus.
Messiah.
A new messiah is born.
And what is the birthday of our messiah?

That's right. Christmas.

Once I made this connection, things really started clicking; suddenly, all the visual clues began to make sense. Christmas has arrived! And thus, we get a Christmas tree. We get snow. We get Christmas lights. The Magi we've had from the beginning. Tell me, am I out of my mind? Because if these are just coincidences, we sure have a lot of them!

And of course, we get the second guest of honor of Christmas. Santa. First, consider the symbolism again. The eyes, I presume, represent the way Santa and his little helpers know who's been good and who's been naughty. And then comes the moment of present giving.

One of the main arguments of those who do not believe in Santa is that it is not possible for one man to visit all the good Christian households of this world during one night. Anno offers a rather hi-tech solution to this problem - when you're able to twist time and space, problems like that disappear. And what sort of presents does this modern-day Santa bring? If you've been a good kid, your dreams come true; if you've been bad... Well, I guess this is Evangelion's equivalent for a sock full of coal. Notice the Christmas-red background, by the way: this scene was built to bleed irony.

As for Aoba's case, I bet the poor bastard just didn't have the spirit of Christmas in his heart.

Okay then, why is Rei Santa? Think in terms of counterparts. Think about Jesus and Santa, and how they battle for popularity. Everybody agrees that Christmas is the day of Jesus, but still, this other dude has almost entirely occupied his place as the main figure of worship. The parallel is very subtle, but at the same time incredibly ironic: for the great majority of NGE fans, I dare say, Shinji is just some random wuss, even though he technically IS the main character. It's Rei where the hotness is, she's the one worth worshipping. This is deliberate critique aimed at those fans.

One last thing for your consideration: it is a well-documented fact that more suicides are committed around Christmas holidays than in any other time of the year. Just a coincidence as well?



---


Well, yes. I pulled all those things out of my arse. The moral of the story: thematic and even visual connections and parallels are whatever the hell you want them to be. If you want to theorize, you need to base your arguments on something more solid.

Now, back to the original topic: Batous Eye, is this "sexual innuendo" present there in the original Japanese dialogue, or are you just interpreting a translation?

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 00:03 GMT

[RyoTD [ANF]]

stuff

I think I just died from laughing.

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 00:08 GMT

[The Eva Monkey [ANF]]

I have already reviewed some of the posts here and noone is even coming near to any of the themes I have noticed while watching it.

You haven't read enough, these ideas have come up before, but they aren't substantial or concrete enough to take for anything more than vague possibilities.

Rei is Santa Claus.

LOLZ.

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 00:55 GMT

[HeWhoPostsStuff [ANF]]

Rei is Santa Claus.

This is news?

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 01:03 GMT

[The Eva Monkey [ANF]]

If I'm really good this year, you think she'll bring me my very own Pen Pen?

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 01:06 GMT

[tv33 [ANF]]

Stuff.

This is the most well constructed post I have ever seen.

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 01:10 GMT

[Seele08 [ANF]]

Here's my theory.

Keel is blind, love is blind, god is love, god is Eva-01. Therefore Keel is Eva-01!

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 04:25 GMT

[The Eva Monkey [ANF]]

Keel is blind, love is blind, god is love, god is Eva-01. Therefore Keel is Eva-01!

If Love is blind, and God is love, then since Keel Lorenz is blind, is Keel Lorenz God?

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 05:10 GMT

[Mr. Tines [ANF]]

I am really disappointed by the tone of the replies made by the other regulars here.

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 06:31 GMT

[Seele08 [ANF]]

If Love is blind, and God is love, then since Keel Lorenz is blind, is Keel Lorenz God?

Yes Keel Lorenz is god! He is also.....Yui! Because If he is Eva-01 which is Yui, than he is also Yui! I'm going to build an altar to my little K-Chan figurine and sacrifice a goat to it under the light of the full moon.

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 20:24 GMT

[Dr. Nick [ANF]]

I am really disappointed by the tone of the replies made by the other regulars here.

Do you consider healthy skepticism to be a bad thing? You make it sound as if there's been some kind of sudden shift in the attitude climate here. Don't you remember how Dennis Redmond's out-of-thin-air theories have been bashed here in the past?

This is the most well constructed post I have ever seen.

In fact, this was merely a little practice run for my real jaw-dropper. You see, I've found out something incredible. The fans have been right all along. Pen^2 is evil. He's linked, both thematically and visually, to Rei, Kaworu, Keel and the Apostles. There's an entire superstructure of themes carefully hidden in the story; uncovering it is not required for understanding the basic plot of the show, but it creates so many extra layers of meaning I see no reason why anyone should just ignore it or pretend it's not there.

Just the tip of the iceberg for your consideration. Although there are some insignificant differences, notice how all these scenes share the same basic pattern of knowing glance & surprise/rejection. Again, just coincidences? In Evangelion? Yeeeah...

I don't know when I'll have the time to write the damn thing, though, because it is going to be one huge presentation. I have much more and even better evidence; all the connections work so well it's almost scary; and the sheer amount of irony it brings - oh boy, it will turn the entire story upside down.

That was a trailer, I will now go and STFU.

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 10:36 GMT

[Seele08 [ANF]]

Although there are some insignificant differences, notice how all these scenes share the same basic pattern of knowing glance & surprise/rejection. Again, just coincidences? In Evangelion? Yeeeah...

Well seeing as how Keel doesn't have eyes.....that we can see or that work....
I just want to know how Pen-Pen is evil and linked with Keel. I mean he's a lecherous little bird but he's not all bad!
Keep the wacky theories coming!

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 11:04 GMT

[Shin-seiki [ANF]]

I am really disappointed by the tone of the replies made by the other regulars here.

As am I. I'm very perplexed by the implications of what Dr Nick, in his sardonic way, seems to be advocating here. The fact that NGE utilizes visual correlations from one scene to another to communicate narrative and thematic information has been accepted as a given on this forum, or so I thought. For example, there's the Adam/Kaworu Hands dealio:


(This belongs with that, too, but I had't noticed it when I put the composite together)


It's patently obvious that coherent narrative information is being put across here. A great deal of the progress we've made on this forum in our penetration of some of the supposedly intractible mysteries of NGE, over the last three years or so, is the result of close examination of the 'visual vocabulary' of the series.

The fact that Reichu has taken this technique and run with it, to the point of reaching some conclusions that most of us are, at best, uncomfortable with and/or severely sceptical of, does not mean that the visual narrative/thematic aspect of the series has suddenly ceased to be meaningful. The phrase "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" is very apt to this situation, if you ask me...

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 13:30 GMT

[Seele08 [ANF]]

I think Dr. Nick's trying to make a point actually. He may just be pointing out the recent types of logical errors being made on this forum, but he's doing it in a funny way, he's making me want to believe in Santa Rei! Speaking of Reichu where has she been in the past few days...it makes me more nervous when she's quiet than when she's posting.

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 14:31 GMT

[Mr. Tines [ANF]]

Do you consider healthy skepticism to be a bad thing? You make it sound as if there's been some kind of sudden shift in the attitude climate here.

Healthy skepticism is fine; but n00b bashing isn't.

While Batous Eye may have overlooked some of the relevant material (both pro and con), and misunderstood the exact implications of what allegory is (if we get into the detailed lit-crit), ve seems to have put some thought into ver analysis. This is something that I would rather encourage - even if we have to reach an agree to disagree point - rather than dismiss in the rather sneering tone of the Santa Claus post.

BTW - you forgot to include the obvious inference that SEELE are being bankrolled by PepsiCo in the Santa scenario.

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 14:33 GMT

[Seele08 [ANF]]

BTW - you forgot to include the obvious inference that SEELE are being bankrolled by PepsiCo in the Santa scenario.

What is this? SEELE and PepsiCo? So....just out of curiosity who manufactures Tang? If it's PepsiCo than Mr. Tines could be on to something here.....

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 14:45 GMT

[Mr. Tines [ANF]]

What is this? SEELE and PepsiCo? So....just out of curiosity who manufactures Tang? If it's PepsiCo than Mr. Tines could be on to something here.....

The modern red and white livery worn by Santa (as opposed to brown or green in older representations) is associated with Coca-Cola advertising material dressing him in their colours.

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 14:53 GMT

[The Eva Monkey [ANF]]

I am really disappointed by the tone of the replies made by the other regulars here.

(The following is not meant to be judgemental in any whatsoever and is pure observation)

Lately, with Rachel's slew of theories which have been defined by some as "wonky", a considerable number of people here have developped a degree of skepticism that some fans are running out of things that they plausibly can explain, and are really just grasping at straws.

The question is: What's worse, blatant insult and flaming, or sarcasm and humor. Both can be insulting, yes, but at least in Nick's case, he took the time to provide a humourous counterpoint. And as I see it, the only thing separating him and Batous Eye is conviction to the notion being presented.

Originally posted on: 04-Mar-2006, 15:44 GMT