Sachi's Analysis of the Sand Box Scene.

[Ornette]

^

I think this is the most accurate interpretation of this scene that I've ever read. It should be on the wiki itself.

Sachi's more than welcomed to edit the existing wiki page: http://wiki.evageeks.org/Theory_and_Analysis:Sandbox_Sequence or start a new section for this analysis because what's on there now was based on the old Sandbox thread from ANF: http://forum.evageeks.org/thread/3761/The-Sandbox-Sequence-ep26/

[Warren Peace]

He already supports himself on the teat of the Government!

[AuraTwilight]

He already supports himself on the teat of the Government!

Hey now, he's preventing the extinction of the entire human race. If that's not deserving of a government paycheck, what is?

[Desty_Nova]

I'm not on board with the whole womb thing. IMO you guys at evageeks latch onto the whole womb thing at the drop of a hat.

'womb' is mentioned what? Once? In the whole series?

[NemZ]

I'm not on board with the whole womb thing. IMO you guys at evageeks latch onto the whole womb thing at the drop of a hat.

'womb' is mentioned what? Once? In the whole series?

The evas themselves have multiple references to all things childbirth: the entry plug as a fluid-filled space within the mother, the umbilical cords as an eva's lifeline, and the way an exposed eva core looks like a child crowning in mid-labor. Sandalphon literally an embryo in a volcanic womb. Adam as a fetus. Liliel is an interdimentional womb or egg, which eva 01 hatches from. Armisael basically knocks-up eva 00. And then EoE happens and practically every single thing Lilith/Rei does is a reference to some aspect of reproduction.

In the particular example you're complaining about just pretend Shinji and the swingset aren't there and look at the rest of it all at once. Not the details, just the entire picture the composition creates. Unless you're one of those people who can't see 'magic eye' posters you'll quickly figure out why Sachi is claiming this as yet another womb reference.

[gwern]

Not too terrible an analysis.

But Sachi, what do you make of the draft EoE version of the scene and the differences from the final version?

[Stikuru]

I have one problem with accepting the whole "vagina/womb" theory. Even though I will admit that it does sort of look like a woman in the 1st picture with the legs and the breasts as hills and everything, I just doubt that they did that on purpose.

The only reason I say this is because in the first picture, the legs and everything are to the side of the park where the swingset is. But in the last picture, you can see what looks very similar to those same hills that make up the legs/breasts on a different side of the park (notice you don't see the swingset in that picture).

So either that park is surrounded by multiple leg/breast mountains, the swingset disappeared, or they are all just random hills/mountains in the background that have no meaning other than to be hills/mountains.

Not saying that I don't believe it could represent a woman, just saying that it could also be nothing.

[Sachi]

But Sachi, what do you make of the draft EoE version of the scene and the differences from the final version?

I dunno. I've never been wildly interested in the drafts/proposals, so I've never actually gone through them in detail, and certainly not the draft of this scene; I much prefer to look at the finished product and interpret it as it was published, which I suppose is the cause for a lot of death-of-the-author in my analyses.

I have one problem with accepting the whole "vagina/womb" theory. Even though I will admit that it does sort of look like a woman in the 1st picture with the legs and the breasts as hills and everything, I just doubt that they did that on purpose.

Perspective matters. A good use of camera angles can provide more information than the actual context of the scene, especially in a scene as surreal as this one that carries an almost obnoxious amount of symbolism in both the setting and the events. It's important to look at the scene through the eye of the camera, rather than to try to visualize the entire setting as a whole.




A lot of attention is brought to the sunset in the context of the surrounding hills and trees; the sun always being seen with the symmetrical landscape, this makes them inseparable as symbols, and would lead us to believe that they together hold some deeper meaning for the message of the scene, and thus the interpretation of the woman/womb I made in the OP.

[extext]

I only ever got as far as Shinji destroying the sand castle, but that's pretty much it - didn't even link the shape of it to the liking of Nerv.

Great analysis.

[Karex_Usyrion]

This analysis was awesome because it hit on a keynote expansion from the richness of the scene with the womb image, right there in front for everyone to find as someone said like the 3D pictures that many can never see as intended. There are many dimensions to the scene and there are about 3 or 4 other analysis references to go through to get more details; no single one I've been able to find has put together all of it. Other references have noted more and explored more along the lines as to what the staged characteristics of the scene communicate (the stage lights, stage scenery with struts, cameras), for example. BTW, research suggests that while one of the two little girls is easily recognized as Asuka, the second one is not so easily established but is more likely Hikari. The mother is identified as being "acted' by Misato.

[gwern]

BTW, research suggests that while one of the two little girls is easily recognized as Asuka, the second one is not so easily established but is more likely Hikari. The mother is identified as being "acted' by Misato.

Hikari? Er... have you seen the translation of the draft for the scene?

[Karex_Usyrion]

Hikari? Er... have you seen the translation of the draft for the scene?

I have previously seen the translation of the draft for the scene. It mentions a girl (only one) and indicates "(Make her a young Asuka?). "
It also mentions "The mother of the girl stands at the park entrance. (Make her look like Yui, or Misato?) ". The draft matches what ended showing on the screen to a certain degree and while the draft is very valuable what is on the screen conveys differences and more.
The mother of the girl does not initially appear standing (appears instead sitting in one out of five folding chairs of the kind common at school plays) and while it is clear we can visually recognize the features and similarities for the little girl that is mentioned in the draft as matching Asuka and the mother as more closely matched with Misato, the other little girl (two little girls leave the "park" with the mother) is not in any part of the translation at all. I am also aware of several discussions which suggest the other little girl is Rei but those include tenuous precepts to support them and I haven't found any that has presented any way to reconcile how visually different the little girl is from Rei I.
On the other hand, the references which suggests the other little girl is Hikari Horaki are grounded on visual and symbolic comparisons between this EoE scene and the Asuka-Hikari summit scene in TV Series Episode 18 esp. 06:49/23:21 (NTSC) which is the only other scene showing a playground sandbox.

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

So this is what I've seen as a summary of the events that just occurred: this entire scene is a mirror of Shinji's journey through the series. He came to Nerv and piloted the Eva looking to find that love and acknowledgement he always wanted, but he didn't find it. In a rage, he decides to destroy his world, and attempts building it again using Instrumentality. The end.

I was inclined to view this scene as an allegory for what is about to happen -- Shinji destroying existence then later rebuilding it -- but seen as an allegory for Shinji's journey through the entire series, I think it makes a lot of sense. This is a compelling interpretation of an often obscure scene.

Of note here as well is the stage imagery, similar to that seen in EoTV #25/#26. Do you have any further thoughts on this?

[Lavinius]

The pyramids of the Aegyptians were built to reach heaven so that the Pharaohs could become gods, much like the Tower of Babel, built to reach heaven and forever unify mankind. Which of course are the goals of Instrumentality.
The Tower of Babel is the archetypical example of hubris and neccesary failure. The Tarot card corresponding to it symbolizes disaster. The Tower was never finished, because mankind forgot how to communicate.
And Instrumentality was a bad thing, because in unifying everyone it killed them. So like the Tower it collapses, because Shinji realized that chaos is life.

[Sachi]

Of note here as well is the stage imagery, similar to that seen in EoTV #25/#26. Do you have any further thoughts on this?

I think they're related to the presentation of the string ensemble in death, otherwise the overture to Rebirth/EoE, as well as how the stage imagery is used in EoTV. When you're a prop on a stage, everybody can see you; this is the concept demonstrated in EoTV, and reflects the implications of the Instrumentality Project: to remove the barriers between people and expose the inner-self for the world to see.

During the Sandbox Scene, however, the only monologue we're given is Shinji's opening line: "I see... It's just like when I started the cello. I thought that if I came here, I could find something...", and then the dolls speaking about building a sand castle. We're left with only the visual, and as I explained in my earlier post, that visual is the summation of Shinji's plight upon arriving in Tokyo-03, aka the NGE series.

As for the stage lights within the context of EoE, I hold in my belief that they represent the viewer (those being exposed to Shinji's inner world). Shinji views his life as propped up on a stage that he cannot escape. He worries how others view him, and believes others to be examining his every detail looking for flaws, which makes sense because he himself is always reevaluating and examining himself in that way as well (ironic, given that's exactly what we do the poor guy, amiright?), and that is why he is so reluctant to be comfortable with himself. He'd rather just hide behind his SDAT, locked up in his room, or not existing altogether, just to get away from being put under the spotlight.

Given the rest of the scene, he's really just a lost child trying to make his way through the world on his own, and he wants people to know his inner-pain so that maybe they can help him. Then we get the trippy sequence, wherein Asuka disclaims that she can't stand the sight of him, very possibly in reference to the "inner-Shinji" we just saw in the Sandbox, and Shinji replies: "because I'm just like you?" And the rest and so on.

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

During the Sandbox Scene, however, the only monologue we're given is Shinji's opening line: "I see... It's just like when I started the cello. I thought that if I came here, I could find something...", and then the dolls speaking about building a sand castle. We're left with only the visual, and as I explained in my earlier post, that visual is the summation of Shinji's plight upon arriving in Tokyo-03, aka the NGE series.

Just on this visual, what do you think of there being a similarity in the lighting/tones of the sandbox scene and the first view of the Geofront shown in episode #01? This was the image of Shinji's first arrival in Tokyo-3, so perhaps the sandbox scene is harping back to this with the sand pyramid and lighting?

[wkimg]01_C168_big.jpg[/wkimg]

The shape and placing of the sandbox pit doesn't quite match up to the Geofront's own "pit", but I think the connection is clear here too.
[wkimg]01 C166.jpg[/wkimg]
[wkimg]01 C169A1.jpg[/wkimg]

Could this sandpit "stage" be a metaphor for Tokyo-3, the setting of the series?

As for the stage lights within the context of EoE, I hold in my belief that they represent the viewer (those being exposed to Shinji's inner world). Shinji views his life as propped up on a stage that he cannot escape.

Perhaps the stage lights represent the idea of a production? Not that I think the viewer is absent, but perhaps the stage and lights are a metaphor for the television series itself. A metaphor within EoE for the Evangelion Television show. Or maybe that's getting too meta.

[Sachi]

Could this sandpit "stage" be a metaphor for Tokyo-3, the setting of the series?

...

Perhaps the stage lights represent the idea of a production? Not that I think the viewer is absent, but perhaps the stage and lights are a metaphor for the television series itself. A metaphor within EoE for the Evangelion Television show. Or maybe that's getting too meta.

Yes, I think this is perfectly valid. NGE's main setting is Tokyo-03, and it essentially creates a pocket existence for itself where the rules aren't entirely the same as our own. As we become more familiar with the setting, and the events that occur in it (Angel fights, giant robots, government conspiracies, etc), we also become more familiar with our characters. In that sense, the city is a "sandbox" for the characters to to interact in, and a place where we can observe them. Given the relationship between Anno and his audience, the idea of a "production within a production" lends itself to 1)Shinji's personification of himself (note that he is likely also observing himself in this scene) 2) Shinji's personification of the audience, and 3) Shinji's personifcation of Anno. Which of the three are really being observed here? (this applies to both EoE via the Sandbox scene, and EoTV with the stage imagery, as well as Death's string quartet for following the precedent of a meta framework).

Shinji's quote about playing the cello, for example, can be applied to both Anno and the audience. When Anno first set out to make Evangelion (or perhaps this can be applied to all his works), did he do it to define his existence and find what he was looking for, and did he ever find it? He then challenges the audience: did they find what they were looking for by escaping into the fantasy world of Evangelion (Shinji being the vessel)? The conclusion is ambivalent, but the message in the end seems to favor the struggle with reality rather than the escapism into fantasy.

[Elect G-Max]

The pyramid represents ice cream cones. Shinji's destruction of it represents his rage at the fact that his father never gave him ice cream. The dolls represent Shinji's inherent girliness.

What I just wrote makes exactly as much sense as anything else that has been written in this thread.

[Sachi]

The pyramid represents ice cream cones. Shinji's destruction of it represents his rage at the fact that his father never gave him ice cream.

In a certain sense, yes.

Also, I admit that some of the analysis I've presented in this thread can be borderline fanwank, given how abstract it and the observed source material can be; unfortunately, I'm not articulate enough to fully explain some of my more vague points in a way that can be absorbed by a more general audience, nor do I have the time to. Perhaps by my next viewing I can refine some of those points, or present them from a different perspective. Thus is the joy of art that can be revisited over and over again.

[Bagheera]

In a certain sense, yes.

Also, I admit that some of the analysis I've presented in this thread can be borderline fanwank, given how abstract it and the observed source material can be; unfortunately, I'm not articulate enough to fully explain some of my more vague points in a way that can be absorbed by a more general audience, nor do I have the time to. Perhaps by my next viewing I can refine some of those points, or present them from a different perspective. Thus is the joy of art that can be revisited over and over again.

I don't think you have much to worry about, dude; you pretty much hit the ball out of the park the first time around. If a more general audience can't grasp it that's unfortunate, but it's hardly an indictment against the argument (same as a general audience's inability to grasp differential equations hardly invalidates a proof involving such).