Ornette wrote:Did I miss something? I'm pretty sure I read all the posts during those few days of utter nonsense.
You didn't miss a thing. The implications of that one, criminally misunderstood scene are beyond belief. The scene has a very lucid meaning once you figure it out, and things unfold into
very unexpected directions from there. If you blow the scene off, though, you can struggle through the rest of the series "perfectly fine"; you'll just have no clue what the hell is going on. The fewer story elements, clues, and thematic details you blow off, the more sense the series will make. Makes sense to me.
But Aaron has never cared about stuff like those supposed "peripheral plot elements"*. He's had a pathological habit of flipping off at least 4/5 of a series that he supposedly "loves". It's like that quote from "Dogma": "You don't celebrate your religion. You mourn it." Well, replace "religion" with "geekdom", and there you have it.
I have no idea why he, and others, get such a bug up their lower digestive tracts over absolutely silly things like this. Honestly. My sense of humor may be twisted, but some people REALLY have no shame. Or a sense of priority/perspective, for that matter!
I suppose I can let myself love this series as absolutely much as I do because I see eye-to-eye with Anno on... gee, offhand I really can't think of any particular place where we don't. It just sort of turned out that way. Routine psychotherapy appointments (great opportunities for introspection and reflection, BTW) between Summer 2000 and Winter 2006. Rachel grows and discovers herself as a person. Randomly goes back and watches parts of NGE for forum debate purposes. Something that I hadn't really thought much about before -- just talking heads up until then -- clicks.
"Holy crap. I know exactly what you mean!!!"
Plus, being both an artist and a storyteller myself -- another convergent trait, I guess -- I've been forced to roll my eyes at the vast majority of the criticism, since most people make it clear that they have no idea how this sort of creative process works. You build a vision of the fictional universe in your head, and the story that is actually presented to an audience can be as selective about the details it actually reveals as it likes. Anno obviously wasn't targeting his story at those who wanted something quick and easy. NGE has a mind-boggling amount of replay value, and I really admire it for that. (That's one of the things that has kept me here all these years.) This anime really needs to be chewed before it can be fully processed.**
If you don't like the way it tastes, spit it out and find something else to eat, because NGE isn't for you. I cannot understand how so many people can possibly consider themselves "fans" when they clearly demonstrate that they have no respect for the creative team or the storytelling. The fandom is completely, devastatingly superficial. Fine. At least acknowledge that you are a surface-level fan and let the hard-core geeks do their thing, because you have no right to sour what should be a fun Internet retreat for "Eva" discussion and debate with your rotten personalities and opinions. Yes, there are opinions, and then there are rancid, stinking ones; and the difference is all in the presentation.
Those responsible for causing and feeding this travesty and every similar outbreak (and you know damn well who you are) who try to justify their outrageous behavior are not much different from homophobes who insist on attending Gay Pride marches. Honestly, what joy do you get from this? Grow the hell up.
The reactions that NGE provokes tell us a hell of a lot more about the people reacting than the quality or character of the show itself. It's rather impressive that way.
* As it goes, the fact that THEY have all been chronically dismissed by fans is yet another "self-imposed dam to understanding". <insert>
** Gee, why is
Asari-san's statement popping into my head again? How interesting that Eva Monkey is the one hosting this, too. <insert>
Originally posted on: 31-Jan-2006, 02:23 GMT