![]() In our contemporary society, “trolling” has become a part of our vernacular, so we see these amateurish attempts as nothing more than artists “trolling” for attention. Sure, I won’t deny that some young artists are easily impressed by the avant garde, and thus attempt to mimic modern art without any thought into its construction. Of course, a photorealistic rendering of a human being is technically impressive, but what does it make you think or feel? A lot of artists thus utilize the abstract and the obscene just to invoke a strong reaction from the audience. What simply gives us pleasure will not always invite thought and criticism. This reminds me of how people will often rage at “ugly” art without understanding that this sort of tension and conflict being expressed by the audience is exactly what a lot of artists are trying to achieve. At the same time, everything comes so easily that you are not required to think. It requires your manpower and obedience to keep its wheels turning for perpetuity. Of course, the System requires your labor. They are merely a shell of their former selves and soon they will disappear like the melting snow.” By maximizing efficiency, the general populace in PSYCHO-PASS are no different from the humans being used as batteries in The Matrix trilogy. Consider Oryo’s other words: “They don’t notice anything. The System is designed in such a way that only the most socially deviant can and will act out.ġ984 is the go-to book when it comes to dropping dystopian allusions, but I do think Brave New World has always been the more apt comparison for the direction that our civilization is headed. ![]() By ensuring that you won’t fail, not only will you feel indebted to the System, it also ensures this easily-achieved “serenity” that renders its people too impotent and comfortably numb to rebel. This is the sort of individualism that is endangered in the world of PSYCHO-PASS. When you aim for the highest of the highs, you may fall woefully short, but when you succeed, you feel as though you’ve achieved it through your very own means. And there’s an insidious reason to achieve this sort of serene success. That’s what it wants you to think, but the truth is that it really puts people in the best position to not fail. I think the dissatisfaction lies in the fact that the System doesn’t actually put people in the best position to succeed. This is a disease called serenity…” The emphasis is mine, because I think serenity perfectly captures what Huxley was trying to warn us about: the danger of becoming comfortably numb. ![]() It should come to no surprise, then, when Oryo says, “… pathogen will never be eradicated. At its worst, however, it literally renders people inactive and unresponsive. At its best, the System is boringly efficient. ![]() This mindset reflects not just the condition afflicting Oryo’s father, but the condition of the world of PSYCHO-PASS itself. The builiding is simply what it is supposed to be: a place for patients to feel serene. There are no human flourishes that invite interpretation. Why? Because it has been designed with maximum efficiency in mind. It is stark and utilitarian it is without any life or joy. I think the architecture in the opening is as key as what Oryo is saying herself.
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