[ SECRET POST #3160 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3160 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 050 secrets from Secret Submission Post #452.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[leikomgwtfbbq]

*cracks knuckles* I love a challenge, and I love talking about Utena and symbolism, so HERE WE GO.

A lot of people go with "yeah it's probably symbolism for sex," and that's entirely possible, but it's way too simple, in my mind.

What I took away from it is that escaping to the outside world is a team effort, so you need a driver and a car.

It was a team effort in the show, too, but not quite to the extent of the movie. In the series, Utena not only fights for Anthy, but shows her respect and friendship and love outside of the duel game. She's the first person in a very long time to treat Anthy like a human being and not like a tool or a toy, and that introduces a change in Anthy's thinking, slowly but surely. Utena saves her, not by charging in on a white horse and sweeping Anthy away, but by inspiring her to leave the "cozy coffin" on her own, to break the cycle that she'd been repeating for so long. Anthy didn't need the prince to charge in and take her away. That was part of the problem--part of the cycle. They changed and grew together, and because of each other, they grew up and faced reality where everyone else was clinging on to the comfort of their fantasies and their pasts.

In the movie, it's much more directly a team effort. They change together here, too, though in different ways, and decide to leave together. It's much less gradual. They awake from the fantasies that held them there and decide "there's nothing here for us," and decide to face their responsibilities and the consequences in the real outside world. But the tough thing about waking up from fantasies is that they have a way of keeping you trapped. That was what kept them there in the first place.

So there has to be a team effort driving (sorry) them forward. Utena is the vehicle (sorry) for the change, the one who creates the idea, and Anthy is the one steering them. Anthy starts to summon the Sword of Dios again--the power of miracles and eternity--but Utena refuses it, and proposes that they just run away to the outside world together.

And so Utena randomly is turned into a car, and it's weird as shit, but it's a good metaphor. They may be together, they may have a clear sense of purpose, but nothing is perfect. They crash, they break down, they lose their way, but ultimately--however broken down they are, together, they escape, and they are happy and free.

Shiori can turn into a car, too, but she crashes and burns pretty quick. She thinks she's ready to grow up and join the outside world, but she has no purpose, no direction, no one to help and guide her.

It fits in with Juri remarking that "high goals attract good company" as the student council helps Utena and Anthy get back on the right road. They're not quite ready to leave yet, themselves, but they're getting there, and the least they can do is support their friends who ARE ready, and be inspired by their courage and dedication.

SO there you go.

I need to go dig my DVD copy out of my moving boxes and rewatch it. It's been such a long time and it's one of my favorites.

[(Anonymous)]

I love everything about this comment.

[leikomgwtfbbq]

Like I said, I like a good challenge.

Part of what I love so much about the entire Utena mythos is that there's so much rewatch value. Every time I watch it, I see some new layer, some new meaning, and some new way of understanding the world around me, and how I interact with it. It's one of my favorite series because it's helped me learn so much, and it's a rare series that can stay with you so long (I first picked it up at a Blockbuster 15 years ago!) and grow and change with you--or guide how you grow and change.

[(Anonymous)]

*Applauds*
I got most of that from my own viewing of it (though I don't think I could have articulated it so well), though I didn't think of the student council's involvement, and I completely forgot about Shiori.

[(Anonymous)]

I think it's worth mentioning that Wakaba also turns into a car- she's the jeep that the Student Council are riding in. Since she becomes such a practical car compared to the frilly one Shiori became, I figure this means she's more than ready to become an adult and is responsible enough to support other people.

[leikomgwtfbbq]

That is also a good way of putting it, anon!

She's obviously pretty responsible and into looking out for other people in the show, too, but she hasn't grown up and left yet because part of that is also what's holding her back--as illustrated in her Black Rose episode. But she's getting there, and she's not crashing and burning like Shiori because, you know, high goals attract good company, sayeth Juri. :D

[(Anonymous)]

Holy shit, I never caught on that Wakaba was the jeep! That's awesome, I always liked her even before I got into the series proper :D

[(Anonymous)]

There's nothing I can say but *standing ovation*