fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #521 ]

[ SECRET POST #521 ]

⌈ Secret Post #521 ⌋

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

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Notes:

If you see

technophille (that's two L's) around, it's not me. Just so you know.

Secrets Left to Post: 14 pages, 340 secrets from Secret Submission Post #075.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 - broken links ], [ 1 2 3 - not!secrets ], [ 1 2 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 3 - too big ], [ 1 - what ], [ 1 - here we go again ], [ 1 - person thinks pairings are religion ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

149 Oh hey a "My Life In Blue" secret. Fancy that. ... EVERYONE WOULD TAP VINCENT, OKAY? YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

158 Ummm. Wow. I don't want to tl;dr here, but you strike me as the sort of person who's never had something terrible happen to them. Or you lack emotional depth or maturity. How could you possibly equate EVA's existentialism with TTGL's humanism? Those two series, at least, are not the same at all. The philosophies behind them are different, the moods of the pieces are different, and the messages are different. Also the animation style. Now that you're older, maybe you should watch EVA again, because you seem to have missed a lot.

162 If I could cry, I would have *bawled like a child* for Viral. ;__;

OP : Yes, so the animation style? So by that you're referring to what I said in my secret about how they just update everything to suit what's popular at the time? Oh okay, glad you agree.

And actually, you just touched on one of the things about Eva I love. I've watched 4 times or so now, and I always take away something different from it based on my age and new experiences. I doubt I'll have a similar experience with GL being as that there is very little to actually take away.

Also, way to assume a lot about someone you know nothing about. I'm sure the psychology class you were required to take in college taught you a lot. Oh wait, you're 18? My bad, High School then. I could very easily make a laundry list of the crap I've been through in the 4 extra years I've been on the planet that you weren't around for, but I don't believe you were inviting me to a pity party, were you?

Hell, why not throw a pity party? I've been thrown in the loony bin for being nuts, been put on crazy-making medication, my father died of sudden-death-syndrome, I had to go to Catholic school for five years, yadda yadda yadda and so on and so forth. Share your woes if you feel like it. It's not a contest. However.

Gurren Lagann will almost certainly take on a new meaning for you when the person you love and cherish most in the world abruptly dies. I assume that hasn't happened to you yet - forgive me if I'm wrong - because otherwise, well, I'd have expected you to take away a little more meaning from the series. Regardless of what you think of it now, there is more to TTGL than you've gleaned, and that's why I assume - at least in that aspect - that you are emotionally immature. You don't really seem to treat death with the respect that it would get from someone who's been through that shit. If I'm wrong in my assumptions, then, hell, I offer my sincerest apologies.

XD I've taken two college-level psych courses, actually; passed 'em with flying colors. It's an interesting subject and I like it a lot. Then again, I'm a pretentious homeschooling asshole who likes to make character judgements about strangers.

The only judgement I made about you was simply that you've never lost the person you loved the most to death. Again, if I'm wrong, then I apologize sincerely, and I'd actually be interested in discussing the impact that both Eva and TTGL had on you and how you interpreted it based on your personal experience. Either way - interesting response, if a bit defensive. Best of wishes to you.

OP : Hm, pity party then? I grew up in a household where I was regularly physically abused until the age of 10 when my public school figured out what my father was doing and intervened. Also around this time, my mother's birth father died of skin cancer, which devastated my poor little brain because he, of my three grandfathers, was the one I was closest with and I loved him very much. Besides the beatings at home, I was regularly attacked by my fellow classmates for many years despite the fact that I am female. At 13, my father flew into a rage and tried to strangle me. I'm not sure that he remembers having done this since he had lymes disease at the time, and around that time is when most of his memory is blurred. When I was 17, a close friend of mine hung himself. Since then, a total of 6 people I know have ended up in coffins, including my exboyfriend's grandfather who singled me out when he was delirious with cancer in his hospital bed to tell me how glad he was that his grandson was able to find a girl like me and my best friend's mother whose daughter is like a sister to me. Then, after a series of emotionally abusive relationships, I was raped by one of my boyfriends. Since then my parents have kicked me out for no other reason than they didn't feel like having me around anymore (I wish I could say there was a real reason for this; they considered me a free loader despite the fact that I was working 55 hours a week) and I haven't spoken to them in almost a year now. So that's my past. While I appreciate your apology for your assumptions, "never had something bad happen" and "emotionally immature" my ass. While the deaths I have suffered probably could not compare to what you went through with your father, it was still some pretty messed up shit.

Please also respect my age. I have four years on you, and trust me those four years make a huge difference. It may be difficult to imagine now, but just look at on how different when you were when you were 14.

Anyway, the main point of our discussion is I still see what GL has to be gained. I do still have a few episodes left before the end of the series, but unless it has a very dramatic turn-around I still see it to be extremely shallow. I would honestly rather have you give me the argument of "You're looking for too much, just shut up and enjoy the series" because that seems to be the best counter-argument I've received so far. But I'm sorry, blind optimism does nothing for me.

I was very wrong, and I am sorry. You do not have a lack of suffering; you have an excess. Given that, your reaction to TTGL makes perfect sense. I also apologize for disrespecting your age and experience.

But... isn't blind optimism the only kind? The only way to have any hope in this world is to ignore large parts of it, because reality is bitter and cruel. I'm a hypersensitive kid, to the extent that I'm on meds to control my emotions; I know suffering at least as well as you do. To be pessimistic is to be realistic; suicidal people tend to have extremely accurate perceptions of the world. To put it simply, reality bites.

I defy reality. I won't accept a world in which children are beaten and young girls are raped - where people like you are hurt. Somehow, I'll make this world change, make it saner and less horrible. That's just the sort of person I am. You can call it stupidity or shallowness, but it takes a great deal of willpower to essentially flip reality the bird and batter against it until one or the other breaks. That's what I intend to do with my life - batter against reality until I break through or die. Sure, it's stupid and probably doomed to failure. But I will live this way nonetheless, because I believe that is how my life ought to be lived.

So, perhaps childishly, I see a lot of myself and what I want to strive for in Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Hope itself is ridiculous; so Gurren Lagann is a ridiculous and over-the-top series by necessity. Maybe there are other ways to help people change the world, but this is the best one I have found.

What is your opinion? What, precisely, do you find shallow about TTGL? I will admit that the story contains a lot of archetypes, but the story they tell, to me, is important. What do you like the most about Eva's story?

OP : Haha, I do believe our disagreement stems on polar-opposite life philosophies! Because of everything I've gone through I have an extremely tough skin and I've learned to be exceptionally resilient because I know it's the only way to survive. I have wonderful people in my life and I know they'll help me when they can, but I know I can't expect to depend on them for everything because I'll just be disappointed. I have learned to accept that bad things happen to good people for no apparent reason, and there's nothing more to it than that unfortunately. Yes, hope is very important but within reason. I personally believe it's extremely healthy to get upset and beat yourself up every now and then because this is healthy, and unless you do you'll never be able to improve yourself. However, I also resent anyone who sits around and whines all the time about depression. Personal happiness is a choice; if you chose to be happy, eventually you will be actually happy. Sounds retarded, but as a general rule it's true. Some people genuinely do have chemical imbalances that make achieving that a little more difficult, but most of the population could do it if they actually wanted to.

So in a sense, I do sort of agree GL on that factor. However, while I haven't finished the series as of yet, as far as I can tell that the underlying meaning seems to be one of absolute positivity and determination. I don't necessarily disagree with that in of itself, but I do think that relying on ONLY that is stupid and naive.

I believe what I like the most about Eva is how three-dimensional all the characters are. While Rei is arguably the only one incapable of being three-dimensional since she's a physical embodiment of all of the various sections of Shinji's mother's psyche, I really appreciate the fact that not a single person in Eva is a completely good person. Each character has their dark, weak sides to them, and even most of their villains show some redeeming characteristics at times. I feel like this, as well as The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, is one of the most accurate portrayals of humanity I have ever seen. If nothing else, I appreciate Eva for that. While I disagree with running around being a general douche, I account for moments of moral weakness from everyone I know. It's just how people work. Everyone is inherently flawed and I expect them to behave so every now and then.

As for anything else, my perceived meaning of Eva changes every time I watch it, which I also think makes it an extremely strong piece of art. Everyone can take away something different while still learning from it, which is something I strive for in my literature. It is an exceptionally powerful piece overflowing with interesting symbolism that can be interpreted in many different ways, and THAT above all things to me is what makes something good. I find GL shallow because the meaning is fairly straight-forward and simple; there is very little depth to it which does not make my mind think interesting or unique thoughts at all. It does not challenge me at all. So while I enjoy the animation and character designs, the story and underlying meanings do very little for me.

I did genuinely enjoy this debate, by the way!

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[ SECRET POST #521 ]

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