Perfect Blue is now scarier than ever

Psychological thriller animation released in 1997 perfect blue This is Satoshi Kon’s only directorial work without a story. But only technically. This movie is adapted from a light novel Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis Author: Yoshikazu Takeuchi, but very loose.

The book and movie started out similarly, but it wasn’t long before the animation diverged and followed Kon’s vision, ultimately making the story his own. Interestingly, while infusing the film with elements that would become part of his signature style, Kon also added a small detail to his style. perfect blue This makes the film scarier now than it was when it first came out.

perfect blue and Completely perverted

The film and book tell the story of pop icon Mima Kirigoshi as she attempts to leave the singing world and carve a more sleazy image for herself. This ultimately led to some pretty gruesome murders. While both men talk about the objectification and commodification of young women’s and men’s sense of entitlement, the two approach it in completely different ways.

Essentially a horror thriller, the book is filled with gory details and helps us understand the mind of a deranged stalker who wants the object of his obsession to remain pure. exist Completely perverted, Stalkers are the root of all danger and fear. In the movie, he’s more of a symptom of something larger.

Mima’s stalker (My Madness in the movie, Dear Rose in the book) feels a twisted desire to protect her because, in his mind, she belongs to him. In the movie, he has competition and adds scenes where fans or people in the entertainment industry see Mima as a product that meets their needs.

The dehumanization she experienced left her with a fractured view of reality to the point where she was unable to tell what was real and what wasn’t. This was entirely Kon’s invention, and part of the reason the film continues to be popular nearly 30 years later. But that’s not why today is so scary.

Satoshi Kon’s secret ingredient: the Internet

The Internet was not yet widespread at that time perfect blue The animation came out, but its presence was strong enough for Kon to integrate it into the narrative via a website maintained by a Mima impersonator who documented her daily life in first-person and brutally accurate detail. Over time, this pushed the former idol to the edge of losing her sense of identity, wondering if this internet person was the real Mima. Luckily, Kon takes it a step further.

The people behind the public but anonymous internet journal used it to essentially create their perfect Mima. Entries about her life are actually correct, such as “I bought slightly more expensive milk today.” But when it comes to Mima consenting to rape scenes on TV shows or posing for nude photos, the magazine puts words in her mouth, accusing this or that person of “forcing” her to do so.

The real Mima is actually very reluctant to do these things, but she mainly blames herself. However, through the medium of the Internet, villains are able to fashion online versions of themselves as real people to better suit the whims of their demented minds.

Predicting modern social media

Kon quickly discovers how easy it is to impersonate another person online, and how a parasocial relationship with the object of one’s desires can disrupt an already unstable psyche.

This is a bit of a spoiler, but it turns out that Memaniac has actually been in personal communication with someone who claims to be the real Mima, and that intimacy and exclusivity gives him the motivation he needs to commit truly evil things.

In Twitter’s heyday, the average Internet user had easy access to a plethora of celebrities. Not only do they share details about their private lives, they also communicate directly with their fans.

Me-Mania’s connection with Mima perfect blue The animation is based on a lie, but the result is a sadly familiar one. There are countless examples of celebrities exchanging inappropriate messages with adults and minors who feel so privileged to receive personal attention from someone they admire that they let things go too far.

Ultimately, many people end up doing things they never knew they were capable of, and perfect blue Since 1997, this has perfectly aligned with these fears. This is so creepy.

The madness of two people

an explanation of perfect blue The film is about a shared mental illness, with the real villain infecting “my mania” with his own mental instability. It’s unclear if this was Kon’s intention, but there are enough elements in the film to support this theory and give us all a strange sense of déjà vu.

We’ve all seen examples of misinformation and conspiracy theories running rampant online, spreading like mental contagions. It would be both amazing and terrifying if Satoshi Kon could have seen the future of clowning 27 years ago.

As I write this on October 12, 2024, Satoshi Kon’s 61st birthday, I wonder what the director was thinking perfect blue in later life. He did live long enough to see the launch of Twitter and Facebook, but died before they became the brain-burning dumpster fires they are today.

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