Modern psychological theories are reflected in media as well. In fact, it seems (to me) that current writers and directors are far more apt to use psychological ideas than purely philosophical. In the past (Matrix, Fight Club...) it might have been more popular to rip an idea off of Nietzsche or Plato for a cool concept.
According to some psychologists, there's a part of the brain linked to our belief in a higher being. It fuels our desire to search for a being that is stronger than us, to follow (i.e. God). The details are still a bit sketchy, from what I found, but there's a fairly popular book out on the subject, The "God" Part of the Brain (which, unfortunately, I haven't read). The link explains the concept a but more in depth, which isn't necessary to my purposes here but might be fairly interesting for you nonetheless. There are also some well written reviews on the book, which I thought I would throw in given our current assignment.
The tragic villain/hero that's so overpowered that they can't find anyone stronger than them is a pretty common occurrence in movies, anime and even some video games. Hearing about this "God part of the brain" made me think of some scenes from Bleach, a fairly popular anime in America and Japan. (As an interesting sidenote, the author of the series is constantly throwing things from psychology and philosophy into his work, now that he's become an established writer.) At any rate, several characters are portrayed as being so powerful that they can't find an equal, and this lack of companionship is a major issue in their character development and/or emo level.
So this leads to my question: is this dissatisfaction at not having a worthy rival (a common theme) linked to this God section of the brain? Some examples are in order, although I guess I should provide spoiler disclaimers.
These are all from the end of Bleach, so bear that in mind. Actually, they're mostly from the manga (which gets written before the anime airs), so even if you keep up with the show in America they're still spoilers.
Stark, one of the bad guys, was basically so strong that his mere presence killed most other beings off.
And here's the actual scene from the anime, starting around 7:11
Aizen (and this is the major spoiler for the entire series) was also ungodly strong, but to an even greater extent.
And the most obvious one is a line that Aizen, the main villain, said. It's worth checking out just because it is the strongest connection to this concept of a God part of the brain, plus the dramatic shading and coloring is awesome.
It's kinda cool to see these themes get picked up so quickly by an entertainment medium. What are your thoughts on this? Is it all a bunch of BS?
I really enjoy reading your blog. Very interesting topic this week. After reading your blog I thought about those people who claim to be atheist. I understand they don't believe in a higher being who is the creator of all things, but do they believe in a higher being? You know there is a group of people in Argentina that worship Maradona. They have a church and they meet every sunday. Yep!! the best soccer player in the history of the sports. Crazy, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteGood blog