Strawberry fields.com
Recently, I’ve
been dwelling on the internet. I wake most mornings and instantly reach for my
phone to see if any new messages have appeared in my various inboxes overnight.
It appears that this reflex is now as instinctive as opening my eyes when the
alarm sounds. Once I’ve showered and made some coffee I check it again.
When I find
myself on a tram or train or some other form of public transport, my phone is
suddenly in my hand and I’m checking the internet once more. The same thing happens
when I’m waiting for a friend or just come across a lull in my day. If I ever
feel ashamed of my dependence of this technology, I simply look around. I am
not alone in this. Everyone appears to be the same; logged in, switched on,
plugged in, connected… So what is the internet? What drives our need to
constantly be attached or connected to something so vast? In a sea of
information so indefinable, what can the internet provide the human race in the
future? It’s easy to put a negative spin on the internet and compare the attraction
of technology for the current generation as some form of super drug; but
everything in this world must be taken with moderation and the internet is no
exception.
With this in
mind I’d like to look at Hosoda Mamoru’s film, Summer Wars. Summer Wars
taps into the role that the internet has on the current generation in a
charming way and casts no judgment in any form. It tells the story of a
eleventh grade student, Kenji, a mathematical whiz but lacking in social skills
outside of the world of Oz. Oz is a social networking site that has reached
global popularity to the point that it has become the preferred method of
accessing the internet, in essence, a new virtual world. Business, sport, news,
games, personal profiles, even governmental issues are all featured within the
all encompassing world of Oz, tied into the fabric of a single database.
The film begins
with Kenji being offered a chance to accompany Natsuki, a fellow classmate that
Kenji is completely enamored with, to her Grandmother’s 90th birthday
party at the family home in Nagano as a summer job. He is quickly introduced to her vast family, and
to Grandmother Jinnouchi herself as Natsuki’s fiancé, a surprise that
Natsuki failed to mention in the job description. On the first night he has difficulty
sleeping and receives a strange message on his phone containing a math problem.
He diligently sets to work and sends the answer via reply within a few hours.
When he awakes the next morning, the news is ablaze with reports that Oz has
been uploaded with a new virus. The virus spreads and causes complete confusion
within the online community and as a result panic spreads to the streets.
Computers everywhere become affected and technology grinds to a halt; traffic
piles up, false fires are reported all over the city and important medical
information is deleted thus endangering the lives of the Japanese population on
mass. It soon transpires that Kenji, due to his late night problem solving, is
to blame for unleashing the monster on the virtual world. It is left to
Grandmother Jinnouchi with her influential connections that she has obtained
over the years, as well as her family, to set things straight.
The recurring
theme of forever being plugged-in and connected to the internet is ever present
within Summer Wars. It portrays an
example of both sides of our dependence on technology. Kazuma, a young relative
of Natsuki’s and a member of the vast Jinnouchi clan, is a social shut in who
spends his days attached it to his computer and little else. Although Kazuma is
a recluse in the real world, he has achieved internet fame as King Kazuma, a
combatant in a popular fighting simulator in the world of Oz, even going as far
as appearing in adverts posted around the city. Grandmother Jinnouchi, represents
the opposing side. While Kazuma lives his life through an artificial reality,
the grandmother spent her 90 years building personal relationships founded on
trust and love. When disaster breaks out, she immediately rifles through her
old correspondences and reconnects with old acquaintances, such as the chief of
police, and encourages them to keep fighting and work hard. While the grandmother’s life and
influence in the real world is enviable, Kazuma’s choice of lifestyle is by no
means condemned; in fact a relation is made. It’s all about communication.
While Summer Wars firmly positions itself in
the pro-internet camp, demonstrating the overwhelming affect that its
introduction has had on the world, there are additional issues raised that
could use further thought. Looking at another anime that
is remarkable similar in subject matter but with an alternative stance, Serial Experiments Lain casts a more
philosophical approach to the enigma of the internet. Serial Experiments Lain focuses on the story of one young girl,
Lain, as she slowly comes to terms with who she really is and her position in
the world that surrounds her. Beginning as a painfully shy student, again with
little to no social skills, she turns to the internet for comfort. Once
connected, she slowly becomes more and more confident within the world of
online communication as she perfects her avatar or virtual self. As time
progresses, she begins to lose the self she once was and the fabric of reality
in the real world begins to shift. Time distorts and the two worlds merge into
one with no definable line separating the two. She transcends her mortal
existence by becoming a deity of the wired (the internet) and thus becomes a
god of all existence.
The idea of an
avatar or online self seems to a recurring motif in both Summer Wars and Serial
Experiments Lain. Simply put, it is the self that is projected by the
characters into an artificial existence. Lain discovers that her true self is
actually her avatar and Kenji’s online account is hacked and thus controlled
through his online persona. The virus takes over and controls Kenji in the
world of Oz, seemingly with a mind of its own. A question is raised in both
examples. What constitutes the self as a singular entity and why does the
modern generation feel the need to distort their own beings in a world that can
be molded to their liking? Perhaps it’s simply a case of global hubris that has
taken over the world; in which children with expensive phones stare lifelessly
at their screens. In actual fact, they are living lives of wonder and
excitement that the real world cannot possibly offer them. They are gods in
their own worlds. If this is the case, when we log on are we actually tapping
into a collective humanity?
While Serial Experiments Lain focuses on
losing oneself in the infinite void of the internet, with Lain transforming
into one singular being with no sense of what predated her life before the
Wired, Summer Wars stands by its
principles of communication. Lain’s character is absorbed and modified beyond
recognition whereas, at the end of Summer
Wars, the world unites as a force to combat the virus. Instead of one mind
with many bodies (or avatars) the inhabitants of the world willingly offer
themselves for a common cause.
Summer Wars’ main focus is
about connecting with one another and the power behind that. The use of the
internet simply widens our possibilities of connecting with people from all around
the world and thus reaching a global understanding of the world itself. Summer Wars and Serial Experiments Lain highlight the dangers in this too, in a
world that is created and manipulated by mankind, anybody can distort the
fabric of that reality and change what one may perceive to be real, but it also
shows that the internet can be used for the greater good if used with
moderation and respect.
I, for one, am thankful for the technology that gives me the opportunity to talk with loved ones half a world away on a regular basis. It helps to close the gap and bring us closer together. Of course, that being said, it doesn't hurt to switch off the phone once in a while, unplug the internet and go and sit under a tree for a hour or two and enjoy the pleasures that reality can still offer us.
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