ANALYSIS OF POWER - PERILS AND POSSIBILITIES:

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Greetings visitors! The purpose of this [E-internet] paper is to introduce and uncover some sophisticated themes of POWER embedded in the Anime Film, AKIRA. This paper is ongoing work in progress. What makes this paper special from others, is that it will attempt to employ popular perspectives from the body of knowledge of psychology and psychoanalytic theory. In particular, it will showcase some personalized interpretations of mine. I cannot guarentee 100 percent precision, but I hope it provides you with purposeful insight!

"The Colonel is always anticipating a power struggle." - Film stills courtesy of: BlueBlade AKIRA

I will, firstly, mention that the theme of POWER is not an uncommon presence in AKIRA. For instance, there seems to be a struggle between Kaneda & Tetsuo for Kaneda's power bike. This was seen in the introductory opening of the film when Tetsuo is found fiddling with some gadgets & perk's of Kaneda's bike. Later on, Tetsuo is also found 'borrowing' this bike with no permission from the vocational school grounds. The bike is, essentially, depicted as a powerful high-performance vehicle, boosting assertiveness & confidence to those who mount on it.

Secondly, let me introduce to you some basic work of a very ambitious man who was the source of many insights about Personality. His name was Sigmund Freud and, although he was a physician, he greatly shaped today's fundamentals of psychology. He further coined the word 'id' (portion of personality concerned with immediate gratification of primitive needs). Some examples of 'id' include impulses such as sex and aggression. Interestingly, power is thought to stem from the very act of aggression and is commonly accompanied by irrationality as well. This can explain why Tetsuo's path to power is a violent one. Irrational behaviour from Tetsuo (such as the gradual abandonment of his close friend, Kaori) is also justified by this explanation.

In contrast, the POWER struggle the Colonel faced with government Board members occured at the 'Superego' level, another aspect of personality in Freud's theory. 'Superego' recognises that a portion of human personality can represent as the Conscience. In other words, the Colonel's directions for Martial Law were not driven by the need for power (although there are some scenes which conflict with this notion which I might discuss later), but rather for the best interests of Neo-Tokyo's citizens. That is, the prevention of a significant explosion with the potential to wipe out most existence. However, the Colonel is ultimately confronted with the city's doomed fate. His failed attempts of preventing such destruction eventually leads him to repression (forcing unacceptible thoughts into unconsciousness - a defensive mechanism in reaction to profuse anxiety). This destruction might represent the dire consequences for efforts associated with attaining AKIRA: - 'pure ultimate energy that is raw and resides in all living things and inanimate objects'. In conclusion, might I mention a very appropriate [and modified] quote for this discussion from George Orwell's novel, Animal Farm. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely".

FURTHER READING:

Baron, R.A., & Kalsher, M. (2002). Essentials of Psychology (3^rd ed.). Sydney: Allyn & Bacon.

 

Coon, D. (2000). Essentials of psychology: Exploration and application (8^th ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth-Thomson Learning.

 

Purdy. J.E., Markham, M.R., Schwartz, B.L., & Gordon, W.C. (2001). Learning and Memory (2^nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth-Thomson Learning.