Psycho-Pass 09 – Self-Destructive Society
December 11, 2012 4 Comments
While a significant chunk of this week’s Psycho-Pass was given over to our cyborg hunter and his sophistry, the most interesting element was the self-destructive nature of the Sibyl system and its impact upon society. Psycho-Pass presents a fascinating world, a vision of a dystopian society within which your every thought can be tracked and quantified. It presents us with a highly stratified and controlled society where simple test scores can determine where you work and what your life will be like. A world where your thoughts, attitudes and abilities can be measure and quantified, thus determining your entire life, will create a highly stratified and structured society. In doing so, such a society would arguably create distinct and destructive social divisions, and with no ability to move and change your life, what might be dissatisfaction in another society can become dangerous and destructive. To be reliant on technology is one thing, but to let the technology control your life is something very different. Senguji Toyohisa makes an interesting point in his interview when he asks what the difference between a human who relies upon technology such as the costume devices or Ai secretaries and automatons and those who are full cyborg’s. At the most basic level there is little difference, with both wholly reliant on the technology to allow them to function in one way or another. On the other hand, those who have full cybernetic bodies have become utterly reliant upon their technology. Read more of this post
Psycho-Pass 10 – It’s all one big game
December 19, 2012 2 Comments
The ease with which peoples voices can be faked, along with the startlingly inaccurate information and maps that the police have at their disposal once again throws the numerous flaws and dangerous of the Sibyl system into the light. As Kougami and Akane are called out into a trap we see how the criminals are using the flaws that they have seen in the system to their advantage. They use these flaws and choose where they wish to meet, thus demonstrating a clear knowledge of the city that even the most advanced technology cannot replicate. When Kougami seemingly walks through a wall and then disappears at high speed the puzzled and shocked look on Akane’s face shows us how much she trusts the technology at her disposal. It is however hardly surprising that there would be numerous unknown tunnels and alleyways in a city as large as the one in Psycho-Pass. Over time the numerous redevelopments and restructuring must have left a veritable maze of catacombs and mysterious and abandoned areas under the city. What is most surprising though is how little the official data shows of the city, with all of these mysterious areas missing from the official records. When we take these inconsistencies into account it is little wonder that Makishima has been able to avoid the gaze of Sibyl and the Public Safety Bureau. In many respects this area represents the twilight of this city, both metaphorically as well as physically, a place far from the gaze of the all-seeing eyes of sibyl. Read more of this post
Filed under Anime, Autumn 2012 Season, Commentaries, Psycho-Pass Tagged with Akane Tsunemori, Psycho-Pass, Shinya Kougami, Shougo Makishima, Shuusei Kagari, Tomomi Masaoka, Yayoi Kunizuka