The Insane "Psychology" of Serial Experiments Lain Explained

From Evangelion to Akira, Lain to Ghost in the Shell; what do all your favorite 90’s anime have in common? Two “psychologists:” Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Yes, actually. It’s worth some analysis and discussion due to these insane concepts, so here’s a whole video essay on it.

Chances are, if you’ve watched any of the “prolific” anime from the 1990’s era (classic anime), you noticed some similar, almost insane at times, themes and topics. Connection between beings, psychological explorations of the characters, memory and its true boundaries, the next stage of human evolution, and even more trippy topics. Most notably, you may hear a quite clear direction mention; the collective unconscious. Information stored in the primordial nature of human beings, genetic information paving the way of our future, the breakdown of barriers between not just us and our history, but each other, and even our own selves. This is a theory posited by Jarl Jung, a Sigmund Freud contemporary, and the ideas these two bounced off of each other in the early 20th century left a profound impact on the landscape of the late 20th century anime industry. From Neon Genesis Evangelion to Serial Experiments Lain, Akira to Ghost in the Shell, these anime and movies have much more in common than just the time they were made. By analyzing and discussing the thoughts of these two controversial figures, we’ll be able to gain insight not just on these anime we all know and love, but ourselves, and the nature of human beings on the whole.

This is the first video essay of a potential series on the collective unconscious (Jung) in Japanese animation, focusing on its use in Serial Experiments Lain. Next up is Neon Genesis Evangelion and its Freudian influence, and after that Ghost and the Shell and Akira with their takes, all with in-depth analysis and discussion.

Part 1 music: With a Stamp by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

#anime #serialexperimentslain #lain #freud #jung #collectiveunconscious #professorviral

0:00 Introduction & Jung
9:07 Part 1: Sharing is Caring
19:28 Part 2: Remember to Forget
26:32 Part 3: Overwhelmed
36:37 Part 4: Stay Forever Jung & Outro