Anime Blog

I thoroughly enjoyed this anime, and I found it to be a pleasant viewing to wrap up this class. The series follows a group of outcast students who are tasked by the government to kill a mysterious and powerful entity who will serve as their teacher for a school year unless they fulfill their mission. The show provides a fun coming of age story that incorporates many relatable feelings towards the rigorous nature of school and the hardships of growing up. Ultimately, the class and their new teacher bond over the experiences and the knowledge and wisdom he imparts to help them complete their assassination, move forward in their education, and succeed in life. Koro Sensei shows his students that no matter how people view you, you have the potential to obtain something valuable by being diligent in your education. 

Throughout the show, there is a conflict between Class E and the rest of the classes at the junior high school. The students in Class E are looked down upon heavily, humiliated for being the outcasts of society and worthless, and painfully discriminated against in their academic existence. The leader of the school makes active attempts in keeping the status quo of inferiority of Class E. In spite of this, Koro Sensei inspires the class to grow beyond their labels of underachievers and instead take pride in what they do. The students use these pieces of wisdom to push themselves in their studies, and develop in their assassination training. I like his message a lot and I think Koro Sensei provides invaluable advice to students who need reassurance in themselves that despite difficult circumstances, they can achieve greatness. Koro Sensei fulfills the teacher’s purpose by giving the children the tools they need to succeed. 

Love this one. I watch all 10 episodes last year. So, I just watch 1, 2, 6 and 10 this time. Final week is hard. I love cyberpunk topic, and I've seen tons of movies and novels about it. So even though I'm not a big fan of the big fight scenes, I still love this one.

Maine is like the example for David. I have to say, not only David, but most people under this absolute capitalism society don’t have their dream or lose their dream gradually. For example, in episode 6, when Maine is mostly overwhelmed by the implants, he refuses to degrade his implants, because he's come so far, he can't go backwards. But making money, improving implants and programs should never be the end goal, but he got lost. Like Maine's inner racetrack, this is just a racetrack, there is no end, no goal, no other things. David is a little bit different, because he has a goal, although the goal is from his mother and Lucy. He just doesn't have his own goal. But anyway, their efforts still couldn't get past the capital controls, so eventually they failed. As Tanaka said, whether you realize it or not, you are living under the control of capitalism.

Lucy is the only person I know who has a dream of her own. As a person who was once controlled by Arasaka when she is little, her dream is to escape the control of capitalism and "fly to the moon". However, the Moon is also only a temporary escape which actually still controlled by capitalism. It's worth emphasizing that, based on edgerunner's generous pay, I think Lucy and David would have had enough money to go to the moon a long time ago, just because they were stuck on this path, like Maine, and couldn't get out. (I'm not sure if they have enough money, but David's house in Episode 9 is really luxurious, so I think they have enough money.)

Good lord. I now have a love-hate relationship with Perfect Blue. It was a stellar movie. On the other hand, Perfect Blue instilled an intense sense of dread in me from the first note that Mima received in the fax that just intensified until the end of the film. As horrifying as it was at times, I do think it did a really good job at depicting the negative side of fandom and the battle between desire for success and sticking by one's own boundaries.

The more deranged elements of fandom were on full display from the very beginning of the film. Through Me-Mania's actions (which later turned out to be on Rumi's orders - I was writing this as I watched), from stalking Mima, committing murder, and attempting rape, it illustrated an extreme example of what may happen when a fan of someone or something becomes far too wrapped up in their obsession and becomes detached from reality. These actions are absolutely deranged and all done in the name of a twisted sense of devotion and absolute mania towards a public figure in what I construe as a parasocial relationship taken far too far. Me-Mania's fragile state due to this engagement with fandom was able to be easily manipulated by Rumi, who drove Me-Mania to commit such acts.

I think Perfect Blue also puts on full display Mima's struggle to balance her desire to succeed and do right by those who helped her with her own personal boundaries. This first manifests in the rape scene, where she essentially bears it but laments doing it behind closed doors, something then repeated in her being photographed naked. This cognitive dissonance eventually results in her seeing the version of herself from her idol days, and a complete fracture of her psyche. The smooth transitions between completely unrelated scenes and the increased intertwining of the drama's plot and Mima's actual life show her losing grips on reality as well. These scenes, in my eyes, show the mental strain that such a life can take on an individual, and the consequences of acting in a way that's detached from how one perceives themself - especially in the public eye.

I don't think I've ever known what was going on less than when I was watching Perfect Blue. Every time I did, the plot switched up on me again, and there were times where I couldn't tell what was real, either. I'm glad Perfect Blue did end happily for Mima. However, I am very much looking forward to feeling more certain about things when I watch Cyberpunk Edgerunners for Monday (I've already seen it).

Who doesn't love a classic revisionist history manga that pretty much is just super conservative propaganda. But seriously this was a very interesting read in the aspect that I haven't ever seen what revisionist history looks like for any country other than the U.S.

The author of Sensoron seems to be a person who is fed up with "Japanese apologists" and the "brainwashing" of new generations into believing that Imperial Japan was evil. Now I will admit, I am not very familiar with the history of Imperial Japan during the Sino-Japanese wars and the Russo-Japanese war, so I cannot directly disprove some of the authors claims of certain event not happening or downplaying Japan's role in the suffering of many Asians in the period. What I can do is point out some very clear fallacious generalizations that are made. The first of these being the few photos that he "proves" are false or misattributed to make Japan look bad. He at least provides some references for his claims on the falsity of the photos (I am not going to go fact check them) but he generalizes those few examples to all of media trying to brainwash the Japanese into becoming mindless western puppets. There is obvious unfair generalization, hyperbole, and bias here. The author also depicts this as a specific attack on the Japanese, when in reality every country is targeted by not so fair media portrayal. I am sure that in Russia the U.S. is painted in a very negative light using all kinds of doctored documents. But that is just reality, Japan isn't necessarily unique in this sense.

Taken out of the Japanese victimization context, there is a rare piece of good advice from the author. Always validate your sources, especially as technology develops and new methods evolve for propaganda purposes.

Anyway, this guy is totally off his rocker though. Saying the Rape of Nanking was some Chinese soldiers dressed as Japanese. And including Korea and Manchuria along the with Japanese Islands when referencing Japan is just blatant revisionist history. I do not think he necessarily has malicious intentions though. He legitimately believes that the Japanese are becoming western puppets and is scared that Japan will become a doormat for other nations. I find it pretty sad but it puts this manga into perspective.

This was a rewatch for me (around the fourth time?), but still a really pleasant one. As is the norm with Shinkai films, the visuals are absolutely stunning—the shots of Itodori and Tokyo capture a beautiful realism of the two opposing settings, but the animation also demonstrates expertise in more abstract scenes through cuts like the vision of the comet.

Radwimps and their music also absolutely elevate the film to another level, filling the scene with excitement when necessary but also hitting more somber notes in climactic moments.

On a more analytical level, the movie also touches on tradition, power, and gender. The small town of Itomori is juxtaposed with the big city of Tokyo--Itomori is a snapshot of the past, while Tokyo acts at the forefront of modernity. This difference is seen not only in a physical sense but, in a gripping reveal, literally existing at times apart. Tradition, however, is made to be a powerful force that is ultimately responsible for saving the town. In this, I believe that Shinkai suggests that tradition is something to be respected--Mitsuha's grandmother largely acting as the carrier for this message.

I cannot rate this with a good conscience ❤

I have autism and Hetalia is my special interest so this is literally 3k words long and I have absolutely no regrets. I could have gone on longer but I wanted to remain relevant to the class. If you don't reply to me I will cry.

I'm gonna break this into a few sections so you can skip around. I'm going to try and stick to just season 1 with this discussion, which won't be too hard cause it's the most insane one. Also, I just want to say that I wrote this all before I read the attached article and I'm now seeing that I literally could have written that article because I know everything about Hetalia.

When do we cross the line between stereotyping and just straight-up racism?

Hey, why are we idolizing WWII Germany?

Oh, we are portraying war as silly and funny, okay cool.

Is this Japanese Nationalism? (a surprisingly controversial argument)

The Sub and the Dub are 2 totally different shows

The Fandom (and linking back to other class-related terms)

Okay I'll name one good thing

Alright, let's get started.

1.

A lot of people will argue that Hetalia is not racist at all because they are making fun of everyone. If you are portraying all of the countries as their most common stereotypes then it evens out in the end. I would argue that this is in fact, not the case. Especially when you set your show during WWII. I will give Himaruya credit in that he mostly focuses on European countries to make fun of, making a lot of the stereotypes less so targeted at minorities. However, a lot of these jokes are still highly insensitive and frame some countries in a worse light than others

Just look at the difference between how Northern Italy is portrayed as opposed to Germany or Japan. Or how France is a predator, Belarus is into her literal brother, and Spain is seen as a creep. It is often times mocking an entire country's intelligence, appearance, or personality. While it is not always that serious, it does lead me to the second point.

When you personify a country and mock it, you aren't just mocking a piece of land, you are mocking an entire population of people. These jokes may seem harmless but they can still be hurtful. While I don't believe that liking Hetalia translates to your actual views on world events, it can unconsciously impact your real-life thoughts and behaviors.

(also why does Britain see imaginary magical creatures, what is that referencing? According to the wiki, it is some popular folklore story of a rabbit who lives on the moon but like.. what? If Himaruya was doing this much research into these countries' cultural backgrounds why is he portraying them like this?)

2.

This show portrays WWII Germany in too positive of a light for my liking. I've noticed a trend in anime where they seem to love Germany (or Germanic aesthetics) a lot (AOT I'm looking at you). Now I'm not well-versed in the interpersonal relationships between Japan and Germany, but the idolization is not it. The way that Japan in this show is portrayed as being literally obsessed with Germany is the biggest example (Italy is also shown having an immense appreciation for Germany and is often gushing about his positive qualities, even writing him a song while he was being kept prisoner). But I mean look at how Germany is portrayed, even his stereotypes are mostly positive, he is hardworking but helps out his fellow allies, makes great food, and is super strong. His only negative trait is that he sometimes doesn't understand social scenarios and that makes him very awkward. However, he will always go out of his way to try and better understand his friends (like Italy) by purchasing books to try and help him learn the appropriate way to act in scenarios).

This is 10x worse in the dub but we will get there. When one of your main characters, the one you are portraying in the best light, is a literal war criminal hot anime boy, you can understand why I would be concerned. I mean they gave him the whole blonde hair blue eyed appearance like come on. Now I'm not going to go into depth on fandom or anything here but Hetalia knows that its demographic is young tweens (primarily girls) so how can you be surprised when this portrayal of Germany leads to WWII fanfics sympathizing with Germany and 14 y/o girls in German military uniforms doing questionable things. (also Germany becomes a canonically gay character in Hetalia in like season 4 or something and that just makes me so mad, like yeah, of course, the gay character is WWII Germany that so cool) (okay, I would like to clarify that technically Sweden is the only confirmed gay character. Sweden is bad representation though because he has one-sided feelings for Finland and makes him uncomfortable by constantly referring to him as his wife)

3.

I mean yeah, obviously this isn't going to be an accurate portrayal of history but some of this is just totally misinformation.

Austria invading Germany is literally just Austria annoying him in his house for a really long time. But also there's like actual wars... and like all of the events of WWI are canon... and like there are some really serious episodes

Also, we literally see a bunch of countries going to war personally, like fighting on the frontlines. Which to me confirms that these people are all literal murderers, like mass murderers lowkey.

Do you know how many weird USSR jokes there are throughout this? So many. Lithuania is pretty much just in a running gag where he keeps getting manipulated by Russia into coming back to live with him. (Yeah, there are so many USSR fics as well).

ALSO! why is the American revolution portrayed as the saddest thing to happen thus far, the storyline is stretched out from episodes 16-20 and it is all drastically different from the tone of the rest of the show. Britain is literally on his knees crying saying that he can't shoot America (which also implies these countries can physically harm/kill each other). Like that is the war you wanted to make all sad and sentimental? Why? Is this how Japanese people think that we view the Revolutionary war? Because that is a pretty inaccurate view.

Anyways back to the original point. Some historical events should not be played for laughs sometimes. It is incredibly disrespectful for actual victims of these tragedies to portray these events as funny or goofy.

Though I will give credit because Himaruya does make all sides of the war look like idiots who have no clue what they are doing, which is a sentiment I can get behind.

4.

As a both non-Japanese and non-Korean person I can not really give my opinion on this however I can share with you both sides of the argument. This is mostly in relation to the original comic strip, but has some relevance to the anime as well. I just wanted to bring it up because it is interesting to me. (This is briefly mentioned in the article but I wanted to expand on the argument).

You may or may not have noticed that there is no South Korea character in this show, however, there was in the original comic. In the comics, South Korea is a pervert who is constantly touching Japan and he also takes credit for the inventions of other countries. Now I'm obviously not going to go into the past history of these 2 countries because that would be incredibly long but the South Korean National Assembly reviewed Hetalia and determined that it was a "crime against South Koreans, akin to slander". So yeah, South Korean people were not happy with this portrayal and the character was inevitably removed from the anime before release. (This is a real picture of the South Korean National Assembly reviewed Hetalia, the corner shows South Korea groping Japan inappropriately)

There are two opposing views to the Japanese Nationalism take and I'll link them both (Belittling Japanese Nationalism Hetalia: Axis Powers is the title of the first one)

The first one pretty much argues that Hetalis is not Japanese nationalism because it paints Japan in just as negative of a light as all of the other countries, no one is left out of being made fun of. Japan is seen as socially awkward, emotionally repressed, and obsequious.

The second argues that Japan is often shown to be more intelligent than other characters as well as often being of the voice of reason (especially compared to China) and most of his negative attributes are not nearly as harmful as some others in Japan’s case, even his “negative” stereotypes are inoffensive, as they pose no threat of meiwaku.

I think we see in the dub that Americans are a little more willing to make fun of themselves. Though there are a few good Japan self digs, like the capitalism joke in one of the first episodes.

5.

Oh boy I've been waiting for this.

The dub is 10x more offensive than the sub. Most people consider it a crack dub.

So many of the jokes are rewritten that it is practically a different show. The sub is from a Japanese perspective and the dub is from an American perspective.

First of all the accents in the dub are so bad like it is actually atrocious. Japan is really annoying because not only is his voice stereotypical but he always says 'nani?' instead of 'what?' as if that is a normal thing that people do. The narrator is the best part of the dub and she is hilarious.

So I don't really feel comfortable even typing out the jokes here so if you want to hear them I included the time stamps for the three nazi jokes I remember in season 1 (the last two being worse).

Episode 1 (1:35:1:38)

Episode 7 (2:13-2:19)

Episode 48 (1:28-1:31)

Those are just a few examples and it gets worse. The dub literally had no reason to include these jokes because there is not even an insinuation of them in the sub and it makes literally everything a million times worse.

I will give the dub some credit for being so utterly ridiculous that it's funny. I will provide a few timestamps for the funniest jokes that only appear in the dub from the first 19 episodes (but I really recommend looking up Hetalia dub funny moments on youtube because some of them are really priceless):

Episode 13: (1:45-2:05)

Episode 14: (1:12-1:22)

Episode 17: (0:59-1:15) (2:06-2:11)

6.

Now I've had this post typed up for a bit and originally I wasn't going to talk about the fandom but after reading the article that he assigned (and going through the fandom unit), I see that there is a lot of reference to fandom in particular so I want to at least mention it.

Not the 2 biggest problems with the Hetalia fandom are racism and the fetishization of gay men.

As mentioned in the article, there have actually been multiple fan incidents of them dressing up in WWII German military uniforms Germany/Prussia cosplay, and standing in front of temples with fake guns or doing nazi salutes in convention photos (If we want to bring racism and fetishization of gay men together there were two people who kissed in a holocaust memorial museum in Italy and Germany cosplay... there is no picture of this so it might be a rumor but it was well-known so it is worth mentioning). There were also a lot of people using imperialist Japan flags in cosplay/fanart and writing incredibly inappropriate fanfiction about real-life events.

If you would like to see any of these incidents feel free to look up "Hetalia the Boston Incident" I don't really wanna include the photos here.

The fetishization is not unique to the Hetalia fandom, but it is amplified to the max. Obviously, within Hetalia, there are almost no female characters, so this leaves only male characters to be shipped with one another. Now suddenly Germany is an uwu gay bean and not an actual war criminal. At the moment of writing this Hetalia has 32105 M/M fics on ao3 which is only one of the three fanfiction sites, with ao3 not even becoming popularized until after the peak of the Hetalia fandom. (the most popular ship being America/England who refer to each other as brothers in the show as England raised America, showing another problematic part of the fandom). I would argue that Hetalia has one of the gayest fandoms (My Hero Academia is giving it a run for its money though) and I agree with the article that it is inaccurate to say that this is only done by straight cis women. The fact of the matter is a lot of queer teens used Hetalia as an outlet to express their own sexuality through these characters. The straight women that do fetishize BL are likely only doing so because anime creators suck at writing good female characters.

I think that the "level of gayness" turns straight fans away from watching the show (again MHA is the same way today) as it is hard to interact with the fandom without seeing some yaoi content. However, many people view this as something wrong or cringy, when in reality it is a normal part of fandom culture. When gay people have such little content that is actually gay, you cannot blame us for creating our own through characters that we like/relate to. Again, I think the only issues that arise here are the problematic ships that give young people a bad impression of relationships (abusive, incest, pedophilia, etc) or the arguable problematic ones like China/Russia or Lithuania/Russia as again these are real countries with real political relations. (However, I will never forget the time that there was Russia/China fanart on the news, maybe they approve and I shouldn't be complaining)

The thing is, Hetalia only seems so bad because the fandom is so large and so young. A lot of shows have fandoms that sexualize the characters and have kinda problematic fans, but the sheer volume makes things seem worse. This is something that we covered when we watched Genshiken, but there is a lot of negative stigma behind this fandom in particular, but it is just a loud minority that gets a lot of news coverage between fandoms.

It also raises the question "Is a show responsible for the response of its fans?"

Because while Himaruya has no control over what people do with his characters or how they interpret a plot, if a majority of people are leaving your show spouting vaguely racist rhetoric and interpreting your show one way, isn't there some validity in that interpretation? I think a creator has to be aware of their audience, which in this case is a very young and impressionable audience who might not understand how offensive some of the things they are doing really are. They don't hold the same ability to separate fiction from reality.

That being said Hetalia had a large impact on fandom culture as a whole, largely starting things like 'ask a character' panels (along with like homestuck but we don't talk about her). If you go to any convention you will probably find a Hetalia cosplayer, and if you watch any dub there is probably a voice actor from Hetalia there.

I also want to mention Hetalia is also a fandom full of cultural capital, If you don't know every niche fact, you're not a real fan, If you haven't read Auf Wiedersehen Sweetheart you haven't even met the entry-level requirements to be a fan. There are also no characters that are too sacred to be altered within the fandom. If you want to put Germany in a maid dress have at it, if you want to see all the characters as girls you're in luck cause Himaruya literally drew them. Fanfictions can take place anywhere from WWI to the present day and you can put any characters in any scenario and make it believable. There are thousands of pieces of fanwork, fan art, fangames, and fan AUs. These characters are malleable to fit your personal preference and there is really no way you could be mad at this as Himaruya does this himself, with no real established canon.

a Hetalia fan once said, "No one cares if Hetalia was written by a Japenese Imperialism apologist when you're 31 chapters deep into a human Au soulmate fic about Austria inviting Prussia to see his boyband perform in Berlin"

Himaruya is also the king of moe characteristics because he turned these Hetalia men into any cute thing he could think of, Chibi versions (Chibitalia), female versions (Nyotalia), and cat versions (Nekotalia). He has no reservations about drawing the characters in a dress or in cat ears. He gave the characters human names to allow for more standardized human AU's and made a DS dating game. He encourages fans to take his characters and use them in their fanworks as they see fit, canon is up to interpretation itself. I think Himaruya himself was a huge part of fandom culture (not that I could tell you cause no one knows anything about the guy) and saw how the female characters were often treated by fans and turned it on its head, allowing for females to sexualize the males this time.

Also, none of the male characters in this show resembles a Hegemonic form of masculinity. Even the most masculine character in the show (Germany) can be seen doing more "feminine things" like wearing a dress or proposing to a man. Which, you know, I guess is a good diversion from things you would typically see in an anime of this nature (but again there are a lot of instances of characters being feminine being played for laughs, like a man being girly is something inherently funny). Feat. Germany proposing to Italy with a tomato ring.

7.

I am Hetalia's biggest hater, however, I cannot deny the impact that it has had on my life and how much I love to talk about it. Hetalia is what introduced me to anime and fandom (and tumblr) for the first time. I met a lot of people I still talk to today because of this show. It encouraged me and a lot of other people to actually get interested in history. Thanks to this show I can identify every country in Europe, and it was a lot easier to remember historical facts if I just imagined the Hetalia characters. Also, Auf Wiedersehen Sweetheart is a literary masterpiece and there is a reason it almost has a five-star rating on goodnotes (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/22064556) I love you George DeValier I hope you're doing good wherever you are.

I would like to make it abundantly clear that despite everything I've said that might make me sound like a woke blue-haired liberal, I don't really think this show is some horribly racist show or that the people who enjoy it are racist. I just wanted to provide a deeper outlook on the impact a seemingly dumb show can have on real people. I can't really blame the show for the terrible response of the fandom and it did honestly get better in later seasons that are not focused on WWII.

Despite all the bad stuff, it is a relatively funny little 5-minute watch, and you can really just jump in at any point you want to. If you don't take it as seriously as I do you might even enjoy it a little.

If you actually read this far I have major respect for you, I'm really excited to see what the general consensus on this show is.

Prussia and South Italy were my favorites in case anyone cared

If you're wondering why I didn't do my presentation on Hetalia despite my extensive knowledge, it is because I would be incredibly biased and I would go off the rails I think.

This entry was definitely interesting, and I appreciated the game’s intricate lore and storytelling. The game follows Rex, an orphaned salvager, as he embarks to save his dying world of Alrest from certain destruction. It is believed that humanity was once privileged to Elysium, a heavenly world similar to the Garden of Eden, but was cast out for its mistakes. As time has gone, the resources of Alrest have diminished, and the planet has begun to fall apart, similar to the Anthropocene discussed by Cobb. Rex and the crew he encounters along his journey are tasked with overcoming the inevitable destruction of their world, and in the process learn the meaning of human existence.

The main character, Rex, serves as a symbol of hope that humanity can change for the better. The audience learns that Rex chooses to be a salvager of the ocean, which could be seen as a representation of using nature for capitalism and personal gain, because he dreams of building a better world with peace, unity and security. His belief that he can save the world from its demise makes him become the tool to restore Elysium. Throughout the game, he is constantly told that his aspirations were simply stuff of legend, and is even told by the Architect, the creator of his universe, that he has resigned the world’s fate to burn. This dynamic could be a commentary on the older generations' destruction of the planet and the lack of faith in the younger generations to fix it. However, the Architect is changed when he sees Rex and his bond with Mythra and Pyra, and now believes that the world can change using their power if they desire it. Rex ultimately finds that he was living on Elysium the whole time.

 Another major theme in the game’s story is the relationship between humanity and nature, and how humanity must atone for its grievances. It is revealed that the Architect had built Alrest to be different from his own, in which humans were fools who had ravaged the planet and burned the skies. He created the Cloud Sea to rebuild Alrest in the image of the past world, similarly to the Toxic Jungle from Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind, and created a new cycle of life. Titans provided living space for humans, and core crystals connected to people in a symbiotic relationship. These relationships, when unaffected by human greed for power, are seen as lasting and beneficial for both sides, but when corrupted are seen as destructive forces. Because of Amalthus’ greed and fear of Blades, humanity was wiped out. Despite living in harmony with nature, human desires had introduced an element of hostility. 

I went into Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind with the expectation that is would be a film about environmentalism to some degree, as had been alluded to in class. In watching it, I found this to be somewhat the case, as much of the movie hinges around this theme - not only in its setting, but through its major plot elements and overarching motifs.

It is plain to see the environmental undertones of Nausicaa from the start of the movie - as a result of immense conflict, the Toxic Jungle was created, the setting in which the movie takes place. The transformation of a previously habitable area into a much more hostile environment where life quite literally cannot sustain itself is a pretty clear-cut allegory for pollution. This theme is further compounded upon by Nausicaa's findings relating to the plants in the Toxic Jungle, in which the plants grown under normal conditions are fine but those grown under toxic conditions are toxic. I choose to interpret this as a warning against the consequences of pollution - though the pollution itself is a detriment, it goes to show the ramifications on other elements of the environment that it can cause as well.

It is easy to see how these themes made it into Nausicaa, especially considering the real-world inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki's work on the film: mercury poisoning of Minamata Bay and the environment's response. After having researched the film and having this context for its production, it is certain that Nausicaa promotes an anti-pollution and pro-environmentalist message, while also commenting on the dangers of greed, fear, and conflict as a whole. I believe this film also bears a message of hope for the future, as the movie ends on the growth of a non-toxic tree in the Toxic Jungle, signifying that regrowth and recovery is possible.