Neon Genesis Evangelion
[Originally posted on facebook messenger, 8/15/2019]
Okay... I read a bunch of stuff on the internet, and took notes. Here they are, if you’re interested.
Somewhere in the galaxy, there was, or is, intelligent life known as the “First Ancestral Race” (FAR). The FAR sent seeds, in vessels known as “moons”, to planets all across the galaxy. There were (at least) 2 types of seeds: the Fruit of Life, and the Fruit of Knowledge, and both types were never supposed to land on the same planet, for fear that the beings that arose from those seeds would be as powerful as the FAR (that is, more or less god-like, from our perspective).
4 billion years ago, there was an event known as the “First Impact”. One of the seeds, known as the “black moon” smashed into, and embedded itself into, the Earth, knocking enormous amounts of debris loose, which became the Earth’s moon (the one we call “the moon”). It also created an empty space inside the Earth, directly under (what much later became) Hakone, Japan, known as the GeoFront. At the center of the GeoFront (i.e., deep inside the black moon) was Lilith, a Fruit of Knowledge.
At some point, (it’s not clear whether this was before, during, or after the First Impact), another seed also entered the Earth, in its vessel known as the “white moon,” this one deep under the continent of Antarctica. At the center of the white moon was the Fruit of Life known as Adam.
Together with each of these seeds, Adam and Lilith, there arrived Spears of Longinus and Dead Sea Scrolls, which appear to include some kind of instructions (perhaps how to use the spears?). Lilith’s spear was destroyed upon impact. Since a Fruit of Life and Fruit of Knowledge are never supposed to land on the same planet, Adam’s own spear turned against him, and pierced him, immobilizing him and putting him into a state of suspended animation, so that he could not produce any life.
With Adam suspended, Lilith could produce life. Her blood, known as LCL, spread out over the Earth, becoming a kind of primordial soup, from which life evolved, including (billions of years later) human beings, who, because they are descended from Lilith, are known as Lilin.
4 billion years ago, there was an event known as the “First Impact”. One of the seeds, known as the “black moon” smashed into, and embedded itself into, the Earth, knocking enormous amounts of debris loose, which became the Earth’s moon (the one we call “the moon”). It also created an empty space inside the Earth, directly under (what much later became) Hakone, Japan, known as the GeoFront. At the center of the GeoFront (i.e., deep inside the black moon) was Lilith, a Fruit of Knowledge.
At some point, (it’s not clear whether this was before, during, or after the First Impact), another seed also entered the Earth, in its vessel known as the “white moon,” this one deep under the continent of Antarctica. At the center of the white moon was the Fruit of Life known as Adam.
Together with each of these seeds, Adam and Lilith, there arrived Spears of Longinus and Dead Sea Scrolls, which appear to include some kind of instructions (perhaps how to use the spears?). Lilith’s spear was destroyed upon impact. Since a Fruit of Life and Fruit of Knowledge are never supposed to land on the same planet, Adam’s own spear turned against him, and pierced him, immobilizing him and putting him into a state of suspended animation, so that he could not produce any life.
With Adam suspended, Lilith could produce life. Her blood, known as LCL, spread out over the Earth, becoming a kind of primordial soup, from which life evolved, including (billions of years later) human beings, who, because they are descended from Lilith, are known as Lilin.
In the 1990s, Professor Kozo Fuyutsuki had a promising student named Yui Ikari, who has connections to a secret society called Seele (which means “soul”). Another student, Gendo Rokubungi, (who apparently had a very difficult childhood, but we are never told why) becomes romantically interested in Yui. The local gossip is that Gendo is only using Yui to gain connections with Seele, but she sees a gentle, kind side to him and he genuinely falls in love with her. They marry, and perhaps as a token of his devotion to her (or perhaps to change his identity and hide his past), he takes her name.
Then a mysterious Dr. Katsuragi arrives. He hires Fuyutsuki and Yui and Gendo Ikari, and soon the United Nations founds the Artificial Evolution Laboratory, with Gendo in charge. But this is merely a cover for an organization named Gehirn (German for “brain”) which Seele (which perhaps secretly controls the U.N.) created to study the GeoFront, which had recently been discovered. Also in Gehirn are science chief Naoko Ikagi and brilliant German scientist Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu.
Dr. Katsuragi leads all of these people on the Katsuragi Expedition to the South Pole. In early September, they discover Adam in the white moon beneath the ice, and on September 13, 2000, they perform the first Contact Experiment: human DNA from a “donor” is somehow combined with Adam. (Was there something like “sex” involved?) It’s not clear who the “donor” is: Katsuragi himself? One of the others? In the course of this Adam was “awakened” and nearly caused the end of the human race. The members of Gehirn somehow averted this catastrophe, but something went horribly wrong.
It’s pretty reasonable to assume that in the course of the first Contact Experiment, the Spear of Longinus was removed, temporarily, from Adam, allowing him to awaken - and it seems that Gehirn defeated him by putting the spear back in. (It’s also clearly stated that during this period, Adam produced a massive “anti-AT field”.) But the spear was “sinking in” to Adam, and they didn’t want to lose it, so they pulled it out. This caused Adam’s soul to separate from his body, which then regressed in size and maturity from a luminous giant into a small fetus-like being. It’s not entirely clear how, or when, but perhaps at this time, 15 angels came into existence, 14 of which were somehow descended from Adam, and the 15th, Tabris, was Adam’s own soul.
It’s not entirely clear how AT fields work. Humans have an AT field that maintains our physical shape; without it, we would melt back into the LCL-goo from which we arose. Angels have an AT field as well, but they are not limited to a specific form as humans are - perhaps beings that live on planets where the Fruit of Life lands exist in forms purely based on their their own self-concept, unlimited by physical limitations. Tabris, meanwhile, is special, seeming to be an angel that nonetheless chose to take on the precise physical form of a human being - namely, the child Kaworu Nagisa.
In any case, the result of all of this was (at the very least) an enormous explosion, which caused the deaths of hundreds of millions of people, all over the world, but especially in the Southern Hemisphere. We don’t really know the details, but what followed were several years of “hell on Earth”. Most of the people involved in the Katsuragi Expedition were killed in the explosion, including Katsuragi himself, who sacrificed his own life putting his daughter Misato into an escape pod.
One rather small effect was that Earth’s axis was shifted, causing seasons not to progress as they had before - in Japan now, it is perpetually the range of temperatures that were once only late summer (this is why cicadas are always chirping).
The United Nations and the governments of the Earth, not wanting to reveal that their own scientists’ experiments had caused all of this, covered it up by claiming that an asteroid had hit the Earth in Antarctica, in an event that would forever be known as the “Second Impact.”
In the chaos following the Second Impact, humans became especially violent, and there seem to have been several wars between nations, resulting in even more millions of deaths. Perhaps this was just because of the instability and the struggle for resources, or perhaps some kind of evil, aggressive force had been unleashed.... Either in the Second Impact or in the wars that followed, Hakone, Japan was utterly destroyed, and in its ruins, a new city, Tokyo-3 was built, with buildings that can descend into the Earth (into the GeoFront).
Then a mysterious Dr. Katsuragi arrives. He hires Fuyutsuki and Yui and Gendo Ikari, and soon the United Nations founds the Artificial Evolution Laboratory, with Gendo in charge. But this is merely a cover for an organization named Gehirn (German for “brain”) which Seele (which perhaps secretly controls the U.N.) created to study the GeoFront, which had recently been discovered. Also in Gehirn are science chief Naoko Ikagi and brilliant German scientist Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu.
Dr. Katsuragi leads all of these people on the Katsuragi Expedition to the South Pole. In early September, they discover Adam in the white moon beneath the ice, and on September 13, 2000, they perform the first Contact Experiment: human DNA from a “donor” is somehow combined with Adam. (Was there something like “sex” involved?) It’s not clear who the “donor” is: Katsuragi himself? One of the others? In the course of this Adam was “awakened” and nearly caused the end of the human race. The members of Gehirn somehow averted this catastrophe, but something went horribly wrong.
It’s pretty reasonable to assume that in the course of the first Contact Experiment, the Spear of Longinus was removed, temporarily, from Adam, allowing him to awaken - and it seems that Gehirn defeated him by putting the spear back in. (It’s also clearly stated that during this period, Adam produced a massive “anti-AT field”.) But the spear was “sinking in” to Adam, and they didn’t want to lose it, so they pulled it out. This caused Adam’s soul to separate from his body, which then regressed in size and maturity from a luminous giant into a small fetus-like being. It’s not entirely clear how, or when, but perhaps at this time, 15 angels came into existence, 14 of which were somehow descended from Adam, and the 15th, Tabris, was Adam’s own soul.
It’s not entirely clear how AT fields work. Humans have an AT field that maintains our physical shape; without it, we would melt back into the LCL-goo from which we arose. Angels have an AT field as well, but they are not limited to a specific form as humans are - perhaps beings that live on planets where the Fruit of Life lands exist in forms purely based on their their own self-concept, unlimited by physical limitations. Tabris, meanwhile, is special, seeming to be an angel that nonetheless chose to take on the precise physical form of a human being - namely, the child Kaworu Nagisa.
In any case, the result of all of this was (at the very least) an enormous explosion, which caused the deaths of hundreds of millions of people, all over the world, but especially in the Southern Hemisphere. We don’t really know the details, but what followed were several years of “hell on Earth”. Most of the people involved in the Katsuragi Expedition were killed in the explosion, including Katsuragi himself, who sacrificed his own life putting his daughter Misato into an escape pod.
One rather small effect was that Earth’s axis was shifted, causing seasons not to progress as they had before - in Japan now, it is perpetually the range of temperatures that were once only late summer (this is why cicadas are always chirping).
The United Nations and the governments of the Earth, not wanting to reveal that their own scientists’ experiments had caused all of this, covered it up by claiming that an asteroid had hit the Earth in Antarctica, in an event that would forever be known as the “Second Impact.”
In the chaos following the Second Impact, humans became especially violent, and there seem to have been several wars between nations, resulting in even more millions of deaths. Perhaps this was just because of the instability and the struggle for resources, or perhaps some kind of evil, aggressive force had been unleashed.... Either in the Second Impact or in the wars that followed, Hakone, Japan was utterly destroyed, and in its ruins, a new city, Tokyo-3 was built, with buildings that can descend into the Earth (into the GeoFront).
After the Second Impact, the United Nations (probably secretly run by Seele, which by now - for some reason unknown to us - had the goal of the Human Instrumentality Project, which would dissolve all AT fields and cause all of humanity to become one) transformed Gehirn into Nerv, a well-publicized project whose purpose was to destroy the 15 angels.
First, Naoku Ikagi built three giant supercomputers known as the Magi, each based on an aspect of her own mind. Then, with the help of the Magi, Nerv took cells from Adam’s body and cloned them into giant humanoid forms known as Evangelion, or Evas. Evas must be piloted by 15-year-old humans, and must also contain human souls - preferably the souls of the mothers of the pilots. They also have an “umbilical” power cable - when they are not plugged in, their battery only lasts 5 minutes.
But one Evangelion was different from all the others: Evangelion Unit 01, which was cloned from Lilith, rather than Adam. Perhaps because of her connection to Seele, in 2004, Yui Ikari performed the second “Contact Experiment”: she chose to melt herself down to LCL and to be absorbed into Unit 01. Nerv tried to retrieve her, but it was no use - she was willing herself to become one with Unit 01. Perhaps she was trying to protect her son, Shinji, whom she knew would one day pilot the Eva.
After Yui dissolved, Gendo and Naoku began to have a relationship. It is implied that Rei Ayanami’s body is somehow created - perhaps from the LCL is produced when Yui dissolves. (Quite likely, Gendo was trying to bring Yui back to life.) This Rei tells Naoku that Gendo does not really love her but considers her a hag, and in a jealous rage, Naoku murders Rei. Seeing what she has done, she then throws herself off of a balcony and dies. But many soulless clones of Rei are being stored in the basement of Nerv, along with Lilith, and one of these is selected and Rei’s soul is somehow transferred into the new clone. There is also an implication that just as Kaworu is the soul of Adam, somehow Rei’s soul is the soul of Lilith.
Rei’s Evangelion, Unit 00, rejects Rei - perhaps because it does not contain the soul of her mother (who is her mother? does she even have a mother?). Gendo saves her from the capsule, burning his hand in the process. He has begun having an affair with Naoku’s daughter, Ritsuko, but he still only truly loves Yui.
First, Naoku Ikagi built three giant supercomputers known as the Magi, each based on an aspect of her own mind. Then, with the help of the Magi, Nerv took cells from Adam’s body and cloned them into giant humanoid forms known as Evangelion, or Evas. Evas must be piloted by 15-year-old humans, and must also contain human souls - preferably the souls of the mothers of the pilots. They also have an “umbilical” power cable - when they are not plugged in, their battery only lasts 5 minutes.
But one Evangelion was different from all the others: Evangelion Unit 01, which was cloned from Lilith, rather than Adam. Perhaps because of her connection to Seele, in 2004, Yui Ikari performed the second “Contact Experiment”: she chose to melt herself down to LCL and to be absorbed into Unit 01. Nerv tried to retrieve her, but it was no use - she was willing herself to become one with Unit 01. Perhaps she was trying to protect her son, Shinji, whom she knew would one day pilot the Eva.
After Yui dissolved, Gendo and Naoku began to have a relationship. It is implied that Rei Ayanami’s body is somehow created - perhaps from the LCL is produced when Yui dissolves. (Quite likely, Gendo was trying to bring Yui back to life.) This Rei tells Naoku that Gendo does not really love her but considers her a hag, and in a jealous rage, Naoku murders Rei. Seeing what she has done, she then throws herself off of a balcony and dies. But many soulless clones of Rei are being stored in the basement of Nerv, along with Lilith, and one of these is selected and Rei’s soul is somehow transferred into the new clone. There is also an implication that just as Kaworu is the soul of Adam, somehow Rei’s soul is the soul of Lilith.
Rei’s Evangelion, Unit 00, rejects Rei - perhaps because it does not contain the soul of her mother (who is her mother? does she even have a mother?). Gendo saves her from the capsule, burning his hand in the process. He has begun having an affair with Naoku’s daughter, Ritsuko, but he still only truly loves Yui.
Meanwhile, in Germany, Kyoko Zeppelin Sohryu attempts a third “Contact Experiment”, but unlike Yui(?) she is only partially successful, and only part of her soul is absorbed into Unit 02. With only part of her soul in her body, she goes insane, thinking that a doll is her daughter Asuka. She is put into a mental hospital, Asuka is adopted by a new mother, and finally Kyoko commits suicide.
Finally, 9 years later, in 2015, the angels begin to attack the people of Earth. This more or less brings us up to the beginning of the TV show.
Finally, 9 years later, in 2015, the angels begin to attack the people of Earth. This more or less brings us up to the beginning of the TV show.
* * *
Excerpts of conversation between Ian, Arthur, Nilson, Mary (Aug 2019):
George Bataille writes, "Eroticism, it may be said, is assenting to life up to the point of death."
"Reproduction implies the existence of discontinuous beings.
Beings which reproduce themselves are distinct from one another [...] just as they are distinct from their parents. [...] He is born alone. He dies alone. Between one being and another, there is a gulf, a discontinuity."
"But I cannot refer to this gulf which separates us without feeling that this is not the whole truth of the matter.[...] It is my intention to suggest that for us, discontinuous beings that we are, death means continuity of being."
But there's something else I would like to bring into this which is John Woo's "Face Off"
For three reasons:
1. Bataille has interesting comparisons between Buddhism and Christianity in regards to "Religious Eroticism" and the overcoming of discontinuity and individuality in each tradition.
2. Anno and Woo both use Christian iconography... Anno coming from Japan, Woo from China....I'm particularly thinking of a fascinating scene where we cut back and forth between John Travolta and Jesus Christ
3. Of course, there is an overcoming of individual discontinuity as John Travolta (Archer) and Nick Cage (Troy) switch faces.... (Bataille writes quite a bit about the anxiety of doubling)
Nilson: what do you think the inspiration for the christian imagery is in relation to "discontinuity" in particular?
tough question
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the quicky, glib answer is:
You sent
it's the opposite - jesus represents continuity
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like: Bataille says we are discontinuous, but we desire continuity, which is death, becoming one - this desire is called eroticism
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Jesus represents this desire - he died for our sins, through him we attain a deeper unity (like how the church is "the body of Christ")
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but I think this is superficial... I don't think this really gets to the bottom of it.....
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Also Jesus is the bridegroom, the church is the bride of Christ
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I actually was watching the Catholic Channel on Friday and a priest was talking about this, more or less explicitly
the catholic channel was talking about bataille??
Nilson
jk
Nilson
i wish
Nilson
im interested also in the connection between christianity and buddhism here in regard to what bataille is talking about (and probably what modern art is about)
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he was talking about how he had officiated a nun's "marriage" to Christ, how deeply it moved him... and he talked about how all the female nun saints took this romantic love with Jesus very seriously and even male saints like Bonaventure saw themselves as feminine in relationto Jesus
Nilson
Nilson
hmmm
Nilson
the dissolution of self also seems to be related to the ecstatic, which is made literal in evangelion's final ritual, and also in contact with jesus (and probably contact with some modern art)
Nilson
is there buddhist ecstasy
You sent
...it seems like yes, but maybe I am wrong
You sent
there is tantric buddhism
You sent
googling lead me to this: in the Pali Canon, there are eight states of trance also called absorption. The first four states are Rupa or, materially-oriented. The next four are Arupa or non-material. These eight states are preliminary trances which lead up to final saturation.
Nilson
Nilson
saturation
Nilson
final saturation
August 20, 2019
Arthur
Arthur
We are all feminine in relation to the INFINITE MAN
Arthur
Now I want to see like a geologic timescale diagram of the gender spectrum, with Jesus at the far left (representing most manly) and a tiny segment at the far right labeled "ALL HUMAN GENDERS"
Arthur
Also: you might find it interesting that the two featured vocal songs in End of Evangelion are called "Thanatos" (Freud's "death drive") and "Komm, susser Tod" ("come, sweet death")
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