The entire animation begins with a passage from Revelation 13:1-4, with some characters experiencing similar experiences. (The content of the Book of Revelation is the future shown by God as recounted by John. The specific explanations vary and there is no conclusion, and we may not understand the deep meaning. Here we can regard it as a character set by religious stories. ) Another setting that introduces religious flavor is the opening song (GRAIN), the song is soul-stirring, modern rhythm, coupled with divine temperament chanting, a strong religious flavor comes out, plus the rhythmic picture, the suspenseful atmosphere is very concentrated.
Judging human nature with divinity has always been meaningful, and it is set off by a profound historical background, which makes people unable to ponder and ponder.
basic human nature
Grema is one of my favorite characters. Although he suffered from experimentation, he worked hard to learn, imitate the missing part of emotion and humanity, and worked hard to investigate everything, hoping to make the truth public. In his mouth, human nature is very simple, "Actually, as a human being, we must know how delicious the food is, to appreciate the fun of a holiday lunch, and to drink a beer after work, we should feel that it is cool and refreshing. People... a person has to grieve from the bottom of his heart when a child dies." These, he never experienced before his death, only when he was dying, he finally felt the sadness of the child's death. For him, feeling sadness is a happy thing.
When teaching Nina how to kill, Mr Russell said: "It's easy to kill, just forget the taste of sugar."
Martin gave his life to protect Ava. Just to think of the happiness that "Ava must have bought two tickets and waited for me at Frankfurt Central Station".
The sweetness of sugar is a human taste. The basic human nature is to feel the feeling of happiness.
human torture
Torture is the most classic way.
At the beginning of the story, as a genius doctor, Dr. Tianma was arranged by the director to treat a famous person. The operation was successful, but another operation that was supposed to be performed by him failed. The "ordinary person" who arrived at the hospital first died. The family's questioning shook Tianma's heart. But after this operation, he was further appreciated by the dean. On the one hand, he was highly skilled, and on the other hand, the dean could take the credit for himself.
When he encountered the same situation for the second time, Tianma remembered the grief-stricken family member, so upholding the belief that "the value of life is equal", he chose to treat the boy who arrived first - John, at the same time, The surgery he rejected failed, the mayor died, Tianma offended the dean, and the future was gloomy. While hesitating, the dean and others were suddenly murdered, and John disappeared. It wasn't until a few years later that a new murder occurred, and Tianma realized that he might be saving a monster.
On the surface, Tianma is a doctor with superb medical skills, saving lives and wounds, like a savior, but he is actually a self-judgment. The purpose of his pursuit of the murderer was not to prove his innocence, but to end the monster that he had awakened by himself, but he could never shoot. He just wants to give himself a break, a result, to make up for the result of the self-judgment. But we all know that once something happens, it can never be undone.
You go against your heart, thinking that you can get everything in return, but when you disobey the rules, you get everything you want, and you stick to your principles and save a life, only to lose more lives. It's a lot like fate's joke, falling on you and becoming a knot you can't untie.
The shaping of human nature
"Humans can be anything." This is what the experimenter said to the twin girl "Nina", indicating the infinite possibilities of human nature.
The children of the 511 Nursery Home have received experimental education since childhood, and their human nature has been extremely shaped. People such as John, Grema, Robert, etc. are all extreme violent elements, lacking fear and emotion. Due to brainwashing education, they can't even remember who they are, and can only make an agreement with their companions to remember each other's names. Grema and Robert did not know that the other was their companion at the time until they died, and they failed to retrieve their names. As for John, he will remember his sister as his bottom line as a human being, which also caused his memory disorder to a certain extent, turning his sister's fear into a monster in his heart.
completely dead
A popular saying in recent years is that the real death is that no one in the world remembers you anymore.
Along the way, John was looking for the memory of the past while erasing the memory of the present. The method of erasure was to kill all the people associated with him, including many adoptive parents who adopted him and his sister, and the ultimate goal was to achieve complete suicide. , the complete elimination of "I".
And his revenge against people such as General Wolfe is to kill all the people close to him, so that the other party loses the meaning of "I".
The reason for living is not only biological life, but also the existence of "I". Your name only has meaning in life when it is called out by others.
The test of imaginary divinity
Compared to human nature, divinity means perfection, holiness, sublime, transcendence to us.
For everyone, John is such a perfect and even detached existence, intelligent, handsome, elegant, and without any fear. But it is such a person who is the initiator of a series of murders.
There are very few depictions of his murder in the animation, and many people committed the crime of killing others spontaneously under his suggestion. Different from the insidious and cunning portrayed in the conventional way, in those populations, he is their best friend in life, their god, and he understands their "loneliness" and "principles", which can be said to have released their inner monsters. Classic, human nature can't stand the test.
The most classic and intuitive case is probably the last "slaughter of the city". When great fear comes and the monsters in people's hearts get out of control, the "slaughter of the city" becomes a spectator ceremony. He did the same thing more than once, 511 children's home, money laundering organization, etc. Benefit drives them to take the first step, and fear keeps them from doing it.
We always want to eliminate negative emotions, but as a bystander we can see that the source of cruelty comes from John who has no fear. Losing fear is tantamount to losing a part of humanity. Feelings for oneself and empathy for others no longer exist.
Self-Reconciliation and God's Judgment
At the end of the story, everyone gathered to the hometown of the experimenter through different clues. And through understanding, the experimenter fell in love with the mother of the twins, so he poisoned everyone who knew about the experiment, erased the relevant traces, and let go of the child. In continuous repentance, he gave up the struggle and escaped self-reconciliation. , waiting quietly for the judgment to come, he knew he was going to die. But what was needed for those children was his death? He wants to live, live well, and make everything public. As for whether he will repent or not, it has no meaning. No matter what he does, those children have lost the fundamentals of being human, not to mention happiness. They are monsters without names, and no one remembers the real them.
In the story, however, the experimenter was shot by others and did not receive John's trial.
God loves the world, and God's judgment is out of justice and love. The perpetrators use this to seek results and satisfy their repentance, but apart from satisfying themselves, can they save anything? In this way, repentance seems to be an illusion that maintains the meaning of life. What is it that people forgive? A lot of things can't be forgiven. An apology is just a formalistic representation, and both sides stop their losses.
Motherhood and Sin
The twins' mother, a woman chosen to be the "Petri dish", was arguably the victim of the experiment. Because she wanted to escape the experiment, the twins' father was executed by the organization, and she could only face the predicament alone. After the child was born, she was not even allowed to name her, and "no name" was born. Then the experimenter came to ask for a child, and she had to give up one of them, which was the starting point for the birth of the "monster".
Maternal behavior, including the protection of young children, is a reproductive instinct, and from the perspective of human society, it is also a responsibility. Although the hardship is her suffering, it is her sin to give up the child. You can't blame her for giving up the child, and you can't forgive her for her sins.
At the end of the story, the mother is still alive and has a problem with her mind, and she can't remember many things clearly. Just like a line in it, "Humans are really selfish animals, and they only remember good memories." But this is also how people protect themselves in life.
And for twins, the mother's sin cannot be removed. On that day, my brother and sister dressed up the same way. Does my mother know who she gave up with her own hands? If the original intention is to give up the "monster", the injuries suffered by two people are actually connected to the trauma of one person.
The sin of the mother, relative to the motherhood of the young child, relative to the responsibility of the society, innocent but guilty, this is the torment of a lifetime.
Anti-war
A more realistic point is anti-war.
The background of the story is set in East and West Germany during the Cold War. The content after the fall of the Berlin Wall is the main timeline, and the memories and clues focus on the split between East and West. In the author's setting, the later East Germany was in a state of high pressure, panic, and unfreedom, and the children's experiment was also produced here. Although the original purpose was to train some elite warriors who could overcome extreme physical and psychological environments, the result was to train a group of people who were devoid of emotion and extremely violent.
The gloomy story background is set to remind us to put an end to all forms of war.
A lot of people say that even watching "Monster" on a hot summer day will feel freezing to the bone. After all, human nature is a very complicated thing, and we are often obsessed with some invisible parts, which is strange to us, but it does not include digging out our own filth, because we are not good at it. In fact, many works that look dark are not only telling you how bad it is, but also reminding you to remember the taste of sugar, and even do something to resist the darkness.
Finally, let's read the source of the story, "Monster without a Name":
A long, long time ago, somewhere, there was a monster without a name.
The monster wanted a name very, very much. So the monster went on a journey to find a name.
However, because the world is so big, the monster splits into two and embarks on a journey.
One goes east, one goes west.
Go east to the monster and find a village.
"—Uncle the blacksmith, please give me your name."
"How can you give people a name?"
"—If you give me your name, I will go to Uncle's body and make you stronger as a thank you."
"Really, if you get stronger, I'll give you your name."
The monster entered the blacksmith's body. The monster became the blacksmith Otto.
Otto became the most powerful man in the village. But, one day...
"Look at me! Look at me! The monster in my body has grown so big."
Karika, chug, crunch, crunch.
The hungry monster ate Otto from the inside.
The monster turned back into a monster without a name.
In the body of the shoemaker Hans, too, Kalikari, screeching, crunching, screeching. It turned back into a monster without a name.
It's the same in the body of Hunter Thomas, Kalika, chug, crunch, chug. Or turned back into a monster without a name.
The monster goes to the castle to find a good name.
"—If you give me your name, I'll make you stronger."
"If you can cure my disease and make me stronger, I'll give you my name."
The monster entered the little boy's body.
The little boy became very healthy. The king was very happy.
"The prince has recovered! The prince has recovered!"
Monsters like little boy names very much. I also liked the life in the castle very much, so although I was hungry, I endured it.
Every day, my stomach growled with hunger, but I managed to endure it. However, because I was so hungry—
"Look at me! Look at me! The monster in my body has grown so big."
The little boy ate the king, ministers and servants. Karika, chug, crunch, crunch.
One day, the little boy encountered a monster that was heading west.
"—I have a name, a very nice name." He said to the monster that was heading west.
"I don't need a name, and I'm happy without a name. Because we are monsters without a name."
The little boy ate the monster that went west. The name he finally got, but there is no one who can call him.
John, what a lovely name.
*Although some of the content is involved, it is not a spoiler. Many content are not connected and explained, but a few points are simply scattered. 74 episodes of animation, the content is relatively thick, what I have written so far is only some superficial content.
*Thanks to my friend Gao for his help with the content of the Bible.
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