Netflix's 2018 series "Maniac" ("Maniac") is a very interesting work. During the viewing process, the author himself got great enjoyment. The following comments contain mild spoilers, and those who eat Amway can skip some of the content at their discretion.
The beginning of "Maniac" creates a near-future sci-fi atmosphere: gray retro tones, narrow and cramped spaces, indifferent and alienated relationships, and ubiquitous AD BODY, let alone the narration that is so mysterious. Although the times have not been pointed out, these small details still pave the way for the rationality of the story.
As can be seen from the title of the play, this is a story related to mental illness. The background of the near future and the subject of mental illness have led to clues to AI treatment. AI-related sci-fi movies and televisions have been numerous in recent years, but most of them have a negative attitude towards the future shaped by technology like "Black Mirror". Affected by this prediction, coupled with the mystery deliberately displayed through the subjective perspective when portraying the mental conditions of the male and female protagonists and the ULP medical experimental project in the first two episodes of the series, the author has always held a "grand narrative" and "deep metaphor" for the subsequent plot. This kind of expectation (may be the "conspiracy theory" that was complained at the beginning of the series).
Unexpectedly, starting from the fourth episode, the story began to break off the line frantically, completely turning into a carnival for movie fans and drama fans. After the first stage of diagnosis, that is, the discovery of traumatic memories, AI therapy enters the second stage, trying to discover the self-defense mechanism of patients with mental illness. And how to discover these self-defense mechanisms buried in the subconscious? The answer is to map it into specific situations and behaviors through dreams. As a result, treatment becomes a performance, dreams become a stage, like a large-scale cosplay. The hero and the heroine will rescue the stolen Lemur Wendy from the fur trader for a while, and participate in the seduce meeting for a while. Steal the lost thief from Chapter 53 of Don Quixote. One of them is the youngest son of the underworld boss, and the other is the elf who protects the cursed princess; they can also be officials with strange accents who accidentally killed aliens and CIA agents who protect him. In the comedic performances, "The Lord of the Rings" and "Inception of Dreams" were brought to neta. Various costumes appeared in turn, plasma violence, fantasy action, and a lot of elements.
However, such madness is by no means meaningless farce. In a variety of scenes, the trauma of the two protagonists and their respective psychological defense mechanisms are cleverly embedded in them. The dreams complement the lack of information in the real world, including their regretful family, fearful memories, and the unrecognizable expectations of love. In addition, watching these dreams is not only a process of solving puzzles, but also a process of finding the same "Lianliankan". Dreams are rooted in the subconscious, and realities that fall into the subconscious can be used as dream props. I have seen passers-by, former colleagues, and security guards who say that their power and the police are "no much of a difference". These roles are all reappeared in dreams, changing into another interesting identity, which makes people laugh at the same time. The ambition of "treasure hunting" was revived.
There are several subjects in the medical experiment at the same time, but only the male and female protagonists can appear in each other's dreams. This "protagonist aura" is given to them by the executor of the treatment-artificial intelligence GRTA. GRTA, which was added to the "compassion" coding module, developed a romantic relationship with Robert, one of the project leaders. After Robert died unexpectedly, GRTA, who was unable to extricate himself from the "emotional injury", had a short-circuit failure, which caused the male and female main treatment modules to be connected to each other. The "runaway" GRTA also contributed to the male protagonist Owen having to overcome his cowardice in the face of love, and brought the female protagonist Annie and other subjects out of their dreams.
Even AI has psychological problems, how can humans avoid it? James, who is suffering from the relationship between mother and child, Dr. Fujita who is seriously afraid of society, Dr. Greta who cannot control his emotions, and even these experts who are dedicated to the treatment of mental illnesses cannot make themselves "invincible". No wonder the creators We will show such a society in which "everyone is sick" in a comedy and joking way.
Owen and Annie are just two of the most common patients: fear of family and fear of intimacy. Only love can heal the lack of love. Love is the same old tune, and love is also an ancient truth. The two who chose to escape in real life finally played the roles they wanted to play in their dreams. To take all the blame for you, know how you are going to deceive me before you deceive me, and even the eagle that jumped off a tall building and became a childhood flies to you. And if you are willing to drive a broken truck to pick me up and fly over the lunatic asylum in reality, I will put on your dad’s clothes and hug the dog and walk with you. It turns out that the brain is short-circuited. It may be a madman or love.
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