Anime Viewing: In The Process of Organizing

Hello there! I started watching Psycho-Pass as a sort of side piece of entertainment to my english class regarding cyberpunk, as subgenre of science fiction.

I guess I will start this off by giving some background on the cyberpunk genre. Cyberpunk almost literally translates to "high tech, low life"--cyber as in "cyberspace", punk as in "underground, anti-establishment, against social norms". In Psycho-Pass, we can see the "high tech" evident in the technologically advanced society of this future Japan. Holograms and robots are an integral part of daily life, and the core of society focuses on the technology that is the Sibyl System. However, the anime itself is centered around the "low life" existence of crime that pervades even this supposedly utopian society.

Cyberpunk looks at how how traditional power structures and institutions are altered by the emergence of new technologies. Instead of the classic sci-fi approach of treating technology as distant and entirely alien from humanity, cyberpunk considers how technology is "pervasive, utterly intimate. Not outside us, but next to us. Under our skin; often, inside our minds" (Bruce Sterling, Mirrorshades). As a result, themes of body invasion (cyborg technology) and mind invasion (neural interfaces and artificial intelligence) are common within this subgenre, as cyberpunk works examine what it truly means to be an "individual" or even a "human."


Keeping all this in mind, how do you guys think Psycho-Pass fits into this picture of cyberpunk as a whole? How does it utilize the futuristic technology of the Sibyl System to challenge, question, and examine our own society in the present?

How is gender affected by the values of the Sibyl System? Are women like Akane now empowered by the "equality" of technology? Or would you argue that gender norms are still continuously reaffirmed?

How does the Sibyl System influence and/or regulate choice? In turn, how does its control over free will affect the individuality and humanity of the characters in this show? (This is built upon in a later episode with massive spoilers, if you're interested in watching further.)

Episodes 4 and 5 expressly show social commentary regarding the anonymity of avatars on the cyberspace that is the interweb. (Interestingly enough, the concept of "avatar" in its current online use also comes from the cyberpunk novel Snow Crash.) How does the show challenge identity, the "true self", the dichotomy between the mind and the physical body?

And the central question of the show: What flaws can you still see in the supposedly "perfect" society under the Sibyl System? Does it truly provide the utopian equality and opportunity that it professes? Does it really give everyone the chance to "be all that they could possibly be"? What does fulfilling one's innate potential as such even mean for humanity?

The series' setting seems pretty standard for a japanese styled cyberpunk anime as opposed to the harsh dystopian landscapes you usually see in western cyberpunk stories. Maybe it's because the protagonist isn't some gruff rebel hacker guy.

What makes this series stand out for me is the way it's society decided to live with technology that could point out "criminals" instantly, accurately, and almost precognitively. I like the fact that for the most part people seem ok with big brother looking over your shoulder. This is a subject for a whole other discussion but trading some personal freedoms for increased security is a-ok in my book. You'll find people like that today as well as people who feel strongly opposed. What can ya do.

The society does seem more gender equal compared to today's standards. Sure you got Kagari's little flirtations, but you also got Yayoi working fine with everyone else and no one seems to care too much about Shion. She is pretty stiff though and has the least screen time so we'll see where she ends up. I did find that little comment about how beautiful Akane's mind was to be pretty interesting coming from, what appeared to be, more "beautiful" girls (hard to tell in anime who's beautiful and not unless explicitly said -_- but again. I didn't see the issue explored too deeply in these 5 eps.

Like I said, I like the sybil system and I think the main population is fine with it too. If you're a good person, you don't care if someone is watching over your shoulder. You'll do what you'll do regardless. Usually. You do see some major faults with the system as soon as the first episode, though. Akane was rightly hesitant to label the victim as a criminal and, in fact, the girl responded to treatment well. The increase in her criminal coefficient did seem to be temporary, but it's impossible to know what would have happened otherwise. As for crazy people who go crazy, well, they're crazy.

Hm. I didn't really think too much about the dichotomy of mind and body. I felt eps 4 and 5 touched on it only with regards to the guy who was killing people for their avatars. The mastermind guy talking through the avatars at the end of ep 5 pretty much summed it up. And the guy was already pretty crazy...so... yeah. The main characters seem to be pretty much who they are. I see more of a struggle between how they view themselves vs. how others view them and how that outward perception affects their own perception of their "true self."

Once again. I think that society as it was presented in those 5 eps would be fine to live in. Who knows, something terrible could happen that would make it suck. (of course something will happen -_-) The one thing that would make a difference either way would have to be in how future careers are decided for you. It would have been fine with me if it wasn't for the fact that it could point you out as a criminal so early in life and set everything in stone then and there. If there was some sort of retest or periodic evaluation it'd be fine. Having your life set out for you according to your ability seems fine.

I would probably describe Psycho Pass as "Cyberpunk lite." The characters live in a semi-utopian society where all their basic needs are met and technology has done much to shoulder the burdens of keeping that society running. Having recently watched a lot of dystopian/post-apocalyptic movies and anime over the past few months, I can see that it draws concepts from many places including Judge Dredd, Cloud Atlas, Ghost in the Shell, and Armitage. What I find interesting is the balance that the world of Psycho Pass strikes between utopian and dystopian themes.

As 6th mentioned, many draw comfort from knowing that their lives are being collectively constantly monitored so that any disruptive or dangerous elements can be removed as quickly as possible, and that each person's career is determined by their inherent aptitude so that society can move along seamlessly and serenely . However, under the inscrutable eye of the Sybil System, some people crack. Society is not without its ails. The technology that was designed to ease people's stress often can be addicting and even euthanizing. Latent criminals often strike suddenly and without warning after being pushed past the tipping point. While some crimes like petty theft, fraud, and forgery may have been all but eliminated, the most heinous of criminals still lurk among the populace, often in plain sight.

The Sybil system is obviously not perfect. The way it seems to operate is to scan certain areas of the brain for aggressive thoughts characteristic of known criminals. It effectively checks the brain patters of those it scans against its database to find matches. "Latent criminals" are those who have not committed any crimes but show brainwave patters like that of a criminal. However, Akane shows in the first episode that sudden spikes in one's Crime Coefficient is not necessarily indicative of future criminal behavior, and the Sybil System shouldn't take place of humans' reasoning and judgment.

However, because of the Sybil System and the Dominators, the police seem to have adopted a "shoot first, ask questions later" policy similar to many cyberpunk scenarios. As in Judge Dredd, the city is high on crime and short on officers to deal with it, so most situations require heavy-handed snap decision making. Like in Armitage, technology forces into focus the question of what makes a person human or less-than-human by throwing criminals and people with cloudy psycho passes in together, perhaps undeservingly so, in the case of the Enforcers. This false dichotomy is brought to bear when Gino advises Akane to think of them as less than human, to be shot down without hesitation if they deviate from their duties. However, Akane develops a very different opinion after getting to know them.

As far as the question of gender, it doesn't seem to really come up until episode 7. It would appear that technology has acted as an equalizing force (as in the real world) that a certain demographic of people are struggling to resist in order to preserve "traditional" values. However, the overarching problem still looms high above this issue: people are not free to choose their future. Whether this is because of the Sybil System or because of those with enough money and influence to circumvent it, humans are still being corralled toward certain outcomes. The question is twofold: is this what's best for society? Is this what's best for the individual?

Interestingly, the internet seems to exist as a system apart, where people are free to escape and express themselves through avatars, much like how we use the internet today. In fact, it reminds me a lot of YouTube, and how people with successful YT channels almost become characterizations of a facet of themselves while on camera. It's common knowledge that YouTube is highly personality driven. Avatars in Psycho Pass are basically this phenomenon on a massive scale. The strongest of these personalities have gained huge cult-like followings, similar to YouTubers who have subscribers in excess of a million. They almost become sub-cultures unto themselves.

The main problem I see with the Sybil System is that it is relatively new, without a central intelligence to guide it. It is not a "smart" system; it's a dumb one. It cannot differentiate between someone who murders for pleasure and someone who is willing to fight, to the death if need be, for their own survival. It merely matches brainwave patterns to a database and assigns Dominator permissions based on its scans. It has also only been implemented in the last generation or so, as shown in episode 7 and alluded to in previous episodes. Someone who follows the Sybil System's judgment blindly will inevitably end up killing many basically innocent people driven to extreme measures by those true criminals, but for whatever reason those victims are passed off as "acceptable losses."

This is not to mention that the Sybil System can determine a person's entire future as early as age 5, when the brain isn't even close to being fully developed yet. Yes, let's just give up all our knowledge of psychology and human development, because it's much easier to just let a computer tell us what to do! It's no wonder that in a world where hard choices have been engineered out, people are terrible at dealing with stress and feel comfortable with relegating anyone who deviates from the norm as sub-human.

-EDIT-

Well, I finished the series and it looks like I was half right. I kind of suspected the [MAJOR SPOILER] about halfway through so I wasn't too surprised, but it was very interesting to see what exactly it was and why they wanted Makishima Shogo. I was kind of hoping for more romance between Akane and Shinya though.

Although the series does set itself up for a sequel, who can say if one will ever be made. However, the series could have ended VERY differently if Akane had chosen to reveal the truth instead of keeping the secret. Actually, it's not hard to imagine a sort of post-apocalyptic scenario where everyone blames the hero, even though s/he was just making what they thought was the best choice at the time (a la Trigun).

Reflecting back on the question of cyper-punk, I think Psycho Pass probably would be if it were told from the perspective of Makishima, instead of the Enforcers. However, I don't think the world of Psycho Pass is quite gritty enough to fit most people's idea of what cyberpunk usually is or should be. The IDEA of challenging the social order is definitely there, personified by Makishima, but no radical change actually takes place (for long). In fact:

Spoiler:

This quote characterizes Makishima and his like more than it does the main characters. If anything, Psycho Pass is taking the genre of cyberpunk and turning it on its head! Which is quite impressive in its own right. Akane is the only real "hero" of the story, surrounded by anti-heroes like Shinya and the enforcers. In the end she edges closer to being an anti-hero herself though, choosing to champion the system she has come to despise after knowing its true nature, but knowing that revealing the truth would only cause more chaos and death without offering any solution or replacement.