identity loss through the lens of perfect blue and influencer culture
another essay, this time discussing perfect blue, one of my favorite movies!
“we are nothing but our identity, so once we lose it, what else is left?”
Introduction
Perfect Blue is a film by Satoshi Kon, released in 1998. The film follows Mima, a beloved Jpop idol, who is later pushed by her manager to leave the girl group she is a part of, and pursue a career in acting (Kon 1998). She then gets pushed to partake in risque photoshoots and rape scenes in order to establish credibility in the film industry and show that she is no longer a child, and ready to show a new sexualized side of herself to the public eye (Kon 1998). She does this because she is told that if she doesn’t, she will never be taken seriously as an actress (Kon 1998). Mima slowly begins to become overwhelmed between the forced sexualization of herself and an obsessed stalker who is upset she left the Jpop girl group and is adopting a new image. (Kon 1998) The world begins to warp around her, and she loses the ability to discern between what’s real and what’s a hallucination. The second half of the film is difficult to accurately explain, as it’s highly surrealist and misdirecting. Mima’s materialized split in her identity, that being her old self, is a ghost haunting her throughout the film, which becomes increasingly aggressive (Kon 1998). At the climax, it is revealed that the ghost, who both Mima and the viewer thought to be a hallucination, is actually Rumi, Mima’s friend and manager (Kon 1998). At the end of the film, Rumi is shown to be institutionalized for having lost her identity, and Mima moves on with her life, ending with the line “No, I’m real!”, implying it may not be the real Mima (Kon 1998).
This film elucidates the duality between an avatar and the real person behind it. Despite the release date preceding the existence of social media, it is ever more prevalent in the age of influencer culture. Once someone puts themselves on a public platform for an audience to observe, the avatar is born. The avatar is who strangers perceive someone to be, despite this image being a very edited and idealized version of the real person behind the screen. Perfect Blue explores what could happen if one loses control of their avatar. At a certain point, it is the avatar that begins to shape who the real person is, rather than the other way around. This essay will discuss the parallels between Perfect Blue and current influencer culture, as well as analyzing how Perfect Blue shows identity loss and how it’s mirrored in a large portion of influencers.
Perfect Blue
Perfect Blue makes use of scene sequences, composition, color, and symbols to illustrate Mima’s grasp on her identity slowly unclench, which will be shown through a semiotic analysis of the film’s most crucial scenes. Preceding the semiotic analysis, will be an analysis of narrative and stylistic aspects of the film.
The animation style itself is distinguished from any other anime released in the 1990s and early 2000s, in how it isn’t overly stylized and doesn’t exaggerate features to make characters appear more attractive. The only characters that are appealing to look at are pop idols and actresses, with all other characters having small eyes and fat faces. The opening shots alternate between Mima’s final performance with her group, CHAM, and Mima shopping for groceries (Kon 1998). These personal shots of her doing groceries feel very mundane and human, and it is in these types of shots in which we learn who Mima is as a person, outside of the public eye. Another example of such shots is a 4 minute long sequence of Mima alone in her apartment, feeding her fish, hanging up laundry, and trying to figure out how to use the internet (Kon 1998). Due to how closely we get to know Mima, the rest of the film does not feel voyeuristic, but rather as if a personal friend was suffering. In the scenes of the nude photoshoot and the rape scene, we no longer see Mima through our eyes, we view her quite literally from the male gaze, as the shots are mostly shown through the camera lens of the photographer and videographer. Because of the initial intimate sequences, we feel extremely unsettled and uncomfortable when watching these scenes, because it is not the Mima we know. This directly mirrors Mima’s mindset, as she is extremely uncomfortable, and going against her own wishes and who she is as a person. She is no longer perceived as the Mima she knows herself as, but rather a highly sexualized version, and this perception held by the public eye ultimately becomes reality. Her avatar is no longer under her control, it’s shaping who she is. Her discomfort is not only implied, but shown in the aftermath where she is alone in her apartment, ragefully breaking items and sulking contemplatively in her bathtub. Following this breaking point, the narrative of the film becomes highly disorienting for the viewer. Scenes begin to bleed into one another, a scene which at first appears like a real event in Mima’s life is then revealed to be a shot that was being filmed for the TV series Mima is starring in. This is done in order for the viewer to experience what Mima is experiencing, just how both the viewer and Mima felt the same discomfort and unfamiliarity during sexually explicit scenes. Narration becomes disorienting to reflect Mima’s struggle with what is real and what is not. Just as we cannot tell if a scene is real or a part of the TV series, neither can she. She begins to believe that her avatar, the image of Mima the public has of her, is more real than she is.
Satoshi Kon uses color, especially red and blue, to further convey the loss of Mima’s identity, and the conflict she's having with her avatar. Red is representative of madness, and is used to foreshadow events, thus used as a narrative tool in itself. Before any major turning point, red dominates the scene. Pictured below are some examples.
However, the use of red only becomes so prominent after Mima is fully submerged in madness, and at a loss of who she is. In the first half of the film, red is still present and used to foreshadow, but the overarching color palette is far more muted and desaturated, shown in the image below.
Semiotic analysis aims to discuss the literal message, the connoted image, and the denoted image of a piece of media (Barthes, n.d.). Connoted and denoted images both have signifiers and signs, the signifier being the visual aspect that entails the sign (Barthes, n.d.). The relationship between signifier and sign in connoted images is based on a symbolic interpretation, meanwhile in denoted images, it is literal (Barthes, n.d.). The symbolic (or connoted) meaning of the color red, as previously mentioned, is madness, and is used to convey the slow descent into it. Essentially, red is the signifier, and madness is the sign. On the contrary, blue is used to connote purity. The title itself, Perfect Blue, provides a literal message of perfection, and perfection in purity. In Japanese culture, the color blue is tied to the sea and the skies, and the purity of them. As such, this film uses blue as a signifier for the purity and innocence Mima once had, and ultimately slipped through her fingers. Pale blue coloring was significantly more present in the first half of the film than in the second, preceding Mima’s loss of identity. Another important connoted symbol is that of the Mima ghost. The ghost is a physical embodiment of Mima’s confusion and loss of identity. Satoshi Kon uses supernatural elements in a seemingly realistic plot in order to communicate emotions and mental processes in a visual way, in order to fully place the viewer in Mima’s shoes, it helps the viewer experience what she is experiencing. Mima’s ghost is the signifier for a split in the self. Mima no longer feels whole, she loses part of herself, and it’s shown through her ghastly doppelganger wearing the pop idol outfit.
Finding Mima in Influencers
With the birth of social media, being an online influencer as a full time job became a possibility. In the early years of social media, it was only a few lucky content creators that skyrocketed to sufficient fame in order to rely on content creation for monetary gain. However, in recent years, and especially in the age of TikTok, gaining a significant audience has become an easy feat. Anybody, from anywhere, has the possibility of becoming an influencer if they so wish and if they put the effort in consistently creating content. Because of the very fact that it is so easy to have a chance at fame, the influencer market has become undeniably saturated. Most influencers make money through monetization of their content, however, the most significant portion of their income comes from sponsorships. As a result, many influencers who may not have been offered an ideal amount of sponsorships must search for profit elsewhere.
OnlyFans is a platform where creators can post images and videos behind a paywall, and can only be accessed by the public if a monthly subscription is made. Around 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the platform grew exponentially, as sex workers who could no longer work in clubs, needed a form of income during lockdown, and thus posted sexually explicit content on the platform. Eventually many influencers moved over to OnlyFans as another form of income when sponsorships came short. The combination of sex work with being an influencer is a dangerous one, as the largest portion of influencers audience are below the age of 18, as they normally make content on subject matter pertaining to such young audiences, like fashion, make up, and pop culture. Like Mima, influencers have gone from an image of innocence, in making content for young girls and boys, to a forced sexualization for monetary gain.
OnlyFans creators have reported both a decline in mental health as well as dangers to their safety from subscribers. In a New York Post article, an OnlyFans creator (who is not mentioned by name in the article) accounts her experience with a man who went from being a subscriber of hers, to stalking, breaking into her home, and filming her in her sleep (Burke, Bentley-York, and Sun 2022). When questioned about his intentions by the police, he claimed that she “wanted a man to be obsessed with her and stalk her” (Burke, Bentley-York, and Sun 2022). This influencer, like Mima in Perfect Blue, lost control of her avatar, and the sexual fantasies that may have been elicited by the avatar became a dark reality the real woman behind the screen had to deal with. Furthermore, a 2010 study found that there is a strong correlation between engaging in sex work and poor mental health (Puri et al. 2017). Results showed that out of 692 sex workers, 48.8% have been diagnosed with certain mental health disorders, primarily depression and anxiety (Puri et al. 2017). Mima’s story is not an isolated one, nor is it an old tale. It’s been relevant since its release date, but never as relevant as today. At the time Perfect Blue was released, Mima’s story was only relatable for the A list pop stars and celebrities, but in the age of social media, where anybody can garner an audience and put themselves on a metaphorical stage, anybody can become Mima.
Discussion
Perfect Blue told a story of young women forced into a sexualized industry for monetary gain, treating them as commodities. While it was relevant at the time it was released, it was nowhere near as relevant and relatable to young women as it is today. Mima’s story was made to show the dark side of an industry the majority are not part of, but now, any young girl can live Mima’s story. The consumption of innocence is dangerous, as it creates a product out of a woman, and ultimately forces a merge of the Madonna Whore Complex. The Madonna Whore complex refers to the psychological categorization of women in the minds of cisgender heterosexual men (Bareket et al. 2018). Women are either placed in the Madonna category, meaning purity, innocence, and nurture, or in the Whore category, meaning promiscuity and sexualization (Bareket et al. 2018). In Perfect Blue, and in OnlyFans influencer culture, women are no longer placed in separate categories, but rather merged into both. In terms of Mima, her audience consumed and desired the perception of her innocence, meanwhile her managers pushed her to sexualize herself for the consumption of a different audience, an audience that desires to watch innocence get corrupted, to watch a young woman in a light she had never been in before, and is uncomfortable to be in. Society often preys on the discomfort of women, hence the merge of the Madonna and Whore categories. In terms of influencer culture, the majority of the audience is young girls looking up to internet role models, thus the desire of innocence, as they are innocent girls themselves. However, the other half of their audience is often heterosexual men watching their content for the sole purpose of watching an attractive woman. As such, the male audience is willing to pay these influencers to post explicit content on OnlyFans in order to watch a corrupted and sexualized side of a public figure that is often portrayed as innocent because of the large portion of young girls in the audience. There are numerous ethical implications of this phenomenon, but most salient is promotion of sex work to young girls. Influencers that do OnlyFans often promote this platform on their largest platform, such as TikTok, where many young girls can see as well. Seeing that a woman they look up to is engaging in sex work because of the large monetary benefit, they may be inspired to resort to sex work as soon as they reach 18. This is extremely harmful, as the physical and mental dangers of sex work have been previously discussed.
It is critical to place a feminist lens on this phenomenon of commodification of women in the media industry. In Desperately Seeking Difference, Jackie Stacey discusses the masculinization of the audience, and how it affects viewership of women in film (Stacey, n.d.). This can also be applied to the viewership of influencers, and pop idols. The masculinization of the audience of influencers and pop idols (Mima) makes it so the audience has inherent power over the influencer, which directly connects to the concept of the avatar (that being the perception the audience has of the real person) overpowering the real person, and shaping the real person’s life rather than vice versa. Both Mima and OnlyFans influencers fell at the hands of sexual desire of an audience they get paid to please, which creates a disproportionate power dynamic.
Conclusion
Perfect Blue is an important film, and Mima’s story must be taken into account by both audience members who consume any form of media, as well as young girls aspiring to reach fame and recognition. Being perceived by a large number of people brings dangers that are not comparable to being perceived as a regular person. Putting oneself on a platform is an act of extreme vulnerability, and is metaphorically placing oneself in the palm of the audience. Without awareness of these issues, or proper protection measures in place, lives could be endangered. The commodification of women has become so common in capitalist and patriarchal society to the point where many people do not question it, it has become ingrained into the culture of social media and Hollywood.
Satoshi Kon’s use of magic realism allowed the audience to experience being in the shoes of a young woman who may appear to have the ideal life, by portraying physical embodiments of internal experiences, and creating a level of empathy and understanding that would’ve otherwise not been possible. The disorienting nature of the second half of the film also allowed the viewer to have the closest possible experience to what it may feel to lose touch with oneself, and lose the ability to discern between reality, hallucination, and content creation. Being a talent in a media industry or being an influencer are both relatively new working positions, and there are still insufficient safety protocols, which has often ended in the end of many public figures’ short lives. Culture icons such as Kurt Cobain, Selena Quintanilla, and Heath Ledger all died either at the hands of obsessed stalkers, or at their own hands in the midst of poor mental health as a result of the public eye. As audience members, it is difficult to even begin to comprehend the experience of such public occupations riddled with constant outside perception, and for this reason, films such as Perfect Blue are crucial.
Bibliography
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Burke, Olivia, Jacob Bentley-York, and The Sun. 2022. “New Hampshire Man Mauricio Damian-Guerrero Arrested for Stalking Model in Attic.” New York Post. March 4, 2022. https://nypost.com/2022/03/04/new-hampshire-man-mauricio-damian-guerrero-arrested-for-stalking-model-in-attic/.
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Stacey, Jackie. n.d. “DESPERATELY SEEKING DIFFERENCE JACKIE STACEY CONSIDERS DESIRE between WOMEN in NARRATIVE CINEMA.” https://mediaresearchmethods.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/desp-seek-diff.pdf.