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Published 08/20/22
As you may assume from the title, A few days ago I just got finished watching the anime Serial Experiments Lain. I wouldn’t consider myself to be the most avid anime watcher ever, (music is my primary choice of escapism), but I have seen quite a few of those Chinese cartoons in my day and I’d have to say that SEL is certainly the deepest, most thought-provoking anime I have watched so far. This won’t really be a review (hence why the title isn’t “My Review Of Serial Experiments Lain”), I’m sure there are plenty of better reviews out there than I could ever write. It’s also not meant to be an exhaustive dissection or analysis of everything about the show, but rather just some general ideas that came to mind during and after watching that I’d like to share. I’d also recommend watching the anime before reading this as there are spoilers and it might be confusing otherwise.
Technology is a major theme in SEL. I feel that someone like me who is interested and fairly knowledgeable about technology (if I do say so myself) would be positioned well to draw certain connections that perhaps a lot of people wouldn’t. After all, that’s what most of the articles on this site are about.
The first is the parallels between the Wired and the internet. Obviously the Wired is meant to be a stand-in for the real world internet, but with some major differences, mainly that it’s way more immersive (you can pretty much transfer your entire body into it) and that it has an actual effect on what happens in the real world. In SEL the Wired underpins everything, it is the true reality in which the physical world resides. While I’m pretty sure that isn’t the case with the real world internet, one of the most bone-chilling things about the anime is that while it is a sci-fi, cyberpunk themed fictional story, nothing in it is too far fetched so as to be comfortably dismissed outright as completely absurd by the viewer, especially when placed within a modern (2022) context. People’s lives are increasingly being lived online, and with the rate of technological progress, maybe one day the internet will be viewed as the “real world” and the actual real world will be viewed as obsolete and unnecessary. Concepts such as “the metaverse”, virtual reality (which only entered the mainstream consumer market in the 2010s, keep in mind that SEL aired in 1998), and brain uploading come to mind (pun intended).
Secondly, I wonder how I, as a person watching SEL for the first time in 2022, would have thought differently about it if I had watched it back in the late ‘90s. I also wonder how the show would have differed had it been made nowadays. Not that I think there should be a remake or anything, almost all remakes are terrible. There are many unmistakably ‘90s elements in SEL such as the prevalence of CRT displays (which I am a fan of) in the Navi units, the beige computer cases that accompany them and fill up Lain’s room, Alice’s blue iMac, the car that the Men in Black drive, and the droning techno music that plays at the nightclub Cyberia throughout the series. How would SEL have changed if it took place in the current or future ‘present day, present time’? Would the Navi units be even more powerful, and even more capable, given the huge increases in processing power that have occurred throughout the years from 1998 to now? Nowadays the internet is everywhere, and unlike in the ‘90s, there’s many more ways to access it than just a flip phone or traditional desktop computer. Would people be able to connect to the Wired through their doorbells? Would there be multiple, competing variants of the Wired, like there are different so-called “metaverses” today? After all, these “metaverses” seem to be attempting to accomplish the same goal as the Wired; creating a global all-encompassing human communications network. Would the corporations or people running these have ascended to God-like statuses, equivalent to or greater than Lain’s? Would this have complicated or interfered with her ability to “reset” the state of the Wired to an earlier time and erase people’s memories? I don’t have the answers to any of these questions, but they are interesting to think about nonetheless.
The internet was also very different in the ‘90s than it is today, it was considered very much like a ‘wild West’. I wonder if the general craziness of the Wired is meant to be a reflection of that, or perhaps a speculation on what the internet could become in the future.
Something else that I thought about while watching SEL was the concept of transhumanism, an idea which is strongly linked to technology. The idea that the soul and the body are separate things, and that one can transcend the mortal human form and become something greater. This contrasts with the traditional view that the body, mind, and soul are inextricably linked, and together comprise the self. To have multiple selves in separate realities is one that isn’t limited to fiction. In fact, that’s what a lot of people do on the internet, which allows you to create an entirely new, separate persona to the real world one. Usernames, avatars, video game character options all give you the option to take on a new identity, become someone who you could never be in the real world. Virtual reality takes this concept to a completely new level, one that is somewhat similar to what is seen in the Wired, with the ability to project your entire body into a virtual environment. Online identities also can certainly become more powerful and influential than their real world counterparts. Just think of all the Twitch streamers who are nobodies in real life but have hundreds of thousands of followers online. People speak of having to “play a part” or “put on an act” for their internet audiences, which can be exhausting, I’d imagine. That phenomenon could be described as the online self operating independently of the real world self, dominating over and doing things that the real world self may not want to. This is similar to how, in SEL, Lain’s Wired self imposes herself on the real world, and does things that her real world self doesn’t want to, albeit in a more direct and tangible sense, appearing in the bedroom of and watching her best friend Alice who is having sexual fantasies about her teacher, which Wired Lain spreads rumors about, much to the dismay of real world Lain, who later erases all memories of that event.
The final concepts I’ll discuss here are the most disconcerting ones. The idea that all you are is memories, and that if everyone’s memories of you were erased, it would be like you hadn’t ever existed at all. It’s a scary thought. This is introduced at the end of the show when Lain becomes a God-like being, with total control over the Wired and therefore reality itself, and erases all memories of herself from everyone. Concepts such as solipsism (the idea that your mind is the only thing that you can be sure exists) and transhumanism, again, come to mind. What does it mean to be? What does it mean to be conscious? How can we know that our reality is not altered in some way? At the very end of the series, a now grown-up Alice (Arisu) experiences deja vu.
Upon seeing Lain on a walkway, Alice feels as if she had seen Lain before, but due to her memories being erased, doesn't remember quite why, and introduces herself to Lain again. Is deja vu a sign that reality has been altered? What even is reality? Am I going crazy? Many questions arise, but none are answered. I am not a philosopher and epistemology is not my forte, so I won’t dwell on this for too long.
While watching this show, I was reminded of a 2017 track by American industrial rock project Nine Inch Nails, entitled ‘The Background World’. Specifically, the lyrics: “The world is bleeding out // It folds itself in two // Behind the background world // Is always bleeding through”
Frequently throughout SEL, shadows can be seen, particularly in scenes that are outside, which appear to have pools of red within them. This is an interesting stylistic decision, which could be interpreted as the background world (the Wired) bleeding through into the physical world. The aforementioned track is very unique, with over seven minutes of a single segment at the end repeating over and over, degrading in audio quality, until it sounds like static noise. This could be compared to the way that, gradually over the course of the series, the border between the Wired and the physical world degrade, becoming blurred until the distinction between the two realms are indistinguishable. Another track from the same group that also came to mind is ‘Right Where It Belongs’ from 2005. Specifically, the lyrics “What if all the world’s inside of your head // Just creations of your own? // Your devils and your gods // All the living and the dead // And you’re really all alone?” The same familiar themes; religion, isolation, solipsism, all of which are prominent in SEL, as mentioned earlier.
Again, this isn’t a review, but all in all, SEL really is remarkable. I’d certainly recommend watching it, but if you’re reading this you probably have already. The sort of cold and disconnected atmosphere, the gritty, desaturated use of colors, and the nonlinear way the story plays out is very unique, unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It’s the only show I’ve ever been compelled to write about, which by itself says something. I didn’t even intend to do this at first, but I couldn't fall asleep that night and thought it’d be a good idea. It's certainly better than laying on the floor, listening to Duvet on repeat, thinking a lot but not organizing or expressing those thoughts in any way. SEL does make you think, which isn’t the case with most media being produced nowadays. The soundtrack and OP/ED are also excellent. I also enjoyed the remix album ‘serial experiments lain sound track cyberia mix’ since I’m a fan of the kind of ‘90s electronic/techno music that would have been played in the nightclub. While listening to it, I thought “huh, this sounds kinda like Hybrid/Underworld/TCM/early Prodigy/etc.” Shame that I’ll never get to attend the actual Cyberia.
Made with love by gray
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