Emancipation in Postmodernity : Political Thought in Japanese Science Fiction Animation Issue Date: 2017-03-14
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Cover Page The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/46672 holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation Author: Nakamura, Mari Title: Emancipation in postmodernity : political thought in Japanese science fiction animation Issue Date: 2017-03-14 EMANCIPATION IN POSTMODERNITY Political Thought in Japanese Science Fiction Animation Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van Doctor aan de Universiteit Leiden, op gezag van Rector Magnificus Prof.mr. C.J.J.M. Stolker, volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties te verdedigen op dinsdag 14 maart 2017 klokke 15.00 uur door Mari Nakamura geboren te Fukuoka, Japan in 1975 Promotor Prof.dr. Katarzyna Cwiertka (Leiden University) Co-promotor Dr. Florian Schneider (Leiden University) Promotiecommissie Dr. Tom Looser (New York University) Prof.dr. Madeleine Hosli (Leiden University) Prof.dr. Ivo Smits (Leiden University) This thesis was made possible by the financial support of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies. © Mari Nakamura, 2017 Book and cover design by Karel Banfield Printed by IPSKAMP printing, Enschede ii TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi TABLE OF FIGURES viii INTRODUCTION 1 Existing Sources of Political Theory 1 Alternative Approaches to Political Theory 2 Structure of the Work 6 1. DIALECTIC OF EMANCIPATION: EMANCIPATION IN POLITICAL THEORY 14 1.1. Introduction 14 1.2. Karl Marx 15 1.3. Antonio Gramsci 21 1.4. The First Generation of the Frankfurt School 25 1.5. Jürgen Habermas 30 1.6. Poststructualists 34 1.7. Conclusion: The Modern (European) History of Emancipation as Transcendance/Another Discourse 39 2. THE POLITICS OF EMANCIPATION: INTELLECTUALS, EVERYDAYNESS AND PHILOSOPHY IN GRAMSCI AND TOSAKA 41 2.1. Introduction 41 2.2. Everyone is Potentially an Intellectual 43 2.3. Intellectuals and Society 47 2.4. Everydayness and Philosophy 54 2.5. Conclusion: Critical Analysis of Everyday Life as a Political and Philosophical Intervention 60 3. METHODOLOGY AND METHODS 63 3.1. Introduction 63 3.2. Existing Methods and Approaches to Political Theory 63 3.3. Utopia, Science Fiction and Political Theory 67 3.4. Visual Media and Political Thory 75 3.5. Towards a Method for Analyzing Anime as a Mode of Thought 82 3.5.1. Napier’s Thematic-Oriented Analysis 83 3.5.2. Lamarre’s Medium-Oriented Analysis 86 3.5.3. Towards a Trans-Medial Approach to Anime 88 4. THE UTOPIAN ENCLAVE AND RESISTANCE IN TIME OF EVE 95 4.1. Introduction 95 4.2. Jameson’s Utopian Enclave 96 4.3. The Utopian Enclave in Time of Eve 98 4.4. Domination and Resistance in Time of Eve 102 4.4.1. Domination: Anti-Robot Discourse, Knowledge Production and Self-Discipline 102 4.4.2. Resistance: Self-Reflection and Imagining Alternative Possibilities 105 4.5. Conclusion: The Utopian Enclave as a Locus of Resistance 111 5. SECURITY, EMANCIPATION AND DOMINATION IN PSYCHO-PASS 113 5.1. Introduction 113 5.2. Emancipation as Security and its Problematics 115 5.3. Security as Governmentality 120 5.4. Power and the Apparatus of Security in Psycho-Pass 124 5.4.1. Govern through Security 124 5.4.2. Disciplinary Power 131 5.4.3. Knowledge and Security 132 5.4.4. Biopower 134 5.5. Conclusion: Security is Governmentality 135 6. ALIENATION AND EMANCIPATION IN NEON GENESIS EVANGELION 137 6.1. Introduction 137 6.2. Alienation in Social, Political and Literary Theory 139 6.3. Alienation in Evangelion 143 6.4. Thought Experiment: Examining the Potential for De-Alienation 149 6.5. Conclusion: Imagination as Emancipation 153 7. TRANSHUMANITY AND HYBRIDITY IN APPLESEED 155 ii 7.1. Introduction 155 7.2. Ager’s Species-Relativism and its Problematics 156 7.3. Thought Experiment: Comparing Two Visions of Posthuman Society 160 7.3.1. Vision 1: Anthropocentrism and its Limitations 161 7.3.2. Vision 2: Beyond Anthropocentrism and the Potential of Hybridity 172 7.4. Conclusion: Hybridity as Emancipation 176 CONCLUSION 178 Emancipation in the Modern History of Political Thought and its Problematics 178 Anime as Political Thought: Illustration and Innovation 182 Limitations of the Work and Suggestions for Future Research 187 Anime: A Medium of Political Theory 189 BIBLIOGRAPHY 191 SAMENVATTING 215 CURRICULUM VITAE 217 PROPOSITIONS 218 iii SUMMARY Animation has long been overlooked as source for political thought. The aim of this thesis is to rectify this, and it will do so in two ways. First, it makes a theoretical and empirical case for animation as an intellectual source of political thought that should be used along with philosophical canon. Second, it sheds light on the political significance and expressive potentials of nonconventional sources for political theorists. The thesis explores the philosophical idea of emancipation, and expands the traditional corpus by drawing on Japanese science fiction animation (SF anime), a source that does not normally enter these philosophical debates. SF anime is an unconventional expression of political thought. It is medial rather than textual. Although philosophers have recently recognized the importance of visual media, film in particular, as an additional source for philosophical inquiries, the academic field of political thought remains predominantly textual. In addition, it is geo-cultural. Political thought has long been grounded in strong European traditions, including utopian and SF literature as extended fields of political expression. However, alternative political visions from non- European countries such as the science fiction from Japan have been little explored. Recognizing the scarcity of academic research on political expression in anime, this thesis proposes new ways of understanding the concept of emancipation. It argues that SF anime is a useful site for political theorists to interrogate pressing philosophical ideas, and it can engage with ongoing philosophical discussions through illustrations and thought experiments. The thesis is organized as follows. The first three chapters establish a theoretical and methodological basis of the thesis. Chapter 1 maps out the landscape of emancipation as a field of knowledge in the existing field of political theory, and argues that the field is predominantly European and textual. Chapter 2 looks at the works of Antonio Gramsci and Tosaka Jun. Discussing the role of intellectuals, the concept of everydayness, and the nexus between theory and practice, this chapter offers a theoretical basis of seeing anime – an everyday cultural practice in Japan and elsewhere – as an important site of philosophical inquiry. Chapter 3 considers the methods and approaches appropriate to analyzing anime as a mode of political thought. The following four chapters are case studies showing how the selected SF anime works become philosophical exercises in considering aspects of emancipation in two ways: illustration and innovation. That is, anime illustrates existing ideas and/or creates original philosophical arguments through thought experiments. Each chapter sets out the textual field and then demonstrates how SF anime can contribute to and forward our understanding of a particular aspect of emancipation and related concepts through visual narrative. Chapter 4 examines how the feature film Time of Eve illustrates Fredric Jameson’s concept of utopian enclave and the possibility of an alternative world as a site for resistance. Chapter 5 analyzes how the iv TV series Psycho-Pass illustrates the ways in which Michel Foucault’s notion of power operates to secure people’s wellbeing in the technologically enhanced surveillance society. It argues that the relation between emancipation and domination is dialectical. Chapter 6 analyzes Melvin Seeman’s theory of alienation and its relation to emancipation in the TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Discussing the potentials and obstacles to the de-alienation and emancipation of the protagonist through a thought experiment, it suggests that imagination is emancipation. Chapter 7 shows how the feature film Appleseed performs a thought experiment that challenges the philosophical argument put forward by philosopher Nicholas Ager. It examines the idea of hybridity and its emancipatory potential. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been written without the encouragement, support, and guidance of a number of people. First and foremost, I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to my three supervisors, Chris Goto-Jones, Florian Schneider, and Katarzyna Cwiertka for their solicitude, intelligence, and generosity. Chris and Florian played a crucial supervisory role in formulating this project. Chris not only introduced me to the field but also constantly gave me unwavering guidance and support, both intellectually and personally. Florian has always pushed me to think in more nuanced and sophisticated ways with his painstaking, critical and invaluable comments. I am also deeply grateful to Kasia for her vital support in helping to carry the project through the final stage. I thank my colleagues on the Beyond Utopia project, Carl Li and Martin Roth, for their input and stimulating discussions; Esther Truijen and Roxy van Beek for all their generous support. This research has benefited from the financial support of Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and the institutional support from the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies. I extend my thanks to the LIAS, especially, José Brittijn, Rogier Busser, Maghiel van Crevel, Ine Goedegebuur, Frank Pieke, and Wilma Trommelen for their generous support. In each