Sunday, October 16, 2011

Neon Genesis Europa

During one of the most mysterious and revelatory moments of Hideaki Anno's 1995 anime series "Neon Genesis Evangelion", namely near the end of Episode 24, two gigantic mechas, one symbolizing the developmental state and the other Euroliberalism, wage a life-and-death struggle which will determine the fate of humanity. They crash through barrier after barrier just like the Great Recession has crashed through one financial tranche after another, one failed ringfence after another, one failed bailout after another, accompanied by the stirring chorale of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" (original epic footage here from 15:00 to 24:15).

I always thought the end was an allegory of the passing of neoliberalism: no apocalyptic battle, just the realization that somehow, through millions of acts of individual survival (symbolized by the refusal of Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami to give up), change was possible. Madrid staged its own deeply inspiring retake of this moment here.

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