Crashbox

Memory is an interesting thing. It can be wonderful, idyllic, golden; or it can be cold, sad and isolating. To lose or deny it would be a tragic thing, but to become obsessed is equally terrible. I have noticed that it [memory] plays an integral role in most Anime series' I have seen, and there seems to always be a juxtaposition between the unbearable ones and the ones that keep the characters happy and hopeful. Though I am talking about cartoons, there is a truth here I think, though more often than not the purpose of it in these stories seems confused; sometimes nothing more than an excuse for a pretty scene. Without memory however, we could not learn and grow or properly come to understand anything that happens to us in life. I am going to embarrass myself in my musings by showing that I don't really remember Augustine's chapters on memory from the Confessions, but I plan to reread them sometime and relearn some his wisdom; the concepts of time and memory are entwined so deeply into our lives and consciousness. Well, an Anime series started all this thoughtfulness, and I must be open and say that I like Anime a lot, but despite this I am very aware that it is usually philosophically, theologically and even experientially fatally flawed. It is as if there is an unlimited well of creativeness and perception in the mind of the animators, but somehow they miss the real point and get hung up on immature reactions and childish emotions, like obsessive attachment to certain memories. The lives of so many of the characters in these different shows revolve around a single occurrence, and they either eternally live in the past or can only bear to live in the present. Even worse, they often have a huge identity crisis as well. It makes me wonder: I feel like Japan itself has an identity crisis, as a whole people. That, coupled with a national lack of Christianity, odd customs, and a dark past that was confused and all but stricken from the minds of the Japanese citizens by the American occupation after WWII has left..what? Perhaps there is some account for the role of memory in their stories characters right there; a struggle to understand who they are and what has become of their heritage. This is all simply a speculation of course, but there is some real power here: Japanese culture (do they have one?) has more or less swept the world and captivated more of it than one might think with its sadness, sexiness, its depth and madness. However all that may be, I have recently been thoughtful about my own past. Some things I swore as a child or young adult I would never forget, have over the years become more distant or even unimportant. Maybe I just lost track of them, and at some moment or other in the future they will jump out, one by one and beg to be meaningful once again---or maybe I have just matured and grown up and have a better understanding now of how and why I was moved and affected. Obviously some lessons are learned or actions are understood years later...and, I suppose in the end if they really are important they are never truly forgotten.