Leo D.M.J. Aurini - April 21, 2016


Psycho-Pass： A World of Rabbits


Episode Stats

Length

18 minutes

Words per Minute

121.5706

Word Count

2,254

Sentence Count

172

Misogynist Sentences

3

Hate Speech Sentences

11


Summary

The Society of Psycho Pass is a fantastic anime series that is set in the future, in a world where everyone has a Psycho Pass, a psychological passport that allows them to be arrested if they become angry or stressed. This passport can be used to track your anger and stress levels, and if you go above a certain level of anger or stress, you will be arrested and locked in a cube for the rest of your life.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Thank you for joining us.
00:00:30.920 Psycho Pass is a truly amazing anime series that I heartily recommend to anybody in the alternative right.
00:00:38.540 It makes me wonder if the creators had read the evolutionary psychology behind politics,
00:00:44.760 because this perfectly nails the R-type society that the social justice warriors are pushing for.
00:00:50.120 And it also expands upon technology that we are presently developing, which could very well make all of this come to pass.
00:00:59.720 Now, in this review, I'm going to be spoiler-lite.
00:01:03.940 I'm going to discuss the broad trends of the series and the themes brought up in it,
00:01:10.200 but I'm going to try and avoid the major spoilers.
00:01:13.140 So you should be able to watch this without ruining the series.
00:01:16.020 If anything, hopefully it will improve your appreciation of it when you do sit down to watch it, if you haven't already.
00:01:24.400 Now, the Society of Psycho Pass, it's set in Japan about 50 years in the future, thereabouts.
00:01:31.140 And the title comes from the fact that everybody has a Psycho Pass, a psychological passport, which measures your level of affect.
00:01:43.480 Essentially, if you go above a certain level of anger or distress, or quite frankly, probably even you stress, you will be arrested.
00:01:58.720 There's monitoring equipment all over the city streets that will record your Psycho Pass as you go past it to make sure that you are a sane, obedient little sheep.
00:02:12.440 And yes, we are developing this technology right now.
00:02:17.400 There's actually thermal imaging scanners that will record your level of anger.
00:02:23.260 So, if you're in a bad mood and you're walking down the street, hypothetically, the cops could come have a chat with you.
00:02:32.280 Sir, is anything wrong? Sir, are you upset? Sir? Sir?
00:02:39.860 And of course, in this world, so if you get to a certain level of stress, the cops are alerted to you.
00:02:47.440 And you get locked into a cube.
00:02:49.620 For probably the rest of your life, because very few people get better.
00:02:52.480 Because being locked in a cube tends to stress you out.
00:02:56.560 And if you run from the police, and if you engage in any violence,
00:03:01.440 in fact, like if you hurt another person, or another person witnesses the police arresting you,
00:03:06.960 there's a very good chance that they will need to be arrested because of the amount of affect it will create in them.
00:03:13.720 Their Psycho Pass will reach an unacceptable level, so they now need to be arrested.
00:03:18.280 Or if it gets too high, lethal enforcement.
00:03:22.480 So, Japan is living in a completely peaceful society with robotics that maintain all of the technology,
00:03:31.440 all of the food supply, everything.
00:03:33.680 And with holographic technology that essentially everybody is living in a holodeck.
00:03:42.640 So, you're living in a completely plain gray cubicle apartment,
00:03:47.020 and every day you change the holodeck to look like something else.
00:03:50.320 So, it is perfect, rabbity, unlimited resources, and the only goal of society is to keep everybody calm,
00:04:01.280 and relaxed, and obedient, and going to their jobs the way they're supposed to.
00:04:06.720 It is the perfect rabbit utopia where nobody ever does anything interesting.
00:04:12.540 So, the police forces in this, we've got the sheep, they're the bulk of society,
00:04:21.500 and the police force is a very interesting combination of sheep dogs and wolves.
00:04:28.940 You see, enacting violence on somebody else, that's the sort of thing that tends to make your psychopaths go dark.
00:04:39.340 You get too much affect.
00:04:41.220 And so, the sheep dogs, the people that corral the wolves, can't do it.
00:04:45.980 They only corral the wolves.
00:04:49.160 Once the hunt begins for a thought criminal, the wolves do all the hunting.
00:04:55.100 And the wolves, for the most part, the wolves are ex-sheep dogs.
00:04:59.900 That they got into a violent confrontation with a criminal, with a thought criminal,
00:05:05.680 and it wound up darkening their past so much that they had a choice.
00:05:09.900 Become a hired gun who, if you disobey the sheep dog, gets put to death instantly.
00:05:14.760 Or get locked up into a prison cell for the rest of your life.
00:05:21.360 And each one of them, each time that you go out hunting one of these thought criminals,
00:05:25.560 your psychopaths get a little bit darker.
00:05:28.100 So really, being a wolf is just a short-term stop on the way to your permanent prison cell.
00:05:35.900 It really absolutely nails the K-type versus R-type dynamic.
00:05:45.600 And like I said, this is the world that we're building right now.
00:05:47.760 The conflict in this series comes from the fact that there is a very rare occurrence
00:05:57.220 of individuals who don't trigger the psychopath system.
00:06:03.700 Individuals who can remain completely calm, showing zero affect whenever they commit these crimes.
00:06:10.300 The psychopaths.
00:06:14.480 This society, they're psychopaths that just go under the radar.
00:06:19.680 And so, the guns are all set up to only shoot thought criminals, so the guns won't work against them.
00:06:25.300 They can pass in plain sight.
00:06:27.460 They can do whatever they want.
00:06:28.920 And the antagonist of the series is one such man that decides to make war against the entire system.
00:06:42.320 Now, in describing this man, there is an absolutely brilliant quote about what is the nature of charisma.
00:06:52.480 And it's broken down to three parts.
00:06:54.260 Making people feel good whenever you are around them.
00:07:01.720 The intelligence to speak competently on many topics.
00:07:08.700 And the nature of a hero or prophet.
00:07:11.520 And although this antagonist is very dark, he seeks to overthrow all of Japan in just a violent, destructive, pointless revolution,
00:07:27.680 it does describe him.
00:07:29.900 It's a very choleric description of charisma, of weaponized charisma, of leadership.
00:07:38.620 It's a very compelling description.
00:07:41.520 As well.
00:07:43.140 If you feel called to be in a leadership position, it's a very useful thing to keep in mind.
00:07:51.320 Try and make other people feel better when you're around.
00:07:55.480 You know, achieve professional competence.
00:07:58.580 Know what you're talking about and have a wide variety of interests.
00:08:02.460 And the nature of the hero or prophet.
00:08:06.260 A very Japanese thing to say.
00:08:08.780 But one worth meditating upon.
00:08:13.880 So this antagonist is a psychopath.
00:08:19.280 But he is a very charismatic, self-directed, even heroic psychopath.
00:08:26.600 Although he is a monster.
00:08:28.260 That's going to cause the deaths of millions.
00:08:33.220 He's a very interesting character study.
00:08:35.060 He's certainly not a hero.
00:08:37.180 But he is very interesting, nonetheless.
00:08:41.280 Now, the best scene in the series comes about halfway through when a murder happens in broad daylight in the middle of the street amongst the rabbit population.
00:08:56.860 It's an amazing scene.
00:09:01.180 And it calls to mind necklacing videos I've seen come out of South Africa.
00:09:06.320 Now, if you've never seen one of these, you know, and you don't want your psychopaths to go dark, you probably shouldn't look at one.
00:09:15.500 But in these videos, what will happen is you'll have just a crowd of people murdering the one individual.
00:09:24.460 Beating him, stoning him, and then the necklacing is where they put a car tire full of gasoline around his neck and light it on fire.
00:09:34.860 Truly horrific stuff.
00:09:37.040 But what I find really striking about the videos, what really stands out to me, is how the victim of the thing shows zero affect.
00:09:48.660 They just, they dissociate.
00:09:51.520 And they don't seem to be aware of their environment.
00:09:54.420 They don't seem to be responding rationally.
00:09:56.560 They'll just try and keep walking down the street as this giant crowd is trying to murder them.
00:10:01.400 You know, they won't really fight back or they won't try and escape.
00:10:04.620 They'll just try and walk away.
00:10:06.700 And it's almost like something's possessed them.
00:10:10.800 And in this series, with this murder happening in the middle of the street, amongst this population that does not know violence,
00:10:17.920 that's exactly what happens.
00:10:19.820 The man walks up to this woman, woman he doesn't know, and just, he hits her with a club or whatever, knocks her down,
00:10:30.640 and just starts violently murdering her in the middle of the street.
00:10:34.000 And she doesn't react.
00:10:36.460 She just, when she falls down, she just looks at him with confusion, because the system has always protected her.
00:10:42.440 The system said that this is impossible.
00:10:44.420 This could never happen.
00:10:45.780 And all around her, it's just one guy attacking her.
00:10:49.820 The rest of the population could have easily done something about this guy.
00:10:54.280 But they just stand around looking confused, saying,
00:10:56.920 What's he doing?
00:10:57.720 Is he murdering that woman?
00:10:59.280 What's going on?
00:11:00.280 You know, who was it?
00:11:06.280 Who was it that was saying this?
00:11:07.840 It might have been Stefan Molyneux.
00:11:09.340 It might have been somebody.
00:11:11.120 It might have been on Cantwell's channel.
00:11:13.280 But,
00:11:15.060 rose-tinted glasses.
00:11:17.640 Do you know where that saying comes from?
00:11:21.200 According to rumor,
00:11:22.540 and hearsay,
00:11:23.620 which are almost as good as fact,
00:11:25.640 they used to put rose-tinted goggles
00:11:28.460 on cattle at the slaughterhouse.
00:11:31.340 Because the rose-tinted goggles
00:11:33.020 would prevent them from seeing blood.
00:11:35.500 Thus, they wouldn't be upset.
00:11:39.620 And so, we recently had Bono
00:11:41.420 at the,
00:11:43.120 he was at,
00:11:43.920 what was he talking to the Senate?
00:11:45.960 Talking to a bunch of people
00:11:47.180 that some jag-off musician
00:11:49.220 has no business speaking to.
00:11:51.560 And he was talking to them about how
00:11:53.140 instead of using force of arms,
00:11:54.660 we just need to ridicule Islam.
00:11:56.760 You know, that's how we start terrorism.
00:11:58.860 Is ridicule.
00:12:05.120 The R-types are unable
00:12:06.760 to understand violence.
00:12:10.020 You know, it's been discussed elsewhere.
00:12:11.420 They have malformed amygdalas.
00:12:14.100 You know, their threat assessment center
00:12:16.280 has been short-circuited.
00:12:18.400 They use other circuits
00:12:19.540 to avoid assessing threat.
00:12:21.960 Or they never developed any.
00:12:23.880 They never had any competitive sports
00:12:25.640 in schools.
00:12:26.700 They never got into a fist fight as a kid.
00:12:29.620 They've been perfectly coddled
00:12:31.140 and kept safe.
00:12:33.580 And so their brain,
00:12:34.380 they have an underdeveloped amygdala
00:12:36.740 and circuits that go around it.
00:12:38.680 Well, when one of these people,
00:12:42.820 when they encounter violence,
00:12:45.340 it overwhelms them.
00:12:46.980 They dissociate.
00:12:48.420 Their head, it breaks.
00:12:50.560 And they don't know what to do.
00:12:51.680 They freeze.
00:12:52.700 And this is what happens
00:12:58.460 with, like, the necklacers.
00:12:59.480 These are happening
00:12:59.920 in very R-type societies.
00:13:02.780 And the R-types in this,
00:13:05.620 yeah, they respond the exact same way.
00:13:07.160 They see violence.
00:13:07.900 It just confuses them.
00:13:09.920 They don't know what to do.
00:13:10.940 They're not hardened.
00:13:12.380 They're not toughened.
00:13:14.840 They're obedient.
00:13:26.460 So how do we fight evil?
00:13:28.980 You know, that's a very real question
00:13:30.660 in this series.
00:13:33.240 Because this solution
00:13:34.440 of creating the sheep,
00:13:36.640 you know, that's inhuman.
00:13:37.760 That's certainly not the answer.
00:13:39.020 And what's eventually revealed,
00:13:42.220 and I won't give away too much,
00:13:45.120 but the people ruling this society
00:13:47.680 are the very psychos
00:13:51.160 that can't be detected by the system.
00:13:54.540 It is a system ruled by psychopaths.
00:13:58.480 And, folks,
00:14:00.380 that's a perfect metaphor
00:14:02.120 for our modern day.
00:14:04.660 In fact, I was recently linked
00:14:05.980 to some psychological research
00:14:07.680 that only recently got
00:14:08.900 released publicly.
00:14:11.560 Prior to this,
00:14:12.240 much of it was redacted.
00:14:13.600 I'm still going through all of it,
00:14:15.120 but there's a link down below
00:14:16.620 to the guy's writing
00:14:19.360 and to his article.
00:14:23.440 So, yes, we do presently have
00:14:25.620 psychopathic rulers
00:14:28.640 that don't care about anybody.
00:14:31.080 They just want to manipulate.
00:14:32.900 And they don't have any affect.
00:14:34.360 They don't understand good and evil.
00:14:35.640 They're completely spiritually autistic.
00:14:37.180 And they're creating this system
00:14:41.740 of R-type behavior.
00:14:45.260 Everybody gets a trophy.
00:14:46.960 We need to keep everybody safe.
00:14:48.720 We don't want any bruised feelings.
00:14:51.660 And we have R-types
00:14:52.420 that are so damaged nowadays
00:14:53.980 that, you know,
00:14:56.080 a kid chewing a Pop-Tart
00:14:57.740 so that it looks like a gun
00:14:58.980 gets them sent home from school
00:15:00.620 because they're terrified
00:15:02.920 of pictures of guns.
00:15:04.820 Right?
00:15:06.060 That's enough to terrify them.
00:15:07.960 But if they actually saw
00:15:09.120 a fistfight,
00:15:09.860 they would freeze up.
00:15:11.160 They would dissociate.
00:15:12.880 They wouldn't know
00:15:13.800 what to do at all
00:15:15.100 because it just completely
00:15:16.340 overwhelms their emotions.
00:15:18.020 And so,
00:15:23.280 how do we deal with this?
00:15:26.720 How do we deal with the society?
00:15:28.640 And I think this is,
00:15:30.240 the series doesn't answer
00:15:31.400 this question.
00:15:32.880 But it really is
00:15:34.460 something worth meditating on.
00:15:35.920 The series meditates on.
00:15:38.080 Because the protagonist
00:15:39.580 is one of these sheepdogs
00:15:41.580 who discovers the system
00:15:44.000 and is absolutely
00:15:44.580 disgusted by the system.
00:15:46.400 But at the same time,
00:15:48.940 she's not about to
00:15:50.200 overthrow the entire system
00:15:52.180 and cause mass suffering
00:15:53.880 and blood in the streets.
00:15:58.680 And if there is an answer
00:15:59.960 to how do we deal
00:16:01.760 with an evil system
00:16:03.560 that encourages people
00:16:04.520 to be dependent,
00:16:06.340 pathetic,
00:16:07.200 weak,
00:16:07.460 and broken rabbits,
00:16:08.440 how do we deal with that?
00:16:09.420 The heroic persona.
00:16:15.120 Going back to that
00:16:16.000 definition of charisma.
00:16:18.160 The ability to make people
00:16:19.560 feel good for being around you.
00:16:21.620 The intelligence to speak
00:16:22.560 on many things.
00:16:24.540 And the nature of a hero
00:16:26.620 or prophet.
00:16:32.020 The series closes,
00:16:33.220 each episode closes
00:16:34.260 with a J-pop love song,
00:16:37.680 which might sound
00:16:39.400 a bit cheesy at first,
00:16:41.440 but it does point
00:16:42.500 to the way out.
00:16:45.420 Somebody heroic
00:16:46.400 that can set the example
00:16:48.080 that improves
00:16:49.040 the quality
00:16:49.820 of people.
00:16:54.060 Ultimately,
00:16:54.760 the only way
00:16:55.520 that we can
00:16:56.220 win back
00:16:57.440 our civilization
00:16:58.400 from the psychopathic
00:17:00.320 monsters that are
00:17:00.980 running things
00:17:01.700 to not let
00:17:03.980 ourselves
00:17:05.200 be
00:17:05.780 dominated
00:17:07.220 and destroyed
00:17:08.400 by the rabbits
00:17:09.760 is to embrace
00:17:12.180 the spirit
00:17:12.780 of heroism.
00:17:15.240 Is to
00:17:16.280 live
00:17:17.920 the best lives
00:17:19.140 that we possibly can
00:17:20.500 to achieve
00:17:21.620 our maximum potential
00:17:22.940 and help
00:17:24.620 others
00:17:25.160 in the process.
00:17:28.320 Folks,
00:17:29.220 go check out
00:17:29.920 Psycho Pass.
00:17:30.680 I think you'll
00:17:31.340 really enjoy it.
00:17:33.180 And this
00:17:33.920 is
00:17:34.220 I think I hope
00:17:36.280 it is.
00:17:38.100 I think I hope
00:17:38.120 it is.
00:17:38.940 I think I'll
00:17:39.200 stand to
00:17:42.640 the end
00:17:43.260 of this
00:17:46.000 thing
00:17:46.960 for a minute
00:17:47.160 jump to
00:17:47.360 get yourself
00:17:47.920 when you
00:17:51.480 ahead
00:17:53.380 and
00:17:53.820 take
00:17:54.740 the
00:17:56.080 end
00:17:56.440 and
00:17:56.660 as
00:17:56.920 we
00:17:57.400 would
00:17:57.880 work
00:17:58.880 to
00:18:00.320 go
00:18:00.820 and
00:18:01.220 go
00:18:01.520 and
00:18:01.940 open
00:18:02.460 Thank you.