Another early morning another Japanese film, well at least this one is in color. This week we watched Akira (1988), another film with subtle tones about the atomic bombing on Japanese culture. Despite my lack of experience with Asian media, I have actually seen Ghost in the Shell (1995) (the original, not the Scarlett Johansson one), so immediately I started comparing it in my head; the stunning visuals, the cyberpunk elements, and the philosophical questioning of humanity. In Ellis’ article on Autoethnography (2011), he states that ‘Autoethnography…expands and opens a wider lens on the world’, and also the idea of ‘epiphanies’ which are ‘remembered moments perceived to have significantly impacted the trajectory of a person’s life.’ While I wouldn’t call watching Ghost in the Shell having a significant impact on my life, but it did change the way I viewed Akira.
Autoethnography “introduce unique ways of thinking and feeling…
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Digital Asia 
LOVE the first gif used here, really sets the mood of the 80s futuristic vibe that Akira really went for, and got in the end. Your first line also drew us back into the thinking that Gojira gave us, which has been slightly touched upon by others, but not by everyone. I’m also glad that you hadn’t given into seeing a remake (GITS) and appreciated the authenticity original.
Epiphany is a really concept explored by Ellis and our tutors (lecturers? coordinators?) and they really help us describe what we find important in the pieces of media that we are watching and what we have seen. Akira truly has inspired many pieces of media that has come after it, so I do wonder if these artists and makers (film/anime/television) has a similar epiphany moment to themselves and decided to focus on that in their making.
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