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symbolism

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usagiangel22

PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 11:46 am


can anyone explain some of thed symbolism in utena for me THANK!!! heart biggrin
PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 12:20 pm


Do you have any specific symbolism in mind? There's a lot more than you would ever guess.

In episode 17, for example, the fact that Shiori is on higher ground throughout most of the episode is symbolic. It symbolizes that Shiori is "Above" Juri. When Juri first sees her, Shiori looks "down on her" and smiles, because she is happy to be above Juri. However, Juri looks away from her, and Shiori looks sad. What good is having power over Juri if Juri hates her?

Even when Juri is at a place as high as the Student Council meeting room, a bird flies over her, casting its shadow. When Juri recalls her memories of Shiori, she goes down in the elevator, because that's what puts her below her. When Shiori asks to talk to Juri, she is putting the two of them on the same level. (You've gotta love how Juri ignores Shiori and still has the nerve to wonder why she doesn't know her feelings.)

When Juri expresses indifference towards their past, a bird flies into a window, and falls to the ground. The bird symbolizes Shiori, as well as her power over Juri. Juri tells her that she never loved that boy, which means that she has lost her power over Juri, and so the bird dies.

Juri calls Utena "cruelly innocent," a term that does not mean, "Seemingly innocent, but actually cruel." What it really means is that Shiori's innocence is cruel to Juri, because she is unaware of her feelings. "You are just like Ganymede, the boy of the constellation Aquarius. But such innocence can be cruel to other people. You should be careful." Shiori's zodiac sign is Aquarius.

In Shiori's duel, Anthy actually symbolizes, "The part of Shiori that was living miserably in Juri's shadow." She is fighting to destroy that part of herself. The birds on the table, as I mention before, symbolize her power over Juri. When Shiori loses the duel, the birds fly away, casting their shadows over Anthy, and Shiori. Basically, she's still being left in the shadows, because she lost the duel. She screams, and then falls off of the screen so that all we can see are the empty perches, (meaning she no longer has her power over Juri,) and we can also see Anthy, (all that's left of her is the part of herself that was living miserably in Juri's shadow.)

That's not even the half of it.

Razara


Qui_Bears

PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 2007 6:03 pm


yeah that show has so much it will make ur head hurt and stuff or go on wikepidea and look at the utena page ^^♥
PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2007 8:25 pm


Holy CRAP dude. O_O I thought I knew some symbolism but...holy CRAP! Tell more! SHARE!!! Episode 9. Anthy being in the coffin. Besides the fact that that's where Saionji found Utena and Utena was the one hiding and all that...

Imriel_88


Razara

PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2007 1:00 pm


Samansa
Holy CRAP dude. O_O I thought I knew some symbolism but...holy CRAP! Tell more! SHARE!!! Episode 9. Anthy being in the coffin. Besides the fact that that's where Saionji found Utena and Utena was the one hiding and all that...

Hmm... I haven't put much thought into that episode. sweatdrop
PostPosted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 6:35 am


Are you referring to the movie or the series? Because both of them have simular but very different symbolism.

Anthy__Himemiya


mtndewbutterfly

PostPosted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 11:45 am


Razara
Samansa
Holy CRAP dude. O_O I thought I knew some symbolism but...holy CRAP! Tell more! SHARE!!! Episode 9. Anthy being in the coffin. Besides the fact that that's where Saionji found Utena and Utena was the one hiding and all that...

Hmm... I haven't put much thought into that episode. sweatdrop


Anthybeing in the coffin was sort of teasing Saionji in giving him the chance to save the girl in the coffin but then Utena saves her instead which set Saionji off and he tried to slash Utena. Then Touga came and saved the damsel in distress again splitting their friendship. Note how in the flashback Saionji started holding a grudge against Touga after lil Utena came out of the coffin and such a grudge and competitiveness in kendo possibly ruined the friendship of Touga and Saionji.
Another possibility was that Anthy being in the coffin symbolized death as the final destiny. In the flashback Saionji screams for Touga to stop opening the coffin fearing whats inside. From this you can conclude that Saionji, like many people, fears death and looks for "something eternal"
Also the castle falling apart could have also been a way method to show that there is no eternity. He wished to gain eternity from the castle where as Anthy said "Something etenal dwells". So the castle symbolized eternity and it crashing down showed that there is no eternity(playing into the whole "the Absolute Destiny: Apocalypse" thing) which is a possibility of why Saionji loses all will to duel and disappears for some episodes.
wow that was a lot ^^U
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A Shoujo Kakumei Utena Guild

 
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