|
Symbolism in FLCL
FLCL contains an endless assortment of symbolic elements strung perfectly throughout each OVA. The main symbols in each episode serve not only as a reference to what is being symbolized but also to tie characters and story components together into a tight, seamless unit. Much of FLCLs symbolism is based on sexual innuendo, but there are many examples which are included for more puritan reasons.
The idea of never physically seeing Tasuku over the course of the entire FLCL series creates the need for a running set of symbols representing him to the other characters. The reason he has left Japan is because of his skill at baseball, therefore many of the symbols used relate to that talent. Naota is regularly seen dragging a rarely used baseball bat behind him representing his need to stay in contact with this part of his brother. The opened airmail letter with an included photo of Tasuku and his new American girlfriend also becomes an often used symbol of him in FLCL. Every time Naota mentions Tasuku, the audience is shown an airplane flying high overhead symbolizing his leaving Japan for foreign lands.
Less obvious is the symbol of Canti as a substitute brother for Naota. He takes care of Mamimi and she in turn treats him like a god, similar to the way the actual relationship likely played out. Also, Canti plays a part in the Nandaba family similar to any typical sibling. Finally, he is very skilled at baseball, much more so than Naota and even more than Haruko who proves herself to be quite adept at the sport.
Mamimi's video game is an interesting symbol of both her pyromaniac tendencies and her reliance on Tasuku for mental stability. She seems to have finally outgrown her phase of starting fires, but the viewers learn that the game is actually just a substitute for the real thing. When Mamimi learns that Tasuku has a new girlfriend in America, she gives up this electronic crutch and begins again with the real thing. When Naota brings the game back to her, there are no further fires started.
Guitars are seen as a symbol of the soul or internal strength of each character. Haruko has a 1961 Rickenbacker bass guitar, relating her again to the foreignness of the world outside of Japan. When she reaches into Naota's head and pulls out a guitar for him, he was housing one similar to hers but more modern. Haruko also attempts to pull a guitar out of the head of an adult man and instead receives a tiny abstract guitar shaped, fleshy object obviously referring to his lack of internal strength. When Naota and Atomsk merge before the final battle in FLCL, he is able to pull two guitars and even merges them into one, ultimately powerful guitar with two necks for the grand finale, symbolizing the awesome will of Atomsk.
The Vespa that Haruko drives is not only a symbol of Italian craftsmanship, but also of the chic attitude that goes along with the typical buyers of these vehicles. Author Umberto Eco explained this relationship best when he said, the Vespa came to be linked in my eyes with transgression, sin, and even temptation - not the temptation to possess the object, but the subtle seduction of faraway places where the Vespa was that only means of transport. And it entered into my imagination not as an object of desire, but as a symbol of an unfulfilled desire. In this interpretation, the Vespa also symbolizes Harukos never ending search and unyielding desire for Atomsk the Pirate King. It also relates her to the British Mod subculture and their use of scooters similar to and including the Vespa.
The alien technology of FLCL is symbolic of the need for commercial possessions found not only in Japan, but throughout the world. The Medical Mechanica factory just appeared in Mabase one day and is formed like a giant clothes iron. This also correlates the irons ability to smooth out wrinkles with Medical Mechanicas desire to smooth out the wrinkles of everyones brain, thus rendering them mindless slaves. Canti is born with a head shaped like a Sony television set. Sony is representative of one of the first Japanese companies to become successful outside of Japan after World War II. The second robot, and first evil one, to come from Naotas head is in the stylized shape of a teapot representing the traditions of Japan, including tea ceremonies, which became a popular cultural export during the early part of the 20th Century.
|
