Infection Via Parasyte Adaptation
The anime TV show Parasyte, originally written as a manga by Hitoshi Iwaaki, explores what it means to be a human. Alien parasites come down to earth and take over people, to blend into their food source, yet the main character’s parasite accidentally takes over his arm instead of his head. Thus Izumi Shinichi is thrust into the world with his parasite Migi, trying to survive and protect the ones he loves from other parasites. Izumi experiences a transformation, becoming more adequate to protect others at the cost of losing some of his humanity, and Migi learns humanity from Izumi in spite of the fact that others of his species make no effort to. The sole exception is Tamiya Ryouko. She is a parasite with a much higher intellect than others of her kind, and so pursues her purpose in life, learning both humanity and motherhood on her path, defying conventional thought on the necessary requirements to be ‘human’. Parasyte ties into the Monsters and Misfits course as it has beings or creatures, on the edge of society, striving to come in, fighting against outward forces from within the society. The humans aim to eliminate the parasites once they find out about their existence, pushing all parasites away from achieving a form of coexistence. That said, many in the parasite community see humans like cattle since they are their food source, creating two opposing forces that individuals on either side who strive for coexistence get pushed to one side or the other. Tying into cultural theory, there are certain aspects to humanity, or human nature, that the parasites lack. When parasites like Migi and Tamiya Ryouko pursue these qualities, it exposes how culture really shapes individuals’ humanity, though there are some concepts that seem to traverse more than one culture, like motherhood - specifically mother-child relations. Tamiya Ryouko is an excellent model for the themes focused on in the course and has many gaps in her story to fill in, creating the foundation for an excellent adaptation. Her story has defined plot points that show her transformation from a cold parasite to a human mother, bringing in many of the themes of the show singlehandedly. That said, there are gaps in her story as she is mainly only shown when she influences what happens to the main character, either directly or indirectly, leaving room to colour in the gaps. I plan to emphasize the impact of society on the development of individuals human nature as well as how parents – specifically mothers– seem to have a connection that is observable, yet not explainable. I imagine it arises out of altruistic behavior towards kin from our evolution and would not be surprised if other animals exhibit similar traits that I can portray in the adaptation to blur the lines of what defines being human. |