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#I need a new episode NEOW (i just watched the new one)
dangopango00 · 28 days
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The Amazing Digital Circus and Escapism
A/N: Just watched and I LOOVEEEE cooking theories for these kinda of Youtube Series even if they turn out to be wrong so Heres the incomprehensible youtube comment I made just now bye
I like to put preliminary theories for series like this and my theory for this is that the circus is some kind of representation of escapism and/or maladaptive daydreaming
1. There's a shit ton of religious symbolism, maybe suggesting that the circus is supposed to be “heaven” although it has underlying hellish elements. For example, cain being portrayed as god and the fact that he doesn’t seem to really get why anyone would want to leave. In contrast, his name references the brother of abel who was cursed by god for his jealous rage. Not only this but, how everything is generally upbeat but there are momentary mental breaks when they are brought back to reality.
2. Reality is often blurred: The characters are real people but its suggested the lines are easily blurred like in the fact that pomni gets attached to a character that was never real to begin with or the fact that cain hints that it can be hard to tell the difference between real characters and npcs
3. Anecdotal but the fact that everyone seems to have a different vision for how the adventures should be played out: Jax wants action and violence, ragatha just wants something stimulating and pomni wants something comforting; the fact that jax gets upset when his vision isn't fulfilled feels very similar to mishaps when maladaptive daydreaming
4. Glitches and the video game setting overall: Idk if its just me but in maladaptive daydreaming its very easy for the mind to wander or mess up, causing a “glitch” in the story which I think is very similar to the glitches in the show
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5. The concept of VR itself is pretty much one step away from active escapism and although a bit of a stretch, I think the fact that the characters can’t take off their headset references their unwillingness to live in reality rather than actually being forced
6. Character behavior: How pomni goes from extremely weirded out to accepting and even slightly enjoying the circus feels very reminiscent of how it feels to first start maladaptive daydreaming as its an entirely odd thing to do but when you get into it it turns out to be fun and you keep doing it for hours. Ragatha is also interesting because she seems to ignore reality in favor of keeping herself sane, even ignoring devastating truths she realizes when she moves on from her mental breaks so quickly which is pretty much what maladaptive daydreaming is.
7. Exit: When pomni makes it to the exit and sees the desk setup with the headset, she began to lose her mind and instead of going forward to the next door she started going back (i think). I think this was her momentarily remembering how she felt like nothing in real life but in the circus she could be the main character (i think she struggled with feeling like nothing in the real world because of how much she brings it up and sympathizes with gummigoo, probably feeling like an npc irl) though either way she leaves the scene, likely not wanting to remember how her life was before.
8. Abstraction: Since we haven’t seen much of it Im still not completely sure but if I had to guess— I think abstraction is when you completely separate yourself from reality and live in a daydream full time since abstraction means “The quality of dealing with ideas rather than events” which is pretty much what escapism is; I think abstraction is likely a state of complete delusion as is hinted in the show by saying people who abstract are crazy
Overall I think the digital circus is probably either about escapism in general and/or a commentary on how we distract ourselves from serious topics almost as if we are children protecting ourselves from real life.
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postgameroutesix · 1 year
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oh yeah i started watching tmnt 2003 also so im watching that + the 1987 show side by side BUT thoughts so far on the two from a guy who knew essentially nothing going in:
already the 2003 ver of splinter sorta feels like a wiser approach to the character just in that it avoids that underlying racism unintentional it may be with him being a japanese man turned into a rat. instead being same as the turtles in originally just being a normal rat. from context clues im guessing hamato yoshi will be weaved into the story later as a separate character so hes not entirely omitted just reworked
though beyond the unfortunate implications associated w aspects of his character concept i do rlly enjoy splinter as a character + think his relationship with the turtles and april in 1987 is very sweet like man hes really just their dad….in 2003 how he saw these lost baby turtles + just thought Well i guess im a father now despite being completely different species is so 😭😭 the little nest he made for them….
i LOVE!!! the turtles theyre actually SO skrunkly theyre my best friends…..i love them all theyre very special to me. particularly 87 raphael and 2003 mikey have immediately latched onto my brain the absolute silly of these critters everything they say is like cocomelon shit to me. i love them SO VERY!!! dearly <33
i love aprils attitude of fuck around + find out i think shes a very fun character. ive seen ppl refer to her 1987 iteration as being a “damsel in distress” but i dont really agree with that at all lol bc she doesnt just get kidnapped she actively gets herself into shit for a news story…its the same issue i hold with people referring to daphne as such tbh. also wrt her 87 character i love how similar to 2003 splinter she meets the turtles and is freaked out for like a few seconds b4 just being like Well i guess im a big sister now
the difference in style + tone b/w the two shows is immediately evident lol like for example 87 is largely episodic bar the first five episodes really where instantly 2003 is set up as having an overarching plot. and just by the artstyle its clear 2003 will intend to have a more serious plot at that compared to the more overall lighthearted yet earnest 87
i havent met casey jones in 87 but wrt 2003 help ….whats wrong w this guy i need to see more of him NEOW! i really liked his introductory episode his dynamic w raph is sweet i like how raph sees himself in casey + thus wants to help him. all about balance….
donatello CARRIES rhe team in both these versions my goodness. he deserves the world hes so funny
2003 raphs brooklyn accent kills me every time he speaks. thank u
speaking 👆 of 2003 raph i really love his + mikeys relationship so far especially. really enjoy dynamics where one of the characters annoys the shit outta the other one frequently intentionally and while the other gets angry over this its clear that its rarely serious + they care abt each other very deeply. interesting foil situation being set up too i think maybe? mikey seems to have this natural talent but little desire to train where raph is the opposite going simply by their sparring scene in ep4. love how they reunite after that scene too the absolute sillies:
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i think its interesting already the differing takes on the characters which manifests a lot in how i think their ages are portrayed? like obviously theyre all the same age but theres still the Vibe of an age order that appears mutually agreed upon by the characters. in both versions leonardo is unequivocally the eldest + the leader ofc. but then in 87 for me i get the vibe that michelangelo is the second oldest, followed by donatello, followed by raphael (which is funny i think. 87 raphael is just a little hater) whereas in 2003 it goes leo -> raph -> donatello -> mikey and that then seems to become the constant for the rest of the franchise (bar rise of the tmnt i think? where raph + leo swap). theres just interesting dynamics to be had there in how due to this higher emphasis placed on an age order for example 2003 raph seems to be portrayed as more protective + authoritative compared to 87 raph who is more laidback and just a little hater as opposed to having genuine anger issues
i have run out of things to say. UHM anyway overall im really enjoying it!!! i love the turtles a lot. little guys who r beginning to live in my brain…..
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