Post#925 » by LLJ » Mon Jan 7, 2013 7:51 pm
Gender roles and subversion were definitely a big part of the show's themes. Yes, there is the mystical element as well, but it's definitely in part about the idea of living in a society (whether it be patriarchal or whatever) that seeks to shackle you to playing a certain role within society. The whole show is largely symbolic. The big thing about Utena was that what everyone was searching for...was kind of a big lie. They were looking for something that didn't really exist. The ending showed that Akio and everyone else in the Student Council were fools who chose to sequester themselves within a rigid social structure and "game" instead of going out and living life by their own rules. Remember, the show is called Revolutionary Girl Utena. Nobody said the revolution was going to be quick and easy, though.
It also says something about the idea of conforming too. In the show, only 3 characters really chose to challenge the structure of the world and its rules...Utena, Mikage and at the last, Anthy. And they were subsequently kicked out of those worlds...although Anthy left on her own accord. In interviews, the director stated that this was the Catch-22 of being a real, self-thinking individual...if you didn't play by society's rules, then society itself would reject you.
So I think the ending is consistent to its themes. I think the mystical elements were actually purposefully alluring in order to emphasize the rather shallow nature of the Student Council's worldview. If I may stretch the show into a real life analogy a bit, our own society says that to be a successful person, you should get married, have kids, have a well paying job and hopefully one day work your way up to a two-garage home. That's the great "special thing" we seek, because that's what mainstream society says is successful. The people who don't follow this life model have a harder road ahead of them. Utena is saying "Hey, if you want to challenge the status quo, you gotta have the guts to accept being rejected by the world around you. Kudos to you if you can."
Did you watch this online or the DVDs? The DVD sets include these thick 80-100 page booklets featuring essays and interviews with all the staff members. They all have their own ideas about what the show means, but the theme of gender roles, fairy tales, social hierarchy all come up frequently. They're really fascinating reads.