Abstract
“Self and (M)other: Apocalypse as Return to
the Womb in Neon Genesis Evangelion”
Christine Hoff
Kraemer,
Religion, Film, and Visual Culture Group
American Academy of Religion
Annual Meeting,
The science fiction anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion is soaked in
Western philosophy, psychoanalysis, and religion, particularly Judeo-Christian
eschatological imagery. In this paper, I will argue that against the tendency
of Western apocalyptic belief, which tends to be politically and theologically
regressive, Evangelion’s
psychological apocalypse has liberative potential. Through the adolescent
Shinji’s desire to return to the womb of his absent mother, a series of
apocalyptic, world-shattering events occur, initiating him into an adult sense
of identity, responsibility, and relationship. The resulting change in consciousness
has implications for societies struggling with issues of nuclear proliferation
and destruction in the apparent absence of a transcendent, law-giving God.