Hey there! I just changed my blogskin :) It's a little user-unfriendly because you can't navigate my past posts by headings or hashtags. So i'm gonna update the codings, stay tuned! (The font's kinda hard to read too..other than these 3 peeves, i'm quite satisfied) Follow me on the links below! :) 29/4/2015.
Started this blog during the last few weeks of SEM1(AY2014/15) cos' i regained interest in blogging. I blog about anything - news, social issues, music - but mostly about my university life :) Hope my posts will help you to make better life (and module) choices! Currently a Sociology Major. Still fresh. xD
Watching Death Note during CNY. Hahaha. To some superstitious people they may think that you'll get bad luck but oh wdv, this is an endless classic that got me hooked till the end. I'm kinda slow (VERY SLOW) at keeping up with movies and dramas haha. I haven't watched Big Hero 6 yet.. >< Will watch it sooooon! It kinda sucks when people talk about the latest hit movies and you don't know what they are talking about. Movie tickets are so expensive in Singapore, i'd rather wait and torrent it heehee. It's not exactly legal but I don't like the thought of spending so much to watch a movie more..i'm pass the movie-cray-cray stage alr haha. BUT i really wanna catch Jurassic in 3D HAHA the visuals in the trailer looks damn cool and i haven't watch movies in 3D before. Back to Death Note!
I would like to share my reflection with you guys, since i wrote part of it for my FMA too!
My friend
recently recommended me to watch this anime called “Parasyte”, and I think it
addresses the core issues of Human Rights in an interesting manner, similar to
“Death Note”, which I will elaborate and explain later. Looking deeper, I
actually learnt a lot about what constructs Human Rights. M talks about
how Positive Law Principles, which are the man-made human rights, are derived
from Natural Laws, our moral principles which assumes underlying rational
principles of justice and morality that are universal in nature. She is also
unsure about what exactly are human rights, and she also does not understand
the irony whereby we created Human Rights for our own usage, yet we are not
carrying it out to the best of our ability. She poses some interesting
questions for us to consider, and this is what I feel about this issue.
To address
the crux of what constitutes Human Rights, we first have to establish how
morality is determined and judged. This focuses on what M mentioned as
our “Natural Laws” which are governed by our moral principles, of which forms
the foundation of Human Rights. What defines an act as moral? And who decides
that if the act is moral or immoral? I come to realise that it is perhaps
impossible to determine what is right and wrong based on our concept, because
it all boils down to cultural differences. Different discourses follow
different opinions and laws. (Cooney, 2009)
I feel that
“Death Note” is a good example and it is able to shed some light on the issue
of morality. This anime has 2 main characters, namely ‘Yagami Light’ and ‘L’.
Light is an extremely smart student who has excellent persuasive skills as well,
and always thinks ahead. He also has a strong sense of justice, and feels that
humanity is losing as the world faces increasing crime rates. He stumbles upon
the Death Note, and uses it to kill criminals who he deems as evil, and hopes
to create a happier world, like a utopia. To kill someone using the Death Note,
Light requires the person’s name and face. Soon, many criminals died
mysteriously, and the media names the vigilante ‘Kira’, which means killer in Japanese. The world held views
which gradually falls into 2 spectrums, one supporting Kira’s actions to rid
the world from evil, and one who thinks that Kira’s actions are morally wrong.
Throughout the series, Light battles with his main enemy, L, a genius detective
who seeks to uncover Kira’s identity and bring him to justice, as he deems
Kira’s acts as evil, where Light seeks to find out L’s real name to kill him.
Throughout
the anime, I kept trying to figure out who is the protagonist. I can’t seem to
classify L and Light strictly as good guys or bad guys, they fall in between in
the grey area. Despite killing many people based on his own judgement, (which
we feel is morally wrong, afterall who gives Light the right to judge?) many
people, including myself, subtly want Light to win L. Light tells us that,
“once you actually start looking around, it makes you wonder if you’d be doing
society a favour by getting rid of all these people.” He thinks that he is
sacrificing himself for the greater good of humanity, as according to the Death
Note, the user will not go into heaven or hell, but descend into nothingness.
Also, it is true that the society has become a better place with 70% less
crimes after Light’s purges. He is a character who instills fear, especially in
those who do evil, and dictates if you should live or die. Light
goes by the utilitarian perspective, whereby he thinks that the act which
ensures the largest amount of happiness for the largest number of people is the
moral way to carry out his acts.
Let
us now look at L’s perspective: L’s moral is based on deontological ethics,
which decides what is right or what is wrong according to the act itself.
(Ylien, 2010) Even if killing a thousand criminals makes the world safer and
better, L would never tolerate it, as he believes that to kill is in itself
wrong. (Yet L does not fully follow this, as he sacrificed and also used
unorthodox means to confine some people to find out how exactly the Death Note
is used to kill people to satisfy his own curiosity for the purpose of
investigation. But generally, he takes on this stance as he fights against Kira.)
Essentially,
I adopt a stance where it is impossible to determine who is right or wrong. I
am a moral relativist, and what determines what is good, bad, right or wrong,
determines on the person who is judging you. For instance, Article
5 from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, “no one shall be
subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
This basic principle does not always apply, such as in times of war or
self-defense. Cooney also means that killing of certain enemies can even raise
the killer’s reputation among the law-binding. Killers can be heroes, just like
how Light is seen as a hero to many viewers.
Also, it is
important to consider that even if we uphold such Human Rights, the
legislations and law procedures involved make it difficult to carry out. Even though
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor
denied the right to change his nationality,” but we can’t go “country-hopping” by changing our
nationalities frequently. Nor can we ever have an uncensored media and the full
right for a peaceful assembly, especially if what we say threatens the
sovereignty of the country, despite the fact that “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and
association.” It is
open to many forms of interpretation, and people often twist these Articles to
justify their actions.
References:
Cooney,
Mark (2009) Is Killing Wrong? A Study in Pure Sociology. Charlottesville and
London: University of Virginia Press.
Yilen, A. (2010). I Am
Justice! Moral Relativity and Antiheroes in Death Note. Sweden, Karlstad:
Karlstads universitet.
//
[MEGA SPOILER]
I just finished watching this anime today, I was reaaaally sad that Light got caught :'( In fact even though i'm more of a relativist, i think human beings are generally utilitarians, just depending on the extent..we all do things that achieve some sort of instrumental good in the end right. So are Light's killings morally wrong? It did achieve results of a better world of lower crime rates and reduced war.. Or is it the inherent fact that he's a human, same species as us, so it does not give him the right to pass such judgement? So only other beings have the right to pass such judgements? Is that specie-cist LOL (like racist)
He could have gotten Near, if not for Mikami's mistake of withdrawing the real Death Note URGH. But still, it was a great ending, a perfect closure to the entire series. Doesn't leave you hanging or craving for more (i dislike this kind of ending), but it just leaves you extremely satisfied when you look at how the story has developed and matured. When i was doing some random googling, i found some really good plot and character analysis from philosophical, sociological and psychological perspectives! So darn cool and mindblown when i read them haha. When will i be able to write like that LOL. Some are in the biblo ^, or just google ;)
Watching Death Note during CNY. Hahaha. To some superstitious people they may think that you'll get bad luck but oh wdv, this is an endless classic that got me hooked till the end. I'm kinda slow (VERY SLOW) at keeping up with movies and dramas haha. I haven't watched Big Hero 6 yet.. >< Will watch it sooooon! It kinda sucks when people talk about the latest hit movies and you don't know what they are talking about. Movie tickets are so expensive in Singapore, i'd rather wait and torrent it heehee. It's not exactly legal but I don't like the thought of spending so much to watch a movie more..i'm pass the movie-cray-cray stage alr haha. BUT i really wanna catch Jurassic in 3D HAHA the visuals in the trailer looks damn cool and i haven't watch movies in 3D before. Back to Death Note!
I would like to share my reflection with you guys, since i wrote part of it for my FMA too!
My friend
recently recommended me to watch this anime called “Parasyte”, and I think it
addresses the core issues of Human Rights in an interesting manner, similar to
“Death Note”, which I will elaborate and explain later. Looking deeper, I
actually learnt a lot about what constructs Human Rights. M talks about
how Positive Law Principles, which are the man-made human rights, are derived
from Natural Laws, our moral principles which assumes underlying rational
principles of justice and morality that are universal in nature. She is also
unsure about what exactly are human rights, and she also does not understand
the irony whereby we created Human Rights for our own usage, yet we are not
carrying it out to the best of our ability. She poses some interesting
questions for us to consider, and this is what I feel about this issue.
To address
the crux of what constitutes Human Rights, we first have to establish how
morality is determined and judged. This focuses on what M mentioned as
our “Natural Laws” which are governed by our moral principles, of which forms
the foundation of Human Rights. What defines an act as moral? And who decides
that if the act is moral or immoral? I come to realise that it is perhaps
impossible to determine what is right and wrong based on our concept, because
it all boils down to cultural differences. Different discourses follow
different opinions and laws. (Cooney, 2009)
I feel that
“Death Note” is a good example and it is able to shed some light on the issue
of morality. This anime has 2 main characters, namely ‘Yagami Light’ and ‘L’.
Light is an extremely smart student who has excellent persuasive skills as well,
and always thinks ahead. He also has a strong sense of justice, and feels that
humanity is losing as the world faces increasing crime rates. He stumbles upon
the Death Note, and uses it to kill criminals who he deems as evil, and hopes
to create a happier world, like a utopia. To kill someone using the Death Note,
Light requires the person’s name and face. Soon, many criminals died
mysteriously, and the media names the vigilante ‘Kira’, which means killer in Japanese. The world held views
which gradually falls into 2 spectrums, one supporting Kira’s actions to rid
the world from evil, and one who thinks that Kira’s actions are morally wrong.
Throughout the series, Light battles with his main enemy, L, a genius detective
who seeks to uncover Kira’s identity and bring him to justice, as he deems
Kira’s acts as evil, where Light seeks to find out L’s real name to kill him.
Throughout
the anime, I kept trying to figure out who is the protagonist. I can’t seem to
classify L and Light strictly as good guys or bad guys, they fall in between in
the grey area. Despite killing many people based on his own judgement, (which
we feel is morally wrong, afterall who gives Light the right to judge?) many
people, including myself, subtly want Light to win L. Light tells us that,
“once you actually start looking around, it makes you wonder if you’d be doing
society a favour by getting rid of all these people.” He thinks that he is
sacrificing himself for the greater good of humanity, as according to the Death
Note, the user will not go into heaven or hell, but descend into nothingness.
Also, it is true that the society has become a better place with 70% less
crimes after Light’s purges. He is a character who instills fear, especially in
those who do evil, and dictates if you should live or die. Light
goes by the utilitarian perspective, whereby he thinks that the act which
ensures the largest amount of happiness for the largest number of people is the
moral way to carry out his acts.
Let
us now look at L’s perspective: L’s moral is based on deontological ethics,
which decides what is right or what is wrong according to the act itself.
(Ylien, 2010) Even if killing a thousand criminals makes the world safer and
better, L would never tolerate it, as he believes that to kill is in itself
wrong. (Yet L does not fully follow this, as he sacrificed and also used
unorthodox means to confine some people to find out how exactly the Death Note
is used to kill people to satisfy his own curiosity for the purpose of
investigation. But generally, he takes on this stance as he fights against Kira.)
Essentially,
I adopt a stance where it is impossible to determine who is right or wrong. I
am a moral relativist, and what determines what is good, bad, right or wrong,
determines on the person who is judging you. For instance, Article
5 from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, “no one shall be
subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
This basic principle does not always apply, such as in times of war or
self-defense. Cooney also means that killing of certain enemies can even raise
the killer’s reputation among the law-binding. Killers can be heroes, just like
how Light is seen as a hero to many viewers.
Also, it is
important to consider that even if we uphold such Human Rights, the
legislations and law procedures involved make it difficult to carry out. Even though
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor
denied the right to change his nationality,” but we can’t go “country-hopping” by changing our
nationalities frequently. Nor can we ever have an uncensored media and the full
right for a peaceful assembly, especially if what we say threatens the
sovereignty of the country, despite the fact that “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and
association.” It is
open to many forms of interpretation, and people often twist these Articles to
justify their actions.
References:
Cooney,
Mark (2009) Is Killing Wrong? A Study in Pure Sociology. Charlottesville and
London: University of Virginia Press.
Yilen, A. (2010). I Am
Justice! Moral Relativity and Antiheroes in Death Note. Sweden, Karlstad:
Karlstads universitet.
//
[MEGA SPOILER]
I just finished watching this anime today, I was reaaaally sad that Light got caught :'( In fact even though i'm more of a relativist, i think human beings are generally utilitarians, just depending on the extent..we all do things that achieve some sort of instrumental good in the end right. So are Light's killings morally wrong? It did achieve results of a better world of lower crime rates and reduced war.. Or is it the inherent fact that he's a human, same species as us, so it does not give him the right to pass such judgement? So only other beings have the right to pass such judgements? Is that specie-cist LOL (like racist)
He could have gotten Near, if not for Mikami's mistake of withdrawing the real Death Note URGH. But still, it was a great ending, a perfect closure to the entire series. Doesn't leave you hanging or craving for more (i dislike this kind of ending), but it just leaves you extremely satisfied when you look at how the story has developed and matured. When i was doing some random googling, i found some really good plot and character analysis from philosophical, sociological and psychological perspectives! So darn cool and mindblown when i read them haha. When will i be able to write like that LOL. Some are in the biblo ^, or just google ;)
“To put away aimlessness and weakness, and to begin to think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment; who make all conditions serve them, and who think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully.”
- James Allen Quotes
Sometimes I wonder how people see me and what they think of me. It scares me a bit, honestly. I am sure though, that what they think of me,
what they think my life is, is a complete misperception. I have always tried to show myself as a carefree person, as someone who wont get bothered
because of public judgements. I am sure my friend and family think there is nothing going wrong in my life, that I do not worry enough, that
I am always happy. And I am sure they probably somewhat hate me for it because, lets admit it, there is nothing worse than seeing someone
who is life seems so perfect while yours is a complete mess. Truth is, I have become an expert at pretending. I think we are all experts
or at least we are getting there.
my projects
links exchanged opened! just tag me but link me first
: Amelia Lim, 20 October.
