Zichen Wu

ENGL 400

Professor Guler

8 October 2017

Rhetoric Analysis — Paprika’s Spirts

Paprika is a Japanese science-fiction animated film directed by Satoshi Kon, and

produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2006. It is a story about a research

psychologist who used a device called “DC Mini” to enter patients’ dreams to help

them fight against mental illness. Paprika, the heroine in this movie, is the dream

personality of Dr. Chiba, and she could enter her patients’ dreams to heal them.

Detective Konakawa is one of her patients, and he is also a friend of Dr. Chiba’s

superior. Dr. Tokita is a child-at-heart genius and the inventor of DC Mini. He is Dr.

Chiba’s closest friend, and they support each other. Dr. Osanai is Dr. Chiba and Dr.

Tokita’s coworker, and he likes Dr. Chiba and respects Dr. Tokita very much. This

story begins with the loss of DC Mini, and some panic affairs caused by it. Due to the

function of DC Mini that users could enter other’s dreams, the bad guys use it to

invade engineers of DC Mini’s inner world. The first panic affairs occurred during a

talk among Dr. Chiba, Dr. Tokita, their boss, Dr. Hori and chairman Dr. Inui. Dr. Hori

suddenly spoke strange words and jumped out their meeting room. Considering this

tense situation, the chairman of this organization called Dr. Inui, who is handicapped

and uses wheelchair, decided to stop the development of DC Mini immediately in

order to reduce the loss as much as they can. However, Dr. Chiba holds different

views with the chairman, and she believes that the most urgent thing is to find the

theft, who stole the DC Mini. Only the insider of this organization could steal the DC

Mini. During the period that she tries to find the theft, she finds out the last boss, who

is the blackhand and successfully defeat the bad person.

In order to help the audience to understand this movie through rhetoric aspect,

this paper will choose Ethos, Pathos, Logos, Metaphor, Iconic Photographs and

Persona to analyze “Paprika”. I hold a view that Paprika is a movie that talks about

the complexation of Human Beings, dream of people, and the importance of admitting

yourself. In short, Human Beings are complex: they might show one part of

themselves, and hide another. Due to the complexation of people, they might want to

express the other part of themselves in their dreams. Since people are too complex,

hide some part of themselves, and even pursue what they really want in dreams, it is

important for people to admit themselves.

Ethos, Logos and Pathos

The rhetoric of Ethos, Logos and Pathos are classical artistic proofs used in

persuasion. Aristotle defines those three types in late fourth-century BCE Athens.

Ethos means the percentage about credibility of narrators. Different person talks about

same things will have different reflection on the audience. The words speak out by the

honest will be more trust worthy than the liar. Logos means a kind of truth that cannot

be opposed, a kind of rational fact. The definition of Pathos is the speakers use

appealing words to let their audience be involved in an emotion, (Palczewski,15).

Ethos, Logos and Pathos are used typically through conversations between characters,

on one hand those persuasion techniques could reflect characteristics of each

character, on the other hand, they will help audiences understand some inner

meanings behind each scene.

Metaphor

Metaphor, is a rhetoric method, that combines different things with inner relative,

and makes the audiences, readers impressed about these things, (Palczewski,51). The

book, 1984, was written by George Orwell. In this book, there is an image called “Big

Brother”, and the famous sentence from 1984 is “Big Brother is watching you”. This

is a very typical example about metaphor, because Orwell did not explain what is Big

Brother through the whole book, readers could understand it as the government,

whistleblower or just a symbol of powerful force. In Paprika, Metaphor appears

everywhere. The heavy use of Metaphor is not only a signal of the difference between

reality and dream world, but also gives the audience a hint of each characters’ real

personality and relationships.

Iconic Photographs

Lucaites and Hariman identify Iconic Photographs as “Photographic images

produced in visual arts that are 1) recognized by person with same public culture, 2)

recognized by person with same history, and historical famous events, 3) image with

strong emotional resonance, 4) widespread images that are regularly reproduced or

copies across a range of media, genres, and topics,” (Palczewski,82). Such as, the

country flag is an Iconic Photograph for the citizens. The reason why Iconic

Photographs makes audiences better understand this movie is that art is not something

which tells people about every detail, especially in the movie – one of the artistic

expression. On one hand, the Director prefers not to tell a boring story, on the other

hand, if no one could understand the movie, it is also a failure. By using the Iconic

Photographs method, the director gives a hint to his audiences, and could help them

understand the meaning.

Persona

Persona in rhetoric “is the ethos, roles, identity, authority, and image a rhetor

constructs and performs during a rhetorical act,” (Palczewski,165). Similar as the

definition of Persona in psychology, the Persona in rhetoric means different acts

acting by the speakers or narrators intentionally, instead of something that speakers or

narrators are born with. Persona in this movie could have double meaning. One is the

psychology, because Paprika is the dream persona of Dr. Chiba; another is rhetoric,

because different characters do not just play one role in their life.

Specific Analysis combine the movie and Rhetoric Concepts

Science and Technology should be controlled

At the beginning of this movie, Dr. Inui says that “It is man’s responsibility to

control science and technology. Share dreams with others, is the way you called

science of dream. However, it can lead to violence if it is easy for someone to touch

others dream. That invention should never be created…”, (Kon, 2006).

This scene is happened after the heroine and her colleagues find out that the DC

Mini was missing. As a chairman of this Research Institution, considering about the

harmful potential of misusing DC Mini, Dr. Inui strongly urges Dr. Chiba should stop

the invention of DC Mini. He uses ethos in his convention and apparently shows his

disagreement about the invention of that dream machine and his respect toward

dreams. For audience, what he says might give audience an impression that he is quite

intelligent, and you will tend to trust he. Besides, this scene is also an example to

support the concept of complexation of Human Beings. After the audience have

watched this movie, they will finally find out that Dr. Inui is a totally bad people and

what he says here is very ironic. On one hand, Dr. Inui really believes that science and

technology should be controlled well, on the other hand, Dr. Inui is also the one who

abuse science and technology.

Due to he is similar to me

After the first panic affair has happened, Dr. Chiba, Dr. Tokita and Dr. Osanai try

to find the missing assistant Himuro, Dr. Tokita talks with Dr. Chiba that “ At-chan, I

remember you said that Himuro is similar with me. I think so. Because of that, I can

not forgive what Himuro does.”, (Kon, 2006).

This scene is they come back from Assistant Himuto’s home, and Dr. Chiba was

faced to a dangerous situation at that time, and she hold an assumption that Himuro is

the theft. Because of that, these three characters hold their own thoughts and they do

not communicate with each other, and they try to analysis the fact without personal

emotion. At that time, Dr. Tokita on his own initiative (using of pathos) to share his

actual thought with others breaks the ice and earn their trust.

This scene strongly support the concept of the importance to admit who you are.

Before those affairs happen, he knows how Dr. Chiba thinks about his Assistant and

him. At that time, he might do not admit he and his assistant are similar. However, in

his inner heart, he knows that is true. After panic affairs happen, he knows that he

needs to face to himself and arrest his assistant.

Science is a piece of trash

When the panic affairs happen again and again, the chairman Dr. Inui talks with

Dr. Chiba that, “They are new victims, the development of DC Mini must be stopped.

The culprit won’t wait for a us to make a board meeting. Forbidding all use of DC

Mini and the psychotherapy machines immediately. This is retribution. Science is

nothing but a piece of trash before a profound dream, (Kon, 2006).

This scene is a classical scene of using Logos, the chairman feels Dr. Chiba and

her colleagues are doing something that he does not know, this is the second talk

between chairman and Dr. Chiba about the future of DC Mini. Chairman consists of

his opinion by referring the facts: firstly, new victims appears, then he leads to a

conclusion that DC Mini must be stopped. The second reason is culprit won’t stop

doing panic affairs until board of directors in this Research Institution decide what to

do. Dr. Chiba does not agree, however, what the chairman says is also right.

Tree nourish the guilty person

This scene happens that Paprika enters Himuro’s dream and finds out in his

dream, Himuro looks like a vacant shell and there is a giant tree grows. The root of

giant tree is deeply in Himuro’s body, (Kon, 2006) .

Retrieved from Paprika, (Kon 2006)

This scene by using Metaphor, tells audience that Himuro is not the true theft, he

has been taken advantage of the true guilty person. Firstly, Dr. Chiba think Himuro is

the theft. However, on the way of deepening research, and the abuse of DC Mini by

guilty person. Human Beings dreams are crossed with each other, and people are

involved in one ridiculous dream. Paprika finds out Himuro, who should be the theft,

is a victim and be used to nourish the ridiculous dream and the actual theft.

Sphinx and Oedipus

When Paprika finds out who is the true culprit of all panic affairs, and the culprit

tries to catch her. She jumps into a painting and turns into Sphinx, Dr. Osanai, who is

one of the culprits, follows her and turn into another character in the painting as

Oedipus. Oedipus perfectly match the inner character of Dr. Osanai.

Retrieved from Paprika, (Kon 2006)

As most people knows, the ending of the story of Sphinx is that Oedipus beats

Sphinx, and Sphinx dies. This is an Iconic Photograph, and leads to the next plot that

Dr. Osanai catches Paprika and destroys the body of Paprika.

Dream Persona and Real Persona

Dr. Chiba visits her boss, Dr. Hori, a victim of the foremost panic affair, after

their talk. Dr. Chiba walks through a glass aisle, and another her -- Paprika appears in

the glass, and talks with Dr. Chiba.

Retrieved from Paprika, (Kon 2006).

This is an image part in Persona and could be understand through the psychology

knowledge. For Dr. Chiba, she is a scientist who is smart, sane, and even indifferent.

For Paprika, her dream persona, is a psychologist, who is passionate, emotional and

attractive. Both are Dr. Chiba, however, they are different. The differences between

her two “persona” could also be understand as Dr. Chiba considers the problems

through two aspects. Paprika is not an actual Psychologic Persona for Dr. Chiba,

instead, is the part of the real Dr. Chiba that she refuses to admit.

Conclusion

Paprika is an animated feature, and most audience might hold a perspective firstly

that it is a children orientation. Instead, this movie talks many profound opinions. The

first is the complexation of Human Beings, Dr. Chiba is a cold face scientist, but also

a passionate psychologist, Dr. Inui is a sane chairman, but also the guilty person, Dr.

Tokita is a genius scientist, but also a low EQ Otaku. They all want to share their

opinions, and they also fear to do that, and they are hurt because of that, then saved by

admitting themselves.

The second is dream. In this movie, dream is more like a pattern of desires’

manifestation. In this movie, Paprika is emotional and dare to speak what she wants,

chairman in his dream could walk by his “tree legs”, people get what they want in

their dream, but dare not to change a little bit in the reality to fulfill their dream. That

is also the fact in our reality. People may not have a clear idea about what they want

to do, however, they must have a clear idea about what they do not want to do.

However, they are complaining their real life and never try to take some action to

change it. They yield to reality, and blame the cruelty of reality.

The last opinion is to admit yourself. Due to the complexation of human, and the

existent of ideal self, people will feel a psychological gap between the real self and

the ideal self, sometimes, they will hide some characteristics of real self in order to

near the figure of ideal self. They say that is because they grow up, in fact, they are

escaping. Such as Dr. Tokita admit himself after he realize that his assistant is the

theft and he should take the responsibility to arrest his assistant. Moreover, in the

scene about Sphinx and Oedipus, the Paprika turns into Sphinx and Dr. Osanai turns

into Oedipus also give audience a hint that that is their inner self in the background of

Sphinx and Oedipus, Dr. Osanai tells Paprika that, The Sphinx looks not suit you,

(Kon, 2006). On one hand, we could understand that Dr. Osanai does not realize

Paprika at all, and on the other hand, Dr. Chiba, who is also known as Paprika, refuse

to admit herself. If the person refuse to admit herself, no one will recognize the actual

who she is.

All in all, this movie talks a lot about human nature, and inform audience the

importance of admitting actual self, admitting all weaknesses and strengths. People

will not grow up until they find who are they. Get the courage to recognize

themselves, and face to all weaknesses and strengths, people will become the actual

adult and have courage to live happy.

References

Kon, S. (Director). (2006). Paprika[Video file]. Japan: Sony pictures entertainment.

Palczewski, C. H., Ice, R., & Fritch, J. (2016). Rhetoric in civic life. State College, PA: Strata Pub.