The Danger of Escapism within Paprika (2006)
Satoshi Kon is the director of 2006’s Paprika. A film that follows Chiba Atsuko, a therapist that is looking for the mysterious thief that has stolen the DC Mini, a device that allows people to share dreams.
While her alter ego Paprika helps out Detective Konakawa Toshimi as he has trouble sleeping because of a homicide case he has yet to solve.
But the movie isn’t about the stolen DC Mini, nor is it about Detective Konakawa’s trouble sleeping. The movie is about the relationship of dreams and cinema.
How two powerful tools of escapism can be damaging.
Movies play a big part in Paprika, from Paprika herself proclaiming her love for the art, to Detective Konakawa having constant reminders of his friend who he helped create a short movie.
Movies are on the forefront of Paprika. This is because just like dreams, movies are a way for us to escape the mundane life the majority of us live.
And Paprika doesn’t shy away from its love towards film and the power it has. Escapism is the foundation of film. We go to the cinema to escape from the real world, from the taxes we have to pay, from the jobs we hate, and sometimes we need to escape the harsh reality of the world we live in. Cinema is a tool to let regular folks live exciting lives.
But what is the film saying about movies?
I think Paprika is about the dangers of living in those realities for too long. Films and dreams let us escape but if we escape for a long time we forget about the things we love in our reality.
Chiba Atsuko kept going back to the dreams, she kept living as Paprika to the point she forgot about the world she lives in. Her love for Tokita was second to the dream world with Paprika.
But, it was only when she realised at the end, that too much of the dream world meant that she had less time with Tokita. At that moment she stopped and began to show her emotions to him and start living in her real world.
This is also symbolised in the character of the Chairman who uses the dream world to live out his fantasy of being able to walk again. He gets consumed by the dreams and the powers he gains from being in that reality. To the point that it becomes his downfall.
His greed of wanting to live in the dreams meant that reality and dreams were going to converge as one.
But they can’t.
It is as Satoshi Kon says “I think there is a danger too. If you go into that world, it is very vivid and colorful and seductive, but there are big traps within that, particularly if you let your real world deteriorate as a result.”
And we see this in movie. The world gets consumed by the dreams and it begins to sink into a black abyss.
But it is only when Chiba accepts that she must live her life and let go of Paprika, that Paprika can be reborn and accept the responsibilities of the dream world. Leaving Chiba alone in the real world.
But if Satoshi Kon thinks that too much is bad, then why have Detective Konakawa use dreams to help him resolve his sleep problems and then make him watch a film at the end?
It is because the movie Paprika is about balance.
Paprika has to balance the dream world and reality because she forgets to live in the real world, and Detective Konakawa has to balance work with pleasure.
Too much of one thing can lead to destruction. For example with the Chairman and the dreams, Tokita and his obsession with creating the DC mini, Dr Morio Osania and his love for Chiba and Detective Konakawa with his work.
And that idea to end Paprika with Detective Konakawa watching a movie is to tell us that sometimes we need escapism.
His haunted nightmare about the unfinished movie he made with his friend needed to be resolved in order for him to solve the case. To resolve that problem, movies and dreams were combined into one. He used the dreams in order to finish his movie, a balance of the two combined so that Konakawa can finally put that part of his life to bed.
And in a way, Konakawa is like us. We work all day and dreaming is a way for us to relax, because when all you do is focus on the work and not on yourself, you lose control, just as Konakawa did with his case.
Escapism can be good because we can forget about the real world. But too much can be damaging.
So when you constantly live in the world of dreams or watching movies, it means you're not living your life but the life of someone else. Just as Chiba had been doing with Paprika.
But in the end she realised that to be happy was not to be Paprika all the time. But to be Chiba.
Dreams and movies can be exciting to keep going back too, but sometimes the spiciest parts of our lives are the ones we experience in real life and if it’s not, maybe add some Paprika.
