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Originally Posted by Zhaozhou
It doesn't subvert anything at all. In ep. 5 Ranka started singing only when she saw Alto's paper plane. She was also saying that Alto is the only person that listen to her. It was already obvious that Ranka loved Alto. What you called her "original dream" was not her "exclusive dream" even at the time; ultimately, it may even be a false belief from the start. Even this episode was still ambiguous about it, since it juxtaposed Ranka's words about her previous resolutions with Alto's close-ups, and Ranka ended her train of thoughts just saying "I must make sure".
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Ranka enjoyed singing before she even met Alto. Singing Aimo represented her connection to a past that she couldn't remember, and she aspired to one day become a famous singer just like Sheryl.
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Originally Posted by Zhaozhou
Ranka asked for Alto's advice already in ep. 10, and it was never done to gain Alto's approval. Ranka wanted a bit of support, and that means that she already decided she would have done it, she just wanted someone on her side.
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You can quote any number of earlier times in which Ranka came to Alto for advice, but they differed in the fact that they were about finding the courage to pursue something that Ranka knew she wanted to do.
The question with episode seventeen was not about finding the courage to become Frontier's weapon, but rather whether it was alright to use her song in that way. Ranka initially had reservations about doing it, and was in low spirits. In order to resolve these doubts, she needed to address whether this new role fit in with her dreams, and to decide whether she really believed in it.
Let's take a look at the dialogue. Ranka is initially downcast, and asks Alto "Is it alright?" In response, Alto acknowledges "That's what I think, at least." Instantaneously, you see a change in her demeanor. Rather than seeing whether this is something that
she wants to do, Ranka only looks to see if this is something that
Alto would want her to do. That's why she starts to run into problems in this episode.
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Originally Posted by Zhaozhou
Do you really think Ranka could have stop singing when the people of Frontier needs her? And when Grace is such a manipulative bitch that forced her to leave her manager and use a song that was very personal to Ranka?
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Well, moralizing aside, we can't condemn Ranka for not wanting to become Frontier's weapon if that's what she had decided to do. But every decision has its consequence.
Had Ranka decided that she wanted to help the people of Frontier as part of her original goal to leave a mark on society, then that would be in keeping with her goals. Had she decided to help the people of Frontier because she would feel guilty if she didn't do something for them, then even that allows her to attend to her needs as an individual. But because she based her decision on what she thought Alto would want her to do, she ended up in a situation where she doesn't really enjoy what she's doing.
On one hand, she just wants to build a relationship with Alto. On the other, she has this additional responsiblity that she's taken on to sing for the sake of the people. These two things are not mutually exclusive, but she's no longer in a position where it would be appropriate for her to neglect one for the sake of the other. That's the crux of the problem.
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Originally Posted by Zhaozhou
Luckily someone noticed that. It's not a problem of feminism when self-realization is a humanly universal issue. There was too much rhetoric in this thread.
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Yes and no. The scenes are presented in a gender specific context, so it's inappropriate to forbid discussion on gender issues.
The reason why I generalized the situation is because it's much easier for many people (myself included) to relate to this problem if it's presented in a gender independent fashion.
As for rhetoric... even the act of you pointing this out is rhetoric in itself. It doesn't matter what your agenda is; the only things that matter are your points and how you argue them.
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Originally Posted by Zhaozhou
An istance of this is an issue that is treated with condescension: "casting aside individuality". What does that mean? Ranka saw Sheryl awfully close to get Alto. Yeah, go pursuing your dream while your love is taken away, your individuality will be full of regrets.
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These two things are not mutually exclusive. Ranka can retain her individuality, and pursue a relationship with Alto at the same time.
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Originally Posted by Zhaozhou
Before learning individuality you should learn prioritizing. Maslow in his hierarchy of needs posed love as more important than self-actualization; while he may have not got priorities straight, there was some right in that.
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Maslow wasn't laying down a doctorine on how we "should" prioritize our needs; he was laying out a system describing how people
tend to prioritize their needs.
If you try to conciously make decisions using Maslow's hierarchy of needs, it might result in something like "Hmm... I really do want to overcome my poor self-esteem, but Maslow's triangle tells me that it's more important just to have sex."
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Originally Posted by Zhaozhou
It was not even about reasons. Ranka had high hopes and she was disappointed. The scene was told through her point of view. Some people here can't empathize with Ranka's character, but that's not important, it's not hard to understand how authors wanted to make you feel.
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It's inappropiate to talk about POV in the absence of a narrator, and we can't presume to know the writers' intentions.
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Originally Posted by Zhaozhou
It felt like Greek tragedies. Oedipus killed the king of a country and married the queen, but those acts were perfectly normal at the times. At the end he was damned solely by fate, while he was doing his best. What Ranka is doing is perfectly normal, she is trying her best to pursue her love interest, yet she may not have the means and she could fail even without the presence of a skilled rival like Sheryl.
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I don't understand the parallel. Oedipus wasn't damned by fate; he was damned by his hubris. But that's another issue altogether.
The irony of the scene is that for all intents and purposes, Ranka has won out. She's reached the top of the music world, and her rival is dying. The conversation on the rooftop between Alto and Sheryl isn't about romance; it's simply about Sheryl telling Alto the truth about her impending death. It is this moment that Ranka stumbles upon and misinterprets.
The love triangle has destabilized.
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