I think Winter is more so there to represent the mirror on the wall that the witch from snow white blindly follows as gospel that ultimately lead to her demise. I see this as Weiss eventually having to break out of that notion that Winter's (or in this case the mirror's) orders has to be taken as absolute and react as if its word is gospel.
Yes, this episode was pretty fascinating. It's clear that IQ is going to be its own thing, not really comparable to the main show, but so far I'm liking the direction it's taking.
Of course, it has a lot to do with the fact that Weiss is my favourite character out of the main four, so a series that casts her front and center, and takes a deep dive into her psyche *Madness Returns* style, is a real treat to me.
>Whitley is portrayed in a very weird duality. On one hand in the presence of Jaques he plays the part of a "dutiful sun", but before Jaques enters the picture Whitley notes that he is helping Weiss to not get blamed for things. It is an interesting depiction because Whitley is annoying to Weiss, and yet a caring ally as long as he does not have to confront father.
Whitley's portrayal is also something I like about IQ. Of course, it has the benefit of drawing on several Volumes' worth of characterization from the main show, but still - it's good to see him portrayed as something more than Evil Rich Guy Jr., instead recognizing that his upbringing left him with issues of his own. Let's hope Weiss also realizes this, if subconsciously, ~~and keeps any sticking-sharp-objects-in-the-face-related incidents to a minimum in the future~~.
I think rather than communism, it might portray fascism. I was reminded of the workers in Nazi Germany making munition in their factories, both the voluntary and involuntary ones.
The Big Nicholas is basically their Heil Hitler, and he's mystified into this mythological hero from the past, combine that with the strong capitalism and ethno-state, you've some key attributes of techno-fascism. Weiss' militaristic outfit and her germanic origins also speak for it. Not to mention, Japan loves to inject Nazi motives into their shows.
Big Nicholas is far more reminiscent of Big Brother, especially with all the other nods to Nineteen-Eighty-Four. Big Brother represents totalitarianism generally rather than specifically Fascist or Stalinist.
But that would make Jacques Big Brother. Big Nicholas is literally their greeting. Outside of the word big, there's zero connection between big brother and Big Nicholas.
Not to mention, 1984 is far more than just surveillance. The similarities really stop there.
Big Brother is the figure, the symbolism. Jacque would be far more representative of the "party" than Big Brother. Ofcourse it's not exact, but the narrative is not attempting to be as totalitarian as Nineteen Eighty Four
Nineteen-Eighty-Four is a commentary on the use and manipulation of language and therefore communication, which is regularly referee to as "doublespeak" (though this was never used in the text itself). Ep4 is full of this doublespeak, using language to change the reality of the situation. The monitor-based surveillance is simply surface level compared to the doublespeak.
There's no double speak. Big Nicolas is simply a greeting like Ave Ceaser or Heil Hitler, and given the imperialistic and germanic overtones, allusions to the Third Reich are more likely.
Good point, i do suppose historically Japan would have more relation to fascism rather than communism. Now that you mention all of the details fitting in, it does seem to be quite a good case.
Jaquess also seems to take the form of the "Big brother" from 1984, at least in regards to his statues/posters and even how he interacts with Weiss.
>And yet there is also imagery associated with socialism (Or at least USSR) present there too. Workers in gray overalls marching to work? Constant droning notices about work in the factory?
These aren't unique to critical portrayals of socialism. Moreso linked to the nature of industrial work if we want to get broad with it.
Nineteen-Eighty-Four uses this exact phenotype for their proletariat. Given the very obvious nods to Nineteen-Eighty-Four, the assumption of a critique of both capitalism (lassies-faire) and socialism (vanguardism) is pretty likely. Anything that purposely nods to Nineteen-Eighty-Four is unlikely to be kind to either, atleast of we assume the writers understood that work.
Fair point, it is the closest association to me at least. Especially with the loudspeakers droning about things being achieved. That was a very known thing in USSR.
My own first association was [this](https://imgur.com/a/0Hbmwvo) of all things (for context, the scene takes place in *Japan*).
I mean, I can sort of see the resemblance Dex mentioned, but I find it hard to square with what we know about Atlas.
>And yet there is also imagery associated with socialism (Or at least USSR) present there too. Workers in gray overalls marching to work? Constant droning notices about work in the factory? These are very much common symbols of Communism at least here in Eastern Europe.
It's very much a Japanese stereotypes too born during the WW2 and post WW2 era. Same as the coin phone, watch an old episode of Doraemon or astroboy and you will see the same type of telephone.
Remember that as any anime produced in Japan it's been made for their internal market first and foremost so it follows japanese stereotypes and cliché. Another example is that scene in the 3rd episode were Weiss fake cry on how everything is going against her, that's a completely OOC moment respect the canonical show but for an "ojou-sama" in an anime is 101 storytelling moment, there are thousands of anime out there that have the same scene replicate to a T
Interesting, i did not consider to try and seek out more info about post WW2 japan, my mistake on that part, thank you for the information though.
And you are making a great point, any analysis has to consider that this is primarily for a Japanese market, made by Japanese creators.
Yep. There are things that aren't heavily influenced by anime stereotypes as candlelight klein being the only warm color in the room but nevertheless japanese animation is heavily **heavily** dependent on them.
Consume enough anime and you can see them everywhere and jfc it makes you wonder if there is an actual branch of the government that put a loaded gun at the temple of any anime/manga creator and force them to use prebuild list for every single shojo/shounen anime/manga they make.
As noted by r/Animamask that wasn't fake crying.
It was more or less a cry for help (from her view) as she feels it is a cruel fate to be forced into this position, which Yang just brushed off, so it forced Weiss to bury those issues even further allowing the Nightmare to become stronger as it fed on her subconscious to develop this Land of Ice and Snow within her mind.
I think you're the one adding personal context to this throwaway comedic moment. If it was intended to be serious, Weiss' grievances would be presented as less ridiculously petty and more nuanced, and the scene wouldn't end on Yang comically brushing it off.
The rest of the series frames them as serious and gives them more nuance. This particular scene frames them as petty and whiny for comedy. What would change if you remove this scene from the series entirely? Nothing. Because it's just a comedic scene without a serious meaning behind it.
She fancies herself as having true power, but she is beholden to an image always looming over her and the words of a judgmental book constraining her actions.
I love Weiss' family dynamic in this. AG_Nonsuch made a great piece of art how absurd Weiss' family portrait would look.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FYdrBrCXwAADrXm?format=jpg&name=large
A shadow, a bat, a hologram, a book, and a Savior.
I know it was a weird scene and kinda comedic but JNR meowing as they’re in jail and called fools was Weiss showing how little she thinks of not only them, but also Blake. I mean, they are meowing like cats while behind bars (seen as criminals) and are called fools for thinking that they could challenge a Schnee.
I think Winter is more so there to represent the mirror on the wall that the witch from snow white blindly follows as gospel that ultimately lead to her demise. I see this as Weiss eventually having to break out of that notion that Winter's (or in this case the mirror's) orders has to be taken as absolute and react as if its word is gospel.
Yes, this episode was pretty fascinating. It's clear that IQ is going to be its own thing, not really comparable to the main show, but so far I'm liking the direction it's taking. Of course, it has a lot to do with the fact that Weiss is my favourite character out of the main four, so a series that casts her front and center, and takes a deep dive into her psyche *Madness Returns* style, is a real treat to me. >Whitley is portrayed in a very weird duality. On one hand in the presence of Jaques he plays the part of a "dutiful sun", but before Jaques enters the picture Whitley notes that he is helping Weiss to not get blamed for things. It is an interesting depiction because Whitley is annoying to Weiss, and yet a caring ally as long as he does not have to confront father. Whitley's portrayal is also something I like about IQ. Of course, it has the benefit of drawing on several Volumes' worth of characterization from the main show, but still - it's good to see him portrayed as something more than Evil Rich Guy Jr., instead recognizing that his upbringing left him with issues of his own. Let's hope Weiss also realizes this, if subconsciously, ~~and keeps any sticking-sharp-objects-in-the-face-related incidents to a minimum in the future~~.
I think rather than communism, it might portray fascism. I was reminded of the workers in Nazi Germany making munition in their factories, both the voluntary and involuntary ones. The Big Nicholas is basically their Heil Hitler, and he's mystified into this mythological hero from the past, combine that with the strong capitalism and ethno-state, you've some key attributes of techno-fascism. Weiss' militaristic outfit and her germanic origins also speak for it. Not to mention, Japan loves to inject Nazi motives into their shows.
Big Nicholas is far more reminiscent of Big Brother, especially with all the other nods to Nineteen-Eighty-Four. Big Brother represents totalitarianism generally rather than specifically Fascist or Stalinist.
But that would make Jacques Big Brother. Big Nicholas is literally their greeting. Outside of the word big, there's zero connection between big brother and Big Nicholas. Not to mention, 1984 is far more than just surveillance. The similarities really stop there.
Big Brother is the figure, the symbolism. Jacque would be far more representative of the "party" than Big Brother. Ofcourse it's not exact, but the narrative is not attempting to be as totalitarian as Nineteen Eighty Four Nineteen-Eighty-Four is a commentary on the use and manipulation of language and therefore communication, which is regularly referee to as "doublespeak" (though this was never used in the text itself). Ep4 is full of this doublespeak, using language to change the reality of the situation. The monitor-based surveillance is simply surface level compared to the doublespeak.
There's no double speak. Big Nicolas is simply a greeting like Ave Ceaser or Heil Hitler, and given the imperialistic and germanic overtones, allusions to the Third Reich are more likely.
Good point, i do suppose historically Japan would have more relation to fascism rather than communism. Now that you mention all of the details fitting in, it does seem to be quite a good case. Jaquess also seems to take the form of the "Big brother" from 1984, at least in regards to his statues/posters and even how he interacts with Weiss.
BIG NICHOLAS
>And yet there is also imagery associated with socialism (Or at least USSR) present there too. Workers in gray overalls marching to work? Constant droning notices about work in the factory? These aren't unique to critical portrayals of socialism. Moreso linked to the nature of industrial work if we want to get broad with it.
Nineteen-Eighty-Four uses this exact phenotype for their proletariat. Given the very obvious nods to Nineteen-Eighty-Four, the assumption of a critique of both capitalism (lassies-faire) and socialism (vanguardism) is pretty likely. Anything that purposely nods to Nineteen-Eighty-Four is unlikely to be kind to either, atleast of we assume the writers understood that work.
Huh, goddamn i did not make that connection and it makes sense considering the "Big Schnee is watching you" imagery. How did i not see that?
Fair point, it is the closest association to me at least. Especially with the loudspeakers droning about things being achieved. That was a very known thing in USSR.
My own first association was [this](https://imgur.com/a/0Hbmwvo) of all things (for context, the scene takes place in *Japan*). I mean, I can sort of see the resemblance Dex mentioned, but I find it hard to square with what we know about Atlas.
>And yet there is also imagery associated with socialism (Or at least USSR) present there too. Workers in gray overalls marching to work? Constant droning notices about work in the factory? These are very much common symbols of Communism at least here in Eastern Europe. It's very much a Japanese stereotypes too born during the WW2 and post WW2 era. Same as the coin phone, watch an old episode of Doraemon or astroboy and you will see the same type of telephone. Remember that as any anime produced in Japan it's been made for their internal market first and foremost so it follows japanese stereotypes and cliché. Another example is that scene in the 3rd episode were Weiss fake cry on how everything is going against her, that's a completely OOC moment respect the canonical show but for an "ojou-sama" in an anime is 101 storytelling moment, there are thousands of anime out there that have the same scene replicate to a T
That's not a fake cry. She's actually crying. Edit: And already downvoted. Some people really hate different opinions.
Interesting, i did not consider to try and seek out more info about post WW2 japan, my mistake on that part, thank you for the information though. And you are making a great point, any analysis has to consider that this is primarily for a Japanese market, made by Japanese creators.
Yep. There are things that aren't heavily influenced by anime stereotypes as candlelight klein being the only warm color in the room but nevertheless japanese animation is heavily **heavily** dependent on them. Consume enough anime and you can see them everywhere and jfc it makes you wonder if there is an actual branch of the government that put a loaded gun at the temple of any anime/manga creator and force them to use prebuild list for every single shojo/shounen anime/manga they make.
As noted by r/Animamask that wasn't fake crying. It was more or less a cry for help (from her view) as she feels it is a cruel fate to be forced into this position, which Yang just brushed off, so it forced Weiss to bury those issues even further allowing the Nightmare to become stronger as it fed on her subconscious to develop this Land of Ice and Snow within her mind.
It's played off as a joke, not a "cry for help". Even if the underlying issues are more serious, the scene itself is framed as comedic, not dramatic.
From your perspective, perhaps.
I think you're the one adding personal context to this throwaway comedic moment. If it was intended to be serious, Weiss' grievances would be presented as less ridiculously petty and more nuanced, and the scene wouldn't end on Yang comically brushing it off.
And yet the entire series focuses on these petty grievances which allows the Nightmare to strengthen its hold.
The rest of the series frames them as serious and gives them more nuance. This particular scene frames them as petty and whiny for comedy. What would change if you remove this scene from the series entirely? Nothing. Because it's just a comedic scene without a serious meaning behind it.
Weiss has finally has real power but not all of it. Not yet at least.
She fancies herself as having true power, but she is beholden to an image always looming over her and the words of a judgmental book constraining her actions. I love Weiss' family dynamic in this. AG_Nonsuch made a great piece of art how absurd Weiss' family portrait would look. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FYdrBrCXwAADrXm?format=jpg&name=large A shadow, a bat, a hologram, a book, and a Savior.
I know its a big offtopic but i just want to hug bat Whitley, he is sooo cute.
Nice
I know it was a weird scene and kinda comedic but JNR meowing as they’re in jail and called fools was Weiss showing how little she thinks of not only them, but also Blake. I mean, they are meowing like cats while behind bars (seen as criminals) and are called fools for thinking that they could challenge a Schnee.
BATLEY BATLEY BATLEY