Abstract to The Productization of the Female Body and Its Effects on Identity in Perfect Blue

Featured Image: “Products Prtinteds” by Sandalo Barbosa is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0

Skill Showcased

This piece is showcasing my research, critical thinking and writing skills. It shows these by showcasing I find new ways of looking at a piece of media. The piece also shows write about usual things. 

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Human beings are a product. If a human being identifies as a woman, then she is more of a product. Women have for a long time had to adapt their appearance, Personality, and lives to be able to market themselves to men. Perfect Blue (1998) directed by Satoshi Kon, examines this productization of women and shows the effects that it has on people around those women. Satoshi uses magical realism as a way to show the blurred lines between reality and fiction as a way to illustrate how in real life our identities can be blurred by the societal constraints that are put on us. The main character, Mima Kirigoe, was a J-pop idol, Japanese Pop music idol, until one day she becomes an actress. This change in her career had created a change in the perception of Mima to her fans which drips down to her. Mima less marketable to the world, thus creating a split in her and others’ identities. I argue that the movie uses material feminism and psychoanalysis as a way to show women’s oppression is affected by capitalism. Thus, destroying the identities of women and distorting the roles of men. In addition, Perfect Blue shows how this productization can distract people from other problems that are faced in the world such as mental health.