Moving Pictures: Serial Experiments Lain and Identity

Serial Experiments Lain is weird; it’s an amalgamation of themes, ideas, and conspiracy that all blend into an incredibly unique experience. It breaks into ideas of theology, human connection, perception, and so much more. Here, however, I want to talk about the series' theme of identity, as it coincides with a lot of my own personal introspection. I will be spoiling parts of Serial Experiments Lain here, so I implore you to go and watch the show before reading this.

So, for some basic context, Serial Experiments Lain follows a young girl, Lain Iwakura, who becomes intertwined with The Wired (SEL’s take on the Internet) after the suicide of her classmate, Chisa Yomoda. She receives an e-mail from Chisa telling her to come to The Wired and that “God is Here”. Lain begins getting more and more invested in The Wired, going from using an old children’s PC to a top-of-the-line model, to transforming her bedroom into a mass of wires, coolant, and monitors. During this transformation, we see not only her room change but multiple different aspects and personalities of Lain beginning to manifest; we primarily see “Lain of The Wired” — a far more confident personality and a stark contrast to the more timid Lain that we’re used to.

Later, we’re seemingly introduced to a new Lain who seems far more malicious: spreading rumours about her friend, Alice. While this may be Lain of The Wired, there seem to be personality differences between the two, so I believe these are separate beings/variants. Beyond those, we’re introduced to the concept that there may be hundreds or even thousands of Lain, each a product of another's perception of her. Lain somewhat rejects this concept, as she can’t accept the fact that there could be another her, which comes to an interesting connection during episode eight, “Rumours”.

After the rumours have been spread, Lain confronts the other Lain (who I’ll call the Other), seemingly within The Wired. Lain asks, “Why do you mimic the part of me I hate?” before attempting to choke them. Lain, however, gives up, and asks more questions: “Why is your body so warm? Why do I feel your body temperature?”, and the Other simply responds: “Because I am Lain”. I see this as a moment that somewhat answers the question of who these alternative Lains truly are: manifestations of her unconscious. I believe this idea connects with Jungian psychology and the idea of the Shadow. The Shadow is an aspect of the human unconscious mind, which is often comprised of traits that people traditionally suppress and hide, as they’re the less appealing parts, and Lain of the Wired and the Other could be manifestations of Lain’s Shadow. Much of Jungian psychology emphasises the idea of integrating the Shadow into the conscious mind, instead of suppressing it to bring a balance, and Lain’s rejection of these alternative forms is a defining factor of her struggles with identity. Carl Jung’s theories have other links to the show also, such as his theories on the Collective Unconcious tying in directly to the primary conflict of the show.

I find Serial Experiments Lain does a fantastic job of weaving these concepts into the show without it feeling forced or needing to be explained. And it’s led me to a lot of introspection myself. “Who am I?” is a question I’ve pondered a lot, and it’s been the core of a lot of my mental struggles. I’ve seen myself have a variety of personalities and behaviours, especially when I go between different friend groups and just different moods. Sometimes I’ve found myself feeling like a complete outcast within myself, but Serial Experiments Lain helps to contextualise this in ways I hadn’t come to terms with. The core aspect of this is the idea that human perception is so incredibly important. “Who I am?” is a question that can’t be answered because it completely changes depending on who is left to answer it. How someone else has perceived me could be a completely different version of myself than a hundred other people's perceptions, so there isn’t a singular concrete answer but a multitude of possibilities. Instead of questioning which version of myself is me, it led to the idea that I am each version of myself… in some bizarre concoction of thoughts, personality traits, and ideologies. I can be whoever I want. While I can’t change others' perceptions of me directly, I can help to change my perception and work towards being perceived in other ways.

While this is not a super deep breakdown of the themes and ideas of Serial Experiments Lain, I just wanted to talk about this show. It’s enigmatic, and I couldn’t get many of these ideas out of my mind. If anyone else has any similar experiences with Lain or any other interesting insights I’d love to hear them in the comments!