Why does Lain attract such divergent personalities?

I noticed online discussion of Lain and Lain-inspired communities like lainchan tend to attract a fairly materialistic and atheistic set, though SEL itself is a series which culminates in the villain's expulsion from the wired via an appeal to the cosmological argument for God (argument from contingency, in this case the god of the wired's existence contingent on Lain's, which pre-existed his plan and wired-consciousness and made it possible). Yet it seems much of the online talk about the series is so shallow. Your average analysis or discussion of SEL seems to use it as a deconstruction of reality and religion ("LAiN DiSprOveS gOD!" is reddit-slop when the entire argument is a proof of God). I personally take SEL allegorically, and in that light it has much to say about identity, losing one's self in the wired (as the place where mind's meet) and the world of the mind and even spirit internal to the self. It speaks volumes to the current zeitgeist of the "real self" being the wired, or intellectual, self: this mindset drives anything from transgenderism to shut-in behavior, by instilling the notion that the wired is the real you. SEL is finally about rejecting such claims, yet it attracts people who seem to want to live the way the god of the wired would have them - the wired becomes the real world, and the body, the world, and other people become mere tools or materials with which to build up one's wired existence. Here on lainchan there seems to be a base which is open to seeing the world with an eye to the spiritual and cosmological ideas which can help us explore it, whether they approach it through substances, dreams , religion, or philosophy. There is also a base which you would think considers SEL to be about how there is nothing more to the world than meets the eye and that the god of the wired is actually the hero of the story. Or in many cases I've witnessed here, why do some think Lain validates their impulse to self-harm and hatred of the world? My own thinking has been profoundly shaped by this series, positively in how I approach the world of the mind as real, not merely patterns of neurology but windows into consciousness, and negatively in enlightening me to the rampant replacement of the self with constructed online personas in our world today. All that aside, however, I am just another persona on the wired. Feel free to disagree with my interpretations of Lain, lainons, and the world. What do you think draws people to places like this? Why do you think Lain resonates with people who think that Lain is about the opposite of whatever the other lainon thinks? (If this post belongs best on another board, please move accordingly)

I watched Serial Experiments Lain several times and it was a staple of my teenage years. Since then, I have learned about media I think is more important. It's been a while since I last rewatched it and I think you're on the right track, but I think Serial Experiments Lain is more about psychology than technology or anything else. There's a reason why most of the PSX game is centered around Lain's therapy, including her name coming from R.D Laing. In my opinion, the series asks the question: "What happens when the self is fragmented and diluted in the collective unconscious (Wired/internet)?" The answer is, "It goes absolutely crazy," and the solution to that is, "Touch grass." That is also why it attracts the mentally ill.

i thought most of the people using lain's image were just secondaries, i never thought anybody actually watched that soykaf. i know i didn't, i'm just a habitual interwebs user lurking on imageboards i hate

>>48561 So lainons don't *act* like they don't understand Lain, they are themselves everything it warned about and they think it's actually good. Honestly, that's really grim.

i <3 lain she is just so lovable

>>48556 SEL clearly gets a bit into sci-fi fantasy how it insinuates that through the schumann frequency people can telepathically re-create the internet only bringing this up to insinuate that under those circumstances it is much easier to transform the 'nous' instead of the material realm into a sort of reality....which i think is fair and healthy cyberpunk 90's musings

from what I gather, the creators of SEL constructed the series in such a way so as to leave certain things to inference and interpretation. they undoubtedly did that intentionally. i suspect that the creators of SEL were no mere cyberpunks, with some real secret insight into the way that our society functions. the extraterrestrial aspects of SEL i thought were quite telling I also didn't get any sort of impression from SEL that is was espousing secular, materialistic philosophy instead of a spiritual sort of philosophy. i think a lot of people attracted to it tend to be atheistic perhaps just becuase at that time and our generation that would watch anime tends to be atheist. conservative Christian parents who take the Bible, for instance, very seriously and that sort of thing probably wouldn't want their children watching an anime like SEL, to be honest. that would be my guess the idea of the 'real self' being independent from the material body is as old as humanity itself found in all cultures throughout the world >My own thinking has been profoundly shaped by this series, positively in how I approach the world of the mind as real, not merely patterns of neurology but windows into consciousness, and negatively in enlightening me to the rampant replacement of the self with constructed online personas in our world today. OP, you and plato would be in agreement. same can be said for Buddha and many others.

Basically >>48567 said but also the alien part had an actual explanation in the show. I just wish that more people would actually read the faq. I think it should be plastered on the home page (at least the "What is the purpose of Lainchan?") so that people understand what lainchan is about.

A bit part of the SEL series and game is interpretation and requiring a lot of thought and exploring outside like doing web searches to find information on obscure things like the Shoemaker resonance or the Cyberia book which is about the connection between psychedelic drug use and computer technology.

>>48567 Honestly... I think past a certain point of spiritual affinity/depth everybody knows God exists. There are people who reject God (free to do as they will). The "westerner finds spiritual rebirth by means of eastern traditions" is reddit-tier. Same goes for the "I believe in science" crowd that doesn't know God exists... There are no greater mysteries, highest highs, than those found inside the House of God. The Holy Trinity is real. Worldly traditions invert understanding; spiritual knowledge belongs to a select few and is the highest form of wealth. Christ, having the keys to the kingdom and true wealth CHOOSES TO SERVE. His life is a living testimony, not a hopeless pursuit. Knowledge from the House of God cannot be taken, but is given. The pursuit is not to accrue wealth (inversion), but to serve. What God gives and takes is for him to decide.

>>48627 In truth, what's really so heretical about eastern traditions or science? Is it really that sinful?

what the hell are you even talking about lain is about internet. thats it. how do you guys even manage to get god and trans people involved? >>48567 >from what I gather, the creators of SEL constructed the series in such a way so as to leave certain things to inference and interpretation. exactly what is up for interpretation? in lain there actually very little to interpret its very explicit about its subject matter and what kind of message it wants to impart you with. p much everything else is explained in the show itself. most people simply do not pay enough attention to the shows they watch and know very little or next to nothing about subject matter of the show so to them it will appear mysterious but if you at least know some basics of how internet functions my dear lainchan user you should have no problems with understanding the show.

>>48672 You actually make OP's point pretty well

>>48556 >>48627 The actual, honest,100% factual inform is that "god" does exist be he is a malevolent, sadistic being The being of god discourages criticism, enlightenment, liberty, and independence Your "relationship" with god is less than that of a slave and his massa You two are closer to an abusive farmer with his cattle There are beings greater than god who enchant us with divine light