The World is Watching

This text explores the origins and implications of the powerful visual medium of video, crossing national, cultural and political boundaries to present provocative tales. Dennis Redmond's study is rooted in close readings of three video efforts: ""The Prisoner"" (1967), ""The Decalogue"" (1988) and ""Neon Genesis: Evangelion"" (1995). Irish director and star Patrick McGoohan's classic science fiction vision, ""The Prisoner"" follows a government agent who has resigned his position only to be immediately abducted and confined to an isolated town. Part futuristic thriller, part James Bond parody, and saturated with Cold War allegory, this 17-part series was groundbreaking in its exploration of new types of global content, ranging from gender and ethnic identity to the politics of information. Set in a Polish housing complex, each episode of Director Krzysztof Kieslowski's ""The Decalogue"" examines one of the ten commandments. The provocative series synthesized elements of the Eastern European auteur film with the consumerism of its Western European counterparts, establishing a new genre of Eurovideo. Redmond locates ""The Decalogue"" within the broader context of Polish filmmaking and as a harbinger of the Velvet Revolutions of Eastern Europe. Aided by transcripts, Redmond's analysis of Hideaki Anno's acclaimed series ""Neon Genesis: Evangelion"" explores the increasingly popular narrative form of anime. This animated series is set in the post-apocalyptic future where young pilots in robotic battle suits combat alien invaders. In discussing this 26-part epic undertaking, Redmond identifies the impact of the Godzilla narratives, videogame culture, the Japanese mecha, the Hong Kong action thriller and the American sci-fi blockbuster on the formation of a uniquely East-Asian aesthetic sensibility.