Black Lagoon – episode 5

May 27, 2006 on 3:57 pm | In Black Lagoon | 3 Comments

“Eagle Hunting and Hunting Eagles”

Revy is not a whore, and if you treat her as such you can be damned sure that’s the last treatment you’re ever going to perform.
Another fine episode, but we’re not done with the Neo Nazis yet.

Revy and Rock infiltrate the sunken submarine while Dutch and Benny discuss their politics in regards to Nazis. As a Jewish person, Benny’s family motto has apparently long been the insightful “fuck the Nazis”.

Despite the intrusion of the Aryan Socialist Union, this episode featured only minor plot advancements. Its clear purpose was the scenes shared by Rock and Revy.

(At this point you may have noticed that I’ve switched to “Revy”; I read, I think at AoMM, that the name is short for “Rebecca”. Don’t be surprised if “Rebby” eventually becomes my standard.)

Revy had a point about sentimentality in regards to Rock. Rock thought that the iron crosses and various Nazi medals should be returned to their heirs, without considering that people probably do not want to honour the memory of their relatives having been Nazis.
Essentially, a symbol becomes symbolic because people attribute meaning to it, clearly demonstrated by the Neo Nazis considering the submarine a glorious tomb and the pirates taking it as a treasure trove.
The fact that one can go so low that they see everything in terms of money should not dehumanise them. If Rock were to suddenly think anything less of Revy for her practical approach to the life that she’s been given, it would be over.
The salaryman lifestyle is, of course, not the ideal, but it’s much easier than that which Rev has had to lead up to this point. The biggest payoff was not in words, but in the sheer horror that one can see on Rock’s face as they iron this philosophy out.

So now we’ve got the “money is money, don’t try to transcend” donw, it is time to (in the words of Revy) “turn this Nazi Party into a bloody party”. Right on.

3 Comments

  1. Well, I both agree and disagree with this. While yes, a symbol is only symbolic because someone attributes meaning to it, those Iron Crosses aren’t necessarily meaningly to post-WWII Germans. The Iron Cross is a service medal, like the Medal of Honor or Silver Star. It is given by the country in recognition of service in the military. And, contrary to popular opinion, not all soldiers and sailors in the German military during WWII were Nazis. Many were simply Germans serving their country, and didn’t share Nazi beliefs. It seems like the only actual Nazi on the sub was the SS officer with the painting. So, in actuality, if their children and grandchildren recieved those medals, it wouldn’t be a token of their relative being a Nazi, but of being a soldier that fought for their country (Albeit in a war where they have come to be known as the bad guys).

    But, that said, I probably wouldn’t bother sending them to their heirs either, since finding them and shipping the mementos to them would probably cost an arm and a leg.

    Comment by Zoloat — May 27, 2006 #

  2. The anime makes a good distinction between the Nazis and the German military.
    The thing about symbol rationalisation is that it’s an easy way to justify the desecration of graves and therefore your own career in piracy. Anyway, it makes sense in the context of Black Lagoon.

    Comment by Alex — May 27, 2006 #

  3. Did anyone else notice that they are breathing down there?!?!?! I mean, didn’t the sub commander say they had 2 hours of air left? And yet, they blow the hatch on the sub and stroll in like the air has not leaked out of the sub in the last 60 years … Just venting …

    Comment by Me Me — August 16, 2008 #

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