The Inside Out by Tsutomu Miyazaki - Essay Example

Tsutomu Miyazaki, The Inside Out In 1988, Japan was gripped with terror over a serial killer “who abducted, murdered, dismembered and consumed” girls who were four (4) to eight (8) years old. During the killers period of killing spree, communications were made to the media and the victims parents by a certain Yuko Imada, who claims to be incapable of bearing children and that the reason behind the murders was to satisfy frustrated maternal desires (Lippit, n.d.). Analyst for the Japanese media insisted that such communications could only come from a woman (Lippit, n.d.). However, when the real killer was apprehended in 1989, the killers true gender was male, he was a well mannered photo shop employee, and his name was Tsutomu Miyazaki. Upon his arrest, police and investigators confiscated thousand video cassettes that contain horror films and animation, one of which was a footage of one of his murders. His many pornographic comic books about young girls and pedophilia were likewise discovered (Whiteperil.com, 2006). But even the most hardened and sensationalized criminal must have had their own humble beginnings, and this goes true for Tsutomu Miyazaki. My stand on this issue is that Tsutomu Miyazaki was delusional and a paranoid Schizophrenia. Before going any further about the state of his mental health, a brief outline of his life and personality must be appraised objectively. Born in August 21, 1962, Miyazaki was premature at birth. His inborn deformity consists of gnarled hands that are permanently fused to his wrists. In order to rotate or use his hands, he needs to move his entire forearm. During his elementary and high school days, Tsutomu Miyazaki was considered an outcast and he often keeps to himself. In the beginning, he was a star student but probably because of his disfiguration, was constantly ridiculed and mostly keeps to himself. Hence, he not only lost the ability to properly socialize but likewise lost self-esteem in the process and his grades plummeted as well. Unfortunately, due to the low grades, he was not admitted at his desired university where he planned to study English and become a teacher. As an alternative, he went to a local college where he took up studies in order to become a photo-technician. In the exploration of his mental health a number of written articles and studies were brought forth to analyze how one human being could actually commit murder without though or conscience. According to an article by Leo Lewis (2008) of the Jiji Press in Tokyo, Miyazaki was a ravenous sexual marauder who “kidnapped girls aged between four and seven years old, molested and murdered them.” He even went so far as to eat some parts of the girls bodies and in the others “slept next to their corpses.” In the same article concerning Miyazakis imminent execution, Chief Justice Tokiyasu Fujita was quoted to have said that “the atrocious murder of four girls to satisfy his sexual desire leaves no room for leniency.” The chief justices comment was made in view of Miyazakis final appeal for clemency which was thrown out by the high courts. Lewis (2008) further wrote that Miyazaki was labeled as a “killer geek” because of his flair for pornography and manga comics. His lawyers argued that he was not mentally capable of standing trial, however, psychiatric tests done were inconclusive of his true state of mind. As for Akira Lippit (n.d.), an assistant professor of film studies and critical theory in the University of Nebraska Lincoln, Miyazakis entry into crime was precipitated by “having attended a televised seminar for prospective TV industry cameraman when he was 19” years old. Lippit goes on to say that among other things, Miyazaki has created his own world and universe “in the image of television.” As he watched television and video cassettes during his moments in chosen solitude, his ability to depict reality and fiction was distorted. Hence, the media through television has provided him an alternative space where he could attain a different personality and do what he saw being done on the screen. The foregoing assertions made by Lippit (n.d.) with regards to how his state of degenerated mind was likewise mentioned within the Internet Crime Archives. According to Mendoza (n.d.) after his arrest investigators found and confiscated 5,800 animated and other videos at his home. One of the videos showed footage of one of his mutilated victims and a video tape titled “Guinea Pig” where a man kidnaps a nurse, injects her with a serum to make her unconscious and then proceeds to cut off her hands, head and feet. Therefore, Miyazakis fascination for mutilating and sexually assaulting his victims postmortem were actually processed images and thoughts being put into action of what he often watched on the screen. In congruence with the article of Lewis (n.d.) although he confessed to the abduction and killing of the girls, Miyazaki claimed after his arrest that he either “did not remember” admitting to the killings and that he must have done it in a dream. His first psychiatric tests showed that despite signs of a personality disorder, he could tell what was right and what was wrong. Nevertheless, the second psychiatric test indicated that he might be suffering from a multiple personality disorder or schizophrenia (Mendoza n.d.). In a similar study of violence and mass media, Dr. Michael Kunczik (n.d.) of Johanes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Federal Germany, wrote that Miyazakis case was not the only one of its kind where horror videos are held accountable for grisly criminal acts. He mentioned about an article in the Asian Wall Street Journal about a case where teenage boys “abducted, raped, tortured, killed and encased a high school girls body in concrete.” The perpetrators claimed during investigation that most of their ideas and actions for the crime came from an adult video. He went on to state that there are many researches done about how media violence has its profound effects. He further said that the learning process and values of a human being is a life long process that is normally acquired from their parents. But in todays modern era such social interaction between parent and child is usually affected by the media in terms of television, video, computers and computer games (Kunczik, n.d.). In this way, most of the learning process comes from what children and young adults often see on the screen. Often resulting to a wrong learning process and a misshapen personality developed by watching violent or horror films, shows and games that cultivates a different kind of thinking and display of emotions. Correlated to the topic under discussion, Katherine Ramsland (n.d.) of True tv Crime Library related that Miyazaki “was influenced by horror films” and “was found to have multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia.” Even so, he was determined to be sane and capable of undergoing a trial, which culminated in being sentenced to death. Ramsland (n.d.) also noted in her article that experts disagree with the suggestion that violent and horror films could influence a killer. But biological research makes the aforementioned theory possible. Dr. Patricia Greenfield, a developmental psychologist from UCLA, was noted by Ramsland (n.d.) to have said that mirror neurons within the human brain “provide a powerful biological foundation for the evolution of culture.” These mirror neurons stimulates an individuals action, affects the way we emphasize and how we act. Children who may have “broken” or “less active neurons” who watch violent or horror films/movies could behave violently in relation to what they saw, since the feeling of empathy is not magnified or present (Ramsland, n.d.). But the aforementioned hypothesis is just a probable explanation and suggestion on how media violence affects the actions of particular individuals Ramsland, n.d.). Moreover, not all who watch violent or horror films are affected, however it does inspire some to act out what he or she saw. The movies do not make a person kill but it has given out “ideas and methods” that provides reason for an individual to kill and that their actions are justified (Ramsland (n.d.). So it could be considered that whatever we see or hear has a great impact on our entire being. It may be true that said movies, games or shows are figments of imagination, but they could also be used as outlets for frustrations, angers and depression that may boil over given the right time. Taking Tsutomu Miyazakis mental case a little further, an article referring to “hikikomori” phenomenon was discussed in Psychology Wiki (n.d), and it was mentioned therein that his violent tendencies and grotesque way of killing could be attributed to this kind of disorder. Hikikomori is a Japanese term that refers to the reclusive and withdrawal tendencies of adolescents and young adults who often “seek extreme degrees of isolation and confinement due to various personal and social factors (Psychology Wiki (n.d.)”. The prevalence of hikikomori in Japan could be because of the following: 1. Middle income families in Japan normally allows parents to care for their children or child indefinitely. Providing free food and shelter. Based on studies, children from low income families in Japan do not suffer from this illness because they are forced to go out at an early age and work should they be unable to complete their education. Thus, children from lower income families are usually able to socialize early and the tendency to acquire hikikomori is nil. 2. The parents inability to recognize and act on their childs persistent isolation and seclusion tendencies until it is too late. 3. Employment in Japan does not guarantee a lifetime employment as it has in the past. This situation does not offer any kind of life or long term goal and makes them susceptible to social withdrawal which is hikikomori. In connection to the above, the Japanese education system is like most kinds of educational systems found in China, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and India, where great demands for successful achievements are required from the youth. High expectations from parents and the society to succeed at every given examination induces great stress, where a “pass or fail” ideology is mandated. The more prestigious the university, the harder the examinations given in every level. Aside from this, peer or co-student pressure comes in the form of harassment and bullying for different reasons which includes, physical appearance, social/financial status and education or athletic performance. Personal goals like finding a worthwhile lifetime employment gives cause and justification for living a more normal and sedate life. This is because an individual has something to look forward to in the future. His or her efforts being exerted at the present, which could divert him or her from construing any acts out of the norm and engaging in isolated activities like watching videos or playing games with aggressive nature, could aid a person a lot in leading a life which is free of murderous impulses. As for parents of children who suffer hikikomori, they usually fail to recognize the syndrome probably because they think that it is quite normal for their child to shy away from social activities outside the home. And there may be instances when it is the parents themselves who isolate their child from intermingling with his or her peers in society due to a variety of reasons. Consequently, the effects of prolonged withdrawal because the child or youth cannot come up with the expectations of the society enhances losing social skills that may in one way or another divert attention from the fantasy world of comics, television and movies (anime) that usually depicts violence and other scenarios not suited to having a healthy mind and sound emotions. Although experts say that those who suffer extreme hikikomori do not usually venture out to attack strangers and the usual recipients of their anger and frustrations are their own family members. In another similar electronic article, Israel (n.d.) noted Robert Liebert and Robert Barons study about “Short-Term effects of Televised Aggression on Childrens Aggressive Behavior.” The document summarily conveyed that viewing violent scenes increases the childs willingness to be an aggressor and could become increasingly violent. In the same article, the UCLA Center for Communication Policy Television Violence Monitoring project claims that children and adults who consistently watch numerous violent activities on the screen at home or in the movie house have “attitudes and values that favor the use of violence (Israel, n.d.).” Considering the preceding statements, Miyazaki became a social outcast because of his inborn deformity and being unable to come up with what was expected of him; like going into a prestigious university and earning a degree, may have been contributory factors that propelled him to commit murder. Adding salt to injury were the kinds of movies and television shows he likes to watch that actually gave him ideas on how he would perform his murderous deeds. The proof of which are the thousand video cassettes which held films of violence and horror; and the pornographic manga comics that were found in his living quarters. But the idea of being greatly affected by the movies he watched and the pornographic comics/magazines he read are debatable because the connection of which are not conclusive and not scientifically proven. Therefore, it may be true that Miyazaki was mentally ill. He was delusional in the sense that his perception of right and wrong was thoroughly distorted. He was also in the likelihood of suffering from schizophrenia since he claimed of being unable to remember killing the victims and owing up to the crime. He was also indifferent during the period of his trails and never apologized to the families of his victims. He likewise had hallucinations because he claims to have seen his alter ego “the Rat Man” of whom he even drew pictures of. All of which are signs of schizophrenia. Having a relatively normal childhood does not guarantee or prevent a person from acting out of the ordinary. Often, what really matters most are the principles that are ingrained in a childs mind while growing up, and the loving support given by close relatives especially parents, during the formative teenage years. Although it cannot be taken for granted that such factors like watching violent movies/films, social withdrawal and failed expectations from family and the society in general could turn a sane human being to a criminal psychopath; it is best to give the benefit of the doubt that these factors are contributory to the wellness and stability of an individuals mental and emotional state. As for Tsutomu Miyazaki, it is quite unfortunate that his father committed suicide because his son was accused and convicted of murder. It just goes to show how high his parents expectations of him were. Thus, when he failed to become a dignified individual as they expected, dying was better than being smeared with the embarrassment of having a child who is a highly profiled killer. References Israel, Shema. (n.d.) Idiot Machine. Retrieved on July 24, 2008 from http://sami119.tripod.com/shemaisrael/id28.html Kunczik, Michael. (n.d.) Violence and Mass Media: A Summary of Theories and Research. Retrieved on July 22, 2008 from http://www.fes.de/interntl/muk/mass-c1.html Lippit, Akira Mizuta. (n.d.). The Dead Emperors New Clothes: Television, Japan and the Subject of Multiplicity. Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://proxy.arts.uci.edu/~nideffer/_SPEED_/1.2/lippit.html Lewis, Leo. (18 June 2008). Japanese “cannibal killer” Tsutomu Miyazaki executed in Tokyo. Jiji Press, The Times Online. Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article/article4156285.ece Mendoza, Antonio. (n.d.). Internet Crime Archives: Serial Killer Hit List – Part 4. Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://www.mayhem.net/Crime/serial4.htm#miyazaki Psychology Wiki. (n.d.) Hikikomori. Retrieved on July 22, 2008 from http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Hikikomori Ramsland, Katherine. (n.d.) “Movies Made Me Murder”: True tv Crime Library Retrieved on July 21, 2008 from http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology /movies_made_me_kill/13.html Whiteperil.com (31 January 2006). Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://whiteperil.com/japan/archives/archive_2006_01.shtml Read More