A thread on how Attack on Titan explores the cruelty of the world, cycles of hatred, and the behaviour of those stuck in it.

Lots of manga spoilers so I’ll tag the thread with the hashtag #AoTali so you can mute it if you’d like.

Before I picked up the post-anime content, I said this. The cruelty of the world in AoT has always been such an interesting topic to me, so I was glad to see it expanded on in the manga. #AoTali https://twitter.com/soikuraa/status/1266405325088993280

The cruelty of the world’s a pretty vast topic, but I want to discuss the human vs human side of things and how that influences the behaviours of a lot of our characters. #AoTali

Behavioural & personality psychology has a ton of models & theories, but it’s generally agreed that personality & behaviour are shaped by a mix of genetics, and one’s environment. It seems obvious enough, but when judging others, we rarely consider the latter. #AoTali

Everybody has their own circumstances. You will rarely find people acting the way they do without a reason. We’re all human. Our behaviours are undoubtedly shaped by past experiences, for better or worse. AoT explores the behaviour of those trapped in a cruel world. #AoTali

That being said, the cruelty of the world really starts emerging as a theme in Uprising imo. Yes, bodies drop left & right previously in the series, but this is when the environmental pressure to act a certain way (eg/ killing other humans) go against their own beliefs. #AoTali

The arc introduces the notion of killing others over ideological conflicts. Armin’s guilt & Jean’s reluctance over killing reinforce the tragic nature of this idea.

Levi also points out that he doesn’t even know if what they did was right; but they did what he had to do. #AoTali

At that point in the series, you’d have thought the SC are absolutely right. But this marks the start of the question of “Who’s in the right? Who’s in the wrong? What’s the truth?” For most of the characters, the truth is a product of their environment. #AoTali

Kruger says it best. There’s no such thing as one solid truth. There are many truths in this world. Many truths, from many experiences, from many environments.

Therefore, these truths stem from the cruelty the characters suffer. #AoTali

The Marleyans believed Ymir was a devil, because they were oppressed by the Eldian king.

The islanders believed that Marleyans were devils for destroying their homes.

The mainland thought the same of the islanders, devils for causing “good” eldians to suffer in Marley. #AoTali

For the most part, people do what they perceive they have to do. These perceptions stem from their beliefs, which are shaped by their environment.

Thus, never ending cycles of hatred & anger is born from the cruelty these people are subjected to. #AoTali

The Warriors, subjects of discrimination, travel to Paradis for their families’ & race’s sake. They inspire hatred & helplessness in the islanders, not unlike theirs.

Eren then comes & massacres Liberio, repeating the cycle in a new generation, shown through Gabi. #AoTali

The cruelty of the world & cycles of hatred are addressed through Gabi’s character. Her arc is the perfect embodiment of these themes. She lives a shit life because of discrimination of the Eldians in Marley. The cause? Nothing she had anything to do with. #AoTali

She’s treated that way just for her heritage. There’s nothing she can do about it; the world is just that cruel sometimes.

Tired of herself, family, and friends being labeled, she directs that energy to proving that they’re “good Eldians”. #AoTali

But we know the Islanders weren’t “bad” either. This is an example of how the cruelty of the world can perpetuate cycles of hatred.

The Raid on Liberio, an action taken by Eren because he felt he had no other choice, reinforces this cruel cycle even more. #AoTali

We know what happens next; she kills Sasha out of anger, gaining the hatred of Nicolo & Kaya, continuing the cycle.

However, Isayama tries to tell us that these cycles can be broken if we learn to understand each other like Gabi & the Blouse family did. #AoTali

He tells us that Gabi wasn’t in the wrong, that she’s a victim of her circumstances, like many others in the show. He does it brilliantly through the scope of a hunter (papa Blouse). The world’s a big forest where people are fighting for survival. #AoTali

The longer you stay in the forest, the longer you stay in those cycles of hatred, the harsher the consequences. #AoTali

Although Gabi’s character revolves around these themes centrally, many other characters embrace it. Bertholdt & Reiner reach the same understanding. Nobody’s in the wrong or outright evil, that’s just how the world is. It’s just what they had to do. #AoTali

Although Isayama shows us how far sympathy can go with Gabi, he goes the complete opposite way with Eren. Eren is dealing with these same issues on a much larger scale, with much higher stakes. #AoTali

The truth is, discrimination & hatred run very deep. Gabi is accepted by the Blouses while Paradis is constantly rejected by the world. The lives of the island are on Eren’s shoulders. He preferred to talk things out, but Isayama shows how difficult a large-scale fix is. #AoTali

Isayama shows us how the environment shapes the motivations of our “good guys” like the SC & Grisha for a huge chunk of the series. It is precisely because he introduces these themes earlier, that they’re effective when he flips the story on its head in Marley. #AoTali

You come to the realization that wow, the Warriors are just as human as our protagonists, shaped by this cruel world. There is no blatant evil or bad side in Attack on Titan. There are only people shaped by their environments & falling into cycles of hatred. #AoTali

AoT really exposes how ugly war & fighting is; everybody has their reasons to fight. There are no clear cut heroes & villains, just a bunch of blood being spilt. #AoTali

Attack on Titan explores the concepts of the cruelty of the world & cycles of hatred and their effects on human behaviour, as well as potential solutions and the difficulty in finding a large scale solution to them brilliantly.
Thank you for reading this long ass thread. #AoTali