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The anime series Death Note comprises thirty-seven twenty-minute episodes and aired in Japan in 2006-2007. It is based on the Death Note manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. Death Note tells the story of an extremely intelligent high school student, Light Yagami, who comes across the Death Note, a notebook that kills any person whose name is written into it. The first episode, 'Rebirth', allows the audience to observe Light's initial reaction to finding the notebook, and explore the ethical dilemma he faces upon obtaining such power: to kill or not to kill?
TOPIC
If you were to ask your class, 'If a character killed someone, would that make them good or evil?', the majority of your class would likely respond that the character is a 'bad guy'. But Death Note turns the familiar notions of good and evil on their heads, undercutting audience expectations about the representation of heroes and villains by illuminating the darkness and light that reside in everyone.
From early childhood, we are trained to recognise and accept a highly conventional representation of heroes and villains through our encounters with mainstream screen texts. However, by Year 11, English and Media Arts students are required to be able to decode and challenge media texts and to explore the process of representation. By analysing how the portrayal of good and evil is reconfigured in Death Note, students can practise their ability to re-examine modern representations of established archetypes.
ANALYSIS
'Rebirth' challenges and destabilises the audience's interpretation of good and evil. Contrasting character types are established in the opening scenes as the audience is introduced to the two main characters in their different worlds. First we meet Ryuk, the bored shinigami,1 who is reminiscent of...