Escaping the Whirls of Karma
“In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true that man has no control; even over his own will.”
The graphic novel Berserk written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura is perhaps the greatest piece of modern art to deploy the theme of karma. Karma in this instance can also be referred to as reincarnation or destiny. In Hinduism karma is often symbolically depicted as a wheel, due to the cyclical shape and the endless possibility for rotations. In Berserk the main character, Guts, constantly ponders if he will ever be able to escape the whirls of karma.
Though Guts does not physically die there are numerous instances throughout the story where Guts ‘dies’ and is reincarnated as a new man. The most prominent example of this can be seen where Guts survives the horrors of the Eclipse. His entire mercenary company is brutally massacred by demons and his lover Casca is raped by his best friend Griffith. The old Guts dies in that evil realm to later rise as a new Guts: The Black Swordsmen. He is then burdened with a new life mission and a new curse, as he receives a demonic brand on his neck that drastically changes his life. Even his body is new, as he loses an eye and an arm at the elbow. Guts also falls into a pool of blood and burst forth sputtering and coughing. It is possible that this sequence represents some form of unholy baptism, which itself is representative of the death to an old life of sin and a rebirth into a new spirit filled life. The character Griffith is reborn as well. Where he was once a man he arises from the Eclipse as the powerful entity Femto. This is representative of the possibilities within karma to be reincarnated into anything from an insect to a god.
In the famous science fiction movie, The Matrix, the Wachowskis combine western fears of AI with eastern philosophy and thought to create a film that effectively utilizes the theme of reincarnation. The main character Neo, a purposeful anagram for ‘one,’ is revealed in the second film to be the most recent iteration of many ‘ones.’ Neo, like his forbears, is forever locked in a battle against the machines both in and outside the Matrix, an artificial reality that uses human slaves as an energy source. Only through Neo’s sacrifice in the final movie does he create peace between man and the machines. However, it is not a lasting peace implying the cyclically natural of the war and reality.
Before Neo is able to broker peace, his failure seems inevitable. Neo is told that the machines have defeated mankind many times already. The evidence of this is suggested by the ancient and endless ruins that sprawl around the human city of Zion. This revelation heightens the importance of Neo’s success while also creating a sense of uncertainty in the audience. If countless others failed before, how can Neo win now? Why is this time any different than the others? Though in the end, Neo does not defeat the machines he still manages to reach an agreement. The ‘ones’ of before were unable to succeed to the same degree as he did. Neo’s small victory alludes to the next major theme connected with karma: escaping karma.
Looking back to the earlier quote from Berserk, one cannot read the ominous ponderings by the narrator and not be filled with a sense of dread. In recent pieces of art, characters have made it their quest to escape from karma and end the cycle of rebirth. Two examples that employ this theme to great effectiveness are Naruto and Edge of Tomorrow. In both stories, the main characters strive to cease the cycle of reincarnation or break the wheel as it were. In Naruto, the protagonist Naruto and his rival Sasuke are the reincarnations of two powerful beings known as Ashura and Indra. Naruto and Sasuke share many aspects with their predecessors from abilities to personalities. Additionally, the audience discovers that there was another pair reincarnated before Naruto and Sasuke in the form of Hashirama and Madara. Throughout the story, there is constant bloodshed and suffering. Naruto repeatedly states that he will end the cycle of hatred that has been birthed from undying revenge. But in order to break the cycle, he must reconcile his relationship with Sasuke as his previous lives were unable to do so themselves. Ashura and Hashirama were both able to defeat Indra and Madara but because they could not reconcile their differences the wheel spun on. In the end, Naruto successfully defeats Sasuke and heals the schism between their ideologies, thus ending the cycle of reincarnation. Naruto is effectively able to escape the wheel of karma that threatened to reap more unending suffering.
In the same way, the character William Cage works to escape reincarnation in Edge of Tomorrow. The plot of the movie is that an alien race has invaded earth and is unstoppable due to their ability to reset time. This effectively allows them to counter anything thrown against them because they know exactly what is coming. The ability of the aliens is unknown to mankind save for Cage and his few companions. In Cage’s first encounter with the aliens, he kills an alien Alpha with an explosion causing the alien to bleed all over him. When Cage awakens, he finds that he is not dead but alive. He is lying on the ground and is kicked awake to the command of “Maggot!” Cage later discovers that he now possesses the ability to reset the day as the aliens could. From that point on he slowly evolves into a god of war. With each death he gradually becomes an unstoppable warrior, dispatching everything in his wake. Although, his power does not come without a price. He has to witness the death of his companion, Rita, again and again, and again. The torment of watching her die is compounded by the fact that should he fail humanity will be wiped out.
Cage begins his arc as a maggot but ends his story as a god. His quest throughout the story is to defeat the alien hive mind known as the Omega. Although the undercurrent of the story is that he is trapped in the whirls of karma. Endlessly failing. Forever dying. Eternally suffering. His success does not come after he has killed the Omega but when he awakens the next morning. He is no longer a maggot, as he wakes up in a helicopter, suggestive of a heavenly state instead of on a pile of bags on the earth. His joy truly comes from the fact that he is no longer trapped in the wheel of karma.
An important aspect of Cage’s reincarnation is that he does indeed escape. Cage starts the story as a coward and a man who threatens to blackmail his superiors. However, after countless deaths, he slowly becomes more courageous, heroic, and selfless. Cage’s story could have finished with his failure against the aliens and the audience would have felt that he at least failed a much better man than he started. But, that is not what Cage, nor the audience truly desires. He must escape reincarnation. That is the only way to end true suffering. Much like Naruto, success is not simply defeating their immediate enemy. Naruto’s past lives all defeated their respective rival but due to their inability to reconcile with their rival, the cycle of hatred spins on. True and perfect victory in these stories is not earned until the cycle is no more.
In all the works covered so far, reincarnation is never presented as a favorable force. The theme of karma, therefore, is an effective antagonist in storytelling. Recalling again the quote used at the beginning of this piece, karma or destiny acts as an unknowable force that controls man. Man is but a slave and is totally unable to control his own life. If there was one commonality amongst man it is that humans want to be in control. Obviously, people understand that countless things are in fact out of their control and that a healthy outlook on life is that one cannot control everything. Nevertheless, it makes for an exciting story to see a character struggle against cosmic forces that dictate their life. An antagonist, such as karma, that can and has infinitely manipulated the protagonist is certainly intimidating. A force like this presents itself as unknowable, unbeatable, and inescapable. Yet to see a hero battle this force all the same, despite the odds, creates quite an endearing character.
Take Guts from Berserk. He is aptly dubbed The Struggler by the ancient character Skull Knight (who most likely is the previous incarnation of Guts). Guts quite literally struggles against the seemingly inescapable destiny that has been forced upon him. His efforts at times seem to be in vain as he wages war against demonic and cosmic forces far older and more powerful than himself. But he fights all the same. That is why he is so easy to root for despite his questionable moral choices and often abrasive personality. Guts, Neo, Naruto and Cage all are attempting to escape the whirls of karma. Their foe has never known defeat while their past lives have only known defeat. If utilized effectively, karma can be a truly terrifying force for a story’s hero to overcome. Yet still, the hero struggles on, and that’s what makes them an excellent character.
