The visions of flying dragons from Rio’s past are so vivid when contrasted with his current level of perception. Though his senses have dulled with age, his recollection of his youth is still ever-present in his mind’s eye. We all experience this as the neuroplasticity of our own childhoods wane into adulthood, leaving the memories of our formative years firmly implanted much deeper in our brain than new memories we form much later in life. The lessons & trauma & more that we gain in our first couple of decades on Earth have a profound effect on the rest of our lives, without question, and the choices we make during this time as a result ultimately shape us into the person we will be, with some exceptions.
A panel of Calvin & Hobbes from 1994 references this same phenomenon when Calvin’s dad says “Why is it I can recall a cigarette ad jingle from 25 years ago, but I can’t remember what I just got up to do?” Whatever we fill our heads with in our youth, good or bad, will stick with us forever, even as we lose our ability to actually function properly. This is why it is so imperative that we focus on positive media & literature, especially in what we provide to children. In a major sense, the amount of media & literature we have access to today has been wildly advancing with every generation, and there isn’t much specific precedence people who grow up with this level of access to film, advertising, pop music, cartoons, video games, fan fiction, internet porn, and more; these are uncharted waters into which our children wade.
Rio spent his youth on a peaceful island watching his fellow dragons soar through the skies. As such, he still has those memories to fall back to in old age. People who experience great trauma during those years will eventually return to those traumatic memories. This partially contributes to society’s particularly strong disdain for those who harm children because we all understand, if only subconsciously, that this will potentially truly ruin that human’s entire life due to those childhood traumas.
Now, that is not to say that anyone with some childhood trauma will be incapable of leading a fulfilled life. In fact, I reckon that most people, and certainly most interesting people, do indeed have a bit of childhood trauma, but that does not mean we should be encouraging & allowing such things to happen openly. Our 5 Straw Hats all have some significant childhood traumas, being almost entirely orphans and dealing with everything that entails, yet they are genuine heroes.
In a less than heroic moment, however, this episode includes the line “This is so unfair, we men do all the work” from Usopp as he complains about having to do manual labour while Nami walks in front, unburdened. This observation alludes to a power dynamic in which women have conspired to force the men to perform difficult physical tasks. However, this logic has some immediate fallacies, not the least of which is just that the average woman is genetically less-strong than a man. A more compelling argument, however, is specialization, a theme we have discussed in this blog previously. As navigator, Nami is better suited to walk ahead and ensure the group is heading the proper direction. What’s more, if she were left exhausted from carrying the heavy weight, she would be less able to perform other critical functions that she serves on the crew. Additionally, she is the most socially suave Straw Hat, and habitually walking ahead gives her the opportunity to best control how they are perceived by others, or engage in conversation with a passerby.
The mentality that Usopp demonstrates in this scene would generally be considered misogynistic in polite society, but it is also widely recognized as a factual truth, as well. This dichotomy presents society with a mirror on what we know is real and how we feel about it. There is little to disagree with in the notion that men are typically expected to perform manual labour, but most men would also express little disagreement with this arrangement in the first place. This is just a cultural norm informed by biology that persists across the planet Earth, and people of all sex & gender tend to have a negative outlook on someone who even brings it up, much less complains about it. As such, the rest of the crew more or less just ignores & glosses over Usopp’s remark, understanding that he has little worldly experience.
Last note, we are given a radical look at the difference between good & evil in how our characters view food waste. Although we have been shown Sanji’s attitude in previous episodes, this one has a fresh reminder when the pot of rice spills on Rio, resulting in Sanji having terse words with Apis. On the other team, we see Admiral Nelson having a meal on standby in case he gets hungry, and then knocking it to the ground in frustration without regard. These contrasting mentalities give powerful insight into their differing philosophies. The use & waste of any resource has more to do with culture than ability. Sanji works hard for what he has and makes it last in an efficient manner, whereas Nelson is living on easy money and doesn’t care if his garbage appears decadent. Marx would call this dichotomy the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.