Perfect Blue

Perfect Blue came out in 1997, and somehow it predicted the internet, stan culture, identity collapse, reality TV, and the particular flavor of dread that comes from seeing your own face reflected back at you a hundred times a day, all while being a tight, terrifying thriller about a pop idol trying to become an actress. One thing that keeps me coming back to watch it again and again is that it's not only terrifying. It's very unfortunate. In the beginning, Mima is a person who is only interested in being taken seriously. However, as the movie progresses, her sense of self is gradually stripped away, and by the end, you aren't even sure who is haunting who anymore. The distinction between fan, predator, protector, and self is so seamless that you don't even see the knife until it's already being inserted into your body. In a technological sense, it's unreal. Even after several decades, the way in which Satoshi Kon transitions between reality, fantasy, illusion, and performance, often all within the same shot, continues to be a mind-boggling experience. Due to the fact that the movie does not provide you with any secure base, you experience Mima's confusion. In this scenario, every window, every mirror, and every flashing computer screen becomes a potential danger. If you think about,"Mima's Room" is the name of the website that Mima's stalker runs. On this website, he posts every detail of her life, asserts that he knows her actual nature, and expresses his feelings of personal betrayal if she makes decisions that he does not agree with. Does this sound familiar to you? In 2026, that covers each and every online fan community. Those "true fans" who believe they have ownership over the artist. The comment sections that will analyze each and every professional move. It just truly shows how us a society of fandom has come to, it is incredibly haunting to see how Satoshi Kon predicted all this in 1997. Then there is the identity problem that serves as the driving force of the movie. Mima is asked to act on a regular basis, first as a pure idol, then as a weak victim on a crime drama, and last as a semi-naked model for a photoshoot that she obviously does not want to do. Each and every version of her is a product. Everyone's decision is evaluated. In the near future, she will be unable to determine which version is accurate because everyone else has already made the decision for her. And the internet in Perfect Blue isn't a tool; rather, it is a maze. Sites that are anonymous. False personalities are used. The way in which false information about a person can spread more quickly than the truth. The way your own past posts can be screenshotted and weaponized against you. The manner in which reality becomes up to bargaining when everyone has a platform and no one is accountable for their actions. 5 stars. A perfect nightmare that only gets more terrifying as the calendar moves forward. Essential for anyone who's ever felt like they're performing their own life, which, let's be honest, is all of us now.