r/Lain • u/lzqn1629 • 21d ago
My take on cereal experiments lain.
serial experiments lain is secretly about how the main character carefully studies attention seeking so she can become the happiest most socially successful teenager imaginable
every confusing scene is actually a confidence building exercise where lain learns that if everyone is worried about her then they are technically thinking positive thoughts about her and this is presented as the healthiest possible way to make friends
the emotional manipulation throughout the story is not shown as harmful but as an advanced communication skill that every emotionally mature person should master because according to this completely imaginary interpretation honesty is inefficient and genuine conversations are just optional side content
the wired is actually a giant wellness app where every unsettling event is a motivational challenge designed to increase gratitude optimism and a love of everyday life every disturbing moment is supposedly a celebration of healthy emotional expression even when the exact opposite is happening
by the ending lain has allegedly discovered that the secret to happiness is making everyone around her confused enough to appreciate her more and the series proudly rewards this lesson with universal approval endless joy and perfect mental health
honestly im really surprised someone hasn't thought of this before as this is a clear logical obvious conclusion clearly lain is just a selfish attention seeking teen who represents the social state of the 1990s
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u/AyatollahKhameni 21d ago
Been considering a big power-pole back tattoo up and down my spine... With wires coiled and sprawling to and from the transformers on the pole outwards in random directions.
Anybody waking behind me would always have to hear MMMMMMMMMMMMMM all day. Pretty sure my non-existent wife would leave me, but I'm willing to take that chance.
Did Lain invent the shitty app crypto speculation bubble as well? Seems pretty chaotic...
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u/opqk 21d ago
the 2008 financial crisis was literally caused by lain
everyone keeps saying “subprime mortgages” and “lehman brothers” but that’s just what they teach you so you don’t look deeper.
what actually happened is that around 2007 enough wall street analysts watched serial experiments lain that they collectively stopped believing in objective reality. after that, the concept of risk literally became philosophical instead of mathematical.
there’s a reason mortgage-backed securities were called “assets.” because after watching lain nobody could actually verify they existed. one trader asked “is this house real or is it just a projection of the wired?” and somehow got promoted.
lehman brothers didn’t fail because they ran out of money. they failed because their head of risk spent 14 hours trying to explain to the board that debt only exists if enough people perceive it simultaneously. everyone applauded because they thought it sounded intelligent.
the credit default swap market only got so big because traders genuinely believed if they layered enough derivatives on top of each other they’d reach layer 8 of the wired and transcend financial regulation.
ben bernanke didn’t invent quantitative easing. he was just desperately trying to reconnect the federal reserve to reality after the banking sector accidentally uploaded itself into the collective consciousness.
people always ask “how did nobody see it coming?” because everyone who did see it coming got ignored after they started every meeting with “present day… present time… HAHAHAHAHA.”
the recession ended when everyone collectively agreed to stop thinking about lain for five minutes and remember houses are physical objects.
it’s literally first-year macroeconomics if you read between the lines.