I'm not saying that the political elite are brainwashed, I'm saying that there's brainwashing because of the political elite. They're pushed into a corner and have turned to increasingly desperate methods of maintaining their power in the face of domestic revolution and foreign aggression. The kidnapping and brainwashing thing came about recently in the city's history. Though I suppose lore doesn't matter if the presence of brainwashing is the issue.
I don't think the trope is comparable to the other stuff you mentioned because it's present in a lot of non-Asian western media too. Like Clockwork Orange, BioShock, the three anti-authoritarian books everyone reads in high school, uh Harry Potter I think.
But yeah it pretty much is the Manchurian Candidate. I think there's less bite to it because there are no communists, liberals, politicians, or real countries involved but yeah the story would be better off without it.
I'm not saying that the political elite are brainwashed, I'm saying that there's brainwashing because of the political elite. They're pushed into a corner and have turned to increasingly desperate methods of maintaining their power in the face of domestic revolution and foreign aggression. The kidnapping and brainwashing thing came about recently in the city's history. Though I suppose lore doesn't matter if the presence of brainwashing is the issue.
I don't think the trope is comparable to the other stuff you mentioned because it's present in a lot of non-Asian western media too. Like Clockwork Orange, BioShock, the three anti-authoritarian books everyone reads in high school, uh Harry Potter I think.
But yeah it pretty much is the Manchurian Candidate. I think there's less bite to it because there are no communists, liberals, politicians, or real countries involved but yeah the story would be better off without it.