2019/07/21 God was Killed by the Gun: A Wind Named Amnesia
A wind named amnesia. An anime film from 1990 made by Madhouse which is little known. The premise goes that a wind swept over the earth and everyone's memories were erased. How to speak, how to work tools, everything. In an instant man was reverted to that of a primitive. Our protagonists, for various reasons, have regained some of their knowledge and they journey through the reshaped earth enacting modern moral crusades against the savages. The part of the movie in question today is from around 36 mins in to 42 mins in.
A small tribe had formed among the primitive men. A high tech laser shooting crane from a by-gone era had been acquired by this group and it was treated as a kind of god. The crane was piloted by a corrupt village elder who demanded a human sacrifice in order to keep the god appeased. A necessary step in human evolution wherein we learn to sacrifice to a higher power - similar to the popular marshmallow test wherein a child has to forego a marshmallow in the present to receive two in the future. Our protagonist, determined to save the girl being sacrificed, charges in and saves the sacrificed girl from the human-crushing claw. The operator of the crane goes berserk, flicking every switch and lever in sight, killing many more. The punishment for being able to sacrifice to the 'higher power' of the future is death and famine. Protag-kun then pulls out his magnum and, with extreme accuracy, fires straight at the operator, god's, forehead, stopping the giant crane. The people no longer have a leader; after the death of their god where will their guidance and meaning come from. Our adventurer decks out the ex-sheriff with knowledge of how to use a gun and how to open tinned food. Upon the death of god, society is ruled by the gun and the knowledge of how to open food. Finally the badge of sheriff is pinned to his chest - the holy identifier of authority. God was killed and replaced by the gun.