Tetsuo: The Iron Man

Tetsuo the Iron Man is a 1989 Japanese cyberpunk horror film, written, produced, edited, and directed by Shinya Tsukamoto. The film stars Tomorowo Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara and Shinya Tsukamoto. The film tells the story of a Salaryman (Tomorowo Taguchi) who with his Girlfriend (Kei Fujiwara) accidentally kill a Metal Fetishist (Shinya Tsukamoto) in a hit-and-run. The spirit of the metal fetishist seemingly back from the dead then gets his revenge as the salarymen turns into a hybrid of flesh and metal. At first Tetsuo the Iron Man seems nothing more than an exercise in weirdness and surrealism however scratch a little further and the film becomes in a metaphor for both the technological fear and paranoia within Japans industrialised society, as well as acting as an advocate for this technological takeover expressing an overt need and desire for mankind’s assimilation into the machine, as well as acting as an allegory for homosexuality.

Before even analysing the first frame of the film the title should be taken into consideration. Tetsuo is a Japanese word for either iron husband or wise man. The meaning of iron husband within the film is fairly self-explanatory with the salarymen turning into a thrash metal hybrid, however the meaning of the word wise man could be used in order to demonstrate the idea of a technological takeover of mankind to be inevitable and these men acting as willing participants or as an ironic statement with their bodies consumed by metal and turn into monsters losing their humanity.

In the opening sequence of the film the Metal Fetishist walks through a junkyard into his home, with a room covered in metal and pictures of famous athletes as industrial music plays in the background. He then cuts opening his leg and after running a metal bar through his teeth he inserts it into the opening. As pictures of man are destroyed, he finds that is wound is ridden with maggots and runs down the street to be hit by car as jazz music plays, with the cinematography showcasing this experience as an erotic act with close-ups of the metal grill. The gory grotesqueness of this scene clearly demonstrates an element of technological fear and paranoia due to Japan’s industrialised society as evidence with the bloody visceral away metal which is inserted into the body. However due to the Metal Fetishist’s active participation in his assimilation of the metal scene could be taken as being proactive in mankind’s technological takeover and ultimately welcoming. This scene as well as the film destroys the differences between man and machine. As seen throughout the film machines are inserted and replaced into humanities sexual desires, destroying the separation of man and machine is through society humanity desires machines and therefore meaning that technology shapes their sexual desires. This scene could also be taking as a metaphor for homosexuality with metal fetishist inserting a phallic metal rod into himself therefore awaking his sexual desires.

In the footage used in the opening credit sequence a industrial factory light switches on and off above the Salaryman, imagery of machinery is juxtaposed with the Salaryman moving in a sporadic way to industrial sounds, these actions get more intense until the title appears with text looking like static on the TV. This scene both demonstrates humanity’s technological fear and paranoia with technology machinery with the salarymen acting bizarre fashion, as well as a need and desire for technology with the salarymen acting in an erotic way towards this machinery and feeling a connection with it.

The first main scene of the film the Salaryman finds a stainless-steel chip from his razor in his cheek and pops it like a zit. This scene perfectly sets up the film’s dualistic dynamic throughout the film as Tetsuo the Iron Man both comments on humanity’s technological fear and paranoia particularly in Japan’s industrialised society, as well as expressing the ideology of a pro technological takeover and a need for man’s assimilation into the machine. Film then cuts the video footage of the Salaryman and in his Girlfriend having sex near the car crash where they hit the Metal Fetishist with the dying man watching. Throughout the film it shows how machinery is used in order to show humanities sexual desires. The artificiality of technology is inserted into the natural idea of human sexuality. The idea of humanities sexuality being paralleled by machines, destroys the idea of a divide between man and machine showcasing humanity is just another product. Through society machines and technology shape people’s sexual desires therefore the merge with man and machine in a sexual way is merely the natural progression of this idea.

The Salaryman then goes to a train station sitting next to a woman and she looks at what seems to be a smouldering piece of metal with the soul of the Metal Fetishist inside of it. As she prods at it, she makes the Metal Fetishist react in pain and becomes part machine herself chasing down the Salaryman. This scene clearly indicates humanities technological fears and paranoia especially in Japan with their over industrialised society. The woman chases the Salaryman down through the subway station where she corners him at the public toilet. The Salaryman sticks a pencil in her neck and runs away, however the woman corners him as he is now in a garage and fights back against as she rips her breast and goes to attack him. He fights back as she is seemingly under the control of the metal fetishist and ends up killing her. Again, this scene demonstrates the technological fear and paranoia of the film due to Japan’s industrialised society with the mutated hybrid of flesh and metal within the woman chasing him down and trying to kill him. This scene also demonstrates how it inserts technology into human sexuality as throughout the film reproductive organs are used in order to highlight humanities sexual desires to be replaced by machines. The film demonstrates that humanity is just another machine and that machines shape our sexuality and through technology we experience sexual desires.

The Salaryman then sees that his arm has been transformed into a hybrid of flesh and metal as he moves through the street using very impressive editing combining fast forwarding with stop motion effects. This scene further indicates the technological fear and paranoia in the film due to Japan’s industrialised society. The film shows that the metal fetishist has seemingly come back from the dead to enact vengeance upon them as they killed him in a car crash and then had sex in the wreckage. Again, this clearly demonstrates how Japan’s industrialised society results in technological fear and paranoia. This also again showcases how sexuality can be likened to a reproductive machine as technology is shown in contrast with human sexuality. Humanity is just another machine and lives amongst other machines throughout society as technology shapes people’s sexual desires. In a surreal dream sequence the salarymen dreams of his girlfriend who dances erotically with a hose like phallus before sodomising him. This again showcases a pro technological message and expresses a need for machines and humanity to combine as there should be no difference. Technology being a part of human sexuality is clearly shown with the salarymen engaging in anal sex with the woman’s robotic coil penis growth demonstrating how the divide between man and machine should be obliterated as technology shapes people’s sexual desires. This scene also clearly links into the homosexual subtext of the film, with the salarymen realising his own homosexuality.

After this dream sequence ends the Salaryman peels back the plaster of his face to reveal metal forming in his skin, clearly indicating the films fear and paranoia of a technological invasion. The insertion of technology into sexuality is further shown with the salarymen having sex with his Girlfriend as she leans on a fan, there climax punctuated with television static further highlighting this message. A very clear showcasing of this theme is when the Salaryman feeds his Girlfriend from a pan in an overtly sexual way, as her eating is punctuated with metallic sounds, such as her sexually licking the sausage like a penis overlaid with metallic scrapes. Her biting down on the sausage both literally and metaphorically makes the salarymen and the scene climax with a fatal bite transforming him into someone who is aroused by metal.

This idea is further showcased when the Salaryman is turned on by this infiltration of technology into sexuality and has sex with his girlfriend. This is interrupted however by technology invading the human body and inserting itself as the new dominant in human sexuality with him transforming into a hybrid of fleshy metal and sprouting a robotic drill penis. He runs away and hides in the bathroom as she says she wants to help him; he tells her to go away showing her his metal hand to scare her off. The Salaryman believes that this is a just punishment for his crimes since he killed the Metal Fetishist in a hit-and-run. Upon revealing himself to her she becomes terrified by his metallic face showcasing humanities technological fear and paranoia within society.

He attacks her with his drill penis, clearly showcasing the technological fear and paranoia in the film due to Japan’s industrialised society. This scene also again clearly demonstrates that there should be no divide between man and machine any more as it is evidently clear that humanities reproductive organs have been persevered through the insertion of technology into sexuality demonstrating humanity to be but yet another machine. Humans desire machines as through society has technology ultimately shapes people’s sexual desires. She fights back by burning his face in a frying pan showcasing technological fear and paranoia due to Japan’s industrialised society, which is further evidenced with her stabbing him in the leg with a knife. The Salaryman then uses electrocute himself seemingly powering up as the film demonstrates the desire for machines as technology is inserted into human sexuality. She ends up fighting back stabbing him in the neck before lying on top of him driving a knife into him in a sexual way she makes out with him on the floor. Technology is used in order to shape people’s sexual desires as the artificiality of technology is juxtaposed with human sexuality, as society and technology shape people’s ideas the film suggests that there is no divide between humanity and machine. She then commits suicide by impaling herself on his drill penis. As this suicide reflects fears and paranoia as of technology in Japanese industrialised society. This scene also clearly demonstrates how there is now no divide between man and machine as sexual desires can be artificially inserted through technology invading human sexuality. Humanity is ultimately part of the machine therefore society, technology and machines shape sexual desires.

The film then cuts to a POV shot going through a metal scrapyard in an industrial warehouse. There the Metal Fetishist prepares battle with a torch in hand, a TV shows the back story of how he came to be this way with a Doctor talking about a piece of metal stuck in his brain that cannot be removed. The film also gives more depth to the character with the Metal Fetishist being abused by his father as he beat him with a metal rod causing his fetish, which is shown alongside another flashback up in masturbating amongst metal. The Salaryman’s transformation into the Ironman clearly showcases the technological fear and paranoia of film due to Japan’s industrialised society, further indicated by when he lies his dead girlfriend in the bath with flowers around her demonstrating that he genuinely mourns her loss. The Salaryman then eats the metal pipe out of his dead Girlfriend, demonstrating the film to be pro technological and active in the machines assimilation. Destroying the boundaries of man and machine the film demonstrates a sexual need to bond with machines in order to create a new identity for humanity as well as highlighting homosexual undertones. The Metal Fetishist then brings the Salaryman a  warning he is coming for him to get revenge on striking him down during a hit-and-run incident, and then disposing the body before having sex against a tree with a dying man watching. Again the film seems to advocate for a mechanical artificiality to reproduction as sexual desires are juxtaposed with machines, inserting technology into sexuality the divide between man and machine becomes blurred as if technology is ultimately now part of human sexuality.

The Salaryman tries to electrocute himself in a suicide attempt but that just seems to turn him on more. This further showcases how in sexually desiring a mechanical element sex can boil down to a reproductive machine as the film demonstrates that technology is crucial in human sexuality. This sexuality allows the film to demonstrate the blurring between man and machine that humanities desires are created through a mechanical like infrastructure allowing technology to shape people’s sexual desires. As the Salaryman and the Metal Fetishist to prepare for battle, the Metal Fetishist puts eyeliner and lipstick on himself whilst also doing his hair further linking into the film’s homosexual themes. The Metal Fetishist on his way to do battle with the Salaryman erodes metal in his wake, showcasing that the character has accepted the need for humanities assimilation into the machine. The Metal Fetishist uses his powers in order to corrode everything resulting in liquid metal forming and metal being destroyed acting as if it has a mind of its own. This both showcases how technology will ultimately absorb mankind playing into its technological fear and paranoia especially in Japan’s industrial society. However, with the Metal Fetishist actively doing this the film showcases a pro-technological message, as the takeover is looked at in a positive light expressing a need for mans assimilation into the machine.

The Metal Fetishist possesses the body of the Salaryman’s dead Girlfriend to attack him before revealing his true form. This plays into the technological fear and paranoia of the film as symbolic of Japan’s industrialised society, due to a dead body being controlled, operated and ultimately destroyed by a entity that is part man part machine. However, yet again the film destroys the barrier between technology/machines and humanity as shown with this scene it demonstrates that the body, the world and society are all ultimately machines and therefore there is no difference between them. The idea of the Metal Fetishist using his Girlfriend also relates to the idea of the reproductive machine and how sexual desires are showcased with machines throughout the film the film inserts machinery and technology into human sexuality. The film believes that humanity is ultimately a machine and that our desires especially our sexual desires are controlled and shaped by machines and technology, as well as highlighting the films homosexual themes with a man controlling a woman.

The Metal Fetishist and then reveals himself as he burst out of the Salaryman’s Girlfriend. This yet again highlights technological fear and paranoia due to Japan’s industrialised society. The film asked the question what it means to be human by blurring the line between man and machine juxtaposing human sexuality with machinery as well as incorporating clear homosexual themes within this scene. These homosexual themes become even more present when the Metal Fetishist presents the Salaryman with flowers pushing them close against his face. The Metal Fetishist shows the Salaryman a “wonderful new world” whereby the earth is consumed by metal. This can either be taken as a showcasing of technological fear and paranoia due to Japan’s industrialised society, or it can be taken as a pro-technological take on this type of takeover expressing a need for our assimilation into the machine which is further showcased by the film showing people consumed by the machine as their body is eroded by metal. A fight then issues between the Salaryman and the Metal Fetishist showcasing the technological fear and paranoia within the film to due to Japan’s industrialised society. The back story of the Metal Fetishist is then shown. As a child he worked in a scrap metal yard with his father who beat and abused him with a metal rod. This resulted in him becoming a sadomasochistic metal fetishist giving more context to the beginning of the film where he inserts a similar metal rod into him like the one he was beaten with.

The Metal Fetishist and the Salaryman battle it out with the morphing of the Salaryman into a more metallic being showcasing clear sexual imagery as well as demonstrating the technological fear and paranoia of the film due to Japan’s industrialised society. But yet again the film also expresses a pro-technological stance and expresses a need for people’s assimilation into the machine, as both technology and humanity are both machines within the world and society and there should be no difference as the film blurs the line between the organic and the mechanical. The Salaryman is now pinned to the wall by his metal body showcasing technological fear and paranoia due to Japan’s industrialised society. The Metal Fetishist then actively transforms himself by removing his hand to form the barrel of a gun, showcasing the film to have a pro technological takeover message expressing the need for our assimilation into the machine. The Metal Fetishist explains that your body assimilates whatever metal you give it, as his first implant was rusty whilst the Salarymans razor was stainless steel, giving a slight context as to why they transform in the first place.

In the climax of the film the Salaryman and the Metal Fetishist formed together to create one entity. This demonstrates the idea of a pro-technological takeover expressing the need for assimilation into the machine, blurring the line between humanity and technology and that humans, the world and society are all machines tearing down these meaningless distinctions as indicated by the line said by the metal fetishist “the future is metal”. This also further indicates the films homosexual themes with the two men combined to form one entity. The upside-down image of the Salaryman and the Metal Fetishist bonding shows that the film advocates for technological takeover and expresses the need for our assimilation into the machine. This scene showcases that there is no difference between humanity and technology/machinery as within the world humans make up the machinery of society. Therefore, humans sexual desires are shown as a reproductive machine inserting technology into human sexuality. This scene also clearly shows the theme of homosexuality throughout the film in which the two men bonding in a way that showcases love.

At the end of the film the Salaryman and the Metal Fetishist combined to form a singular organism and go off to turn the entire world into metal, to quote the Salaryman “we can mutate to this whole world into metal. We can rust the world into the dust of the universe. Our love can destroy this whole fucking world.” The homosexual themes are clearly apparent with the two men joined to form one organism and expressing their love for one another. On one hand this ending could mark the demise of mankind playing into humanities technological fear and paranoia as expressed through Japan’s industrialised society. However, this ending could also be something to celebrate showcasing that humanity can create new machines that can transform the world.

Tetsuo the Iron Man is a film about two men awaking and accepting their homosexuality. However, more than that the film is an expression on both humanities technological fear and paranoia of machinery and technology as well as acting as an advocate to destroy the divides between man and machine and showcasing an overall need for humanity’s assimilation into the machine to become incredible new transformations that can change the world for the better.