Is the Unintentional Period Piece entry really relevant?
Like, it makes sense that the story would mention Christian fundamentalists if they were going for that sort of edgier, thriller-ish take on the Judeo-Christian imagery and mythology of the series - especially if the Angels of the story, written before later media would clarify that the Angels are actually extraterrestrial beings with zero connection to actual religious iconography, are depicted as the actual Christian angels from the Bible. It would make sense for a story with the actual Christian Angels as a part of the plot (as the bad guys, no less) to have Christian fundamentalists as a threat to the goals of the titular HERZ organisation. They don't want the Angels to be defeated. They want the Rapture. Even in a post-9/11 world, that story beat is relevant and makes sense.
It's certainly a fitting plot development for the time period and - presumably - the environment the story was written in if it was written by an American author, given the contemporary satanic panic going on at the time. And it's true that the threat of Christian fundamentalism in American society was shunted off to the side in favour of focusing on Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism with 9/11. To that end, I can see where an entry like this might be coming from - 9/11 being such a huge cultural moment in American culture that took eyes off of the Christian fundamentalist movement, whereas a story made before 9/11 would see Christian fundamentalism as a more relevant and contemporary topic.
That being said, I think this entry is a reach for two reasons. First, like I just said, Christian fundamentalists make more sense on the context of the story given the overt Christian bent of the angels and the apocalypic end-goal of SEELE to ostensibly bring about the Christian manifestation of the Rapture. Christian fundamentalists make more sense as an antagonistic force in a story like this whether it was published in 1999, or on September 12th 2001, or even today - in 2024. Even given 9/11, the idea that Islamic radicalism would be more of a focus in a story like this past that date seems... iffy.
Secondly, the past eight years have seen a resurgence in evangelical Christian fundamentalism with the rise of the "alt-right" and the associated revitalisation of both white nationalist movements and the militia movements that began to really spring up post-9/11. Maybe the topic wasn't as relevant as it was in the nineties, but I would argue that Christian fundamentalists have come back around as a group that can pose real harm, whether it be through radical cells taking after the Westboro Baptist Church, or through politicians explicitly getting elected on platforms that champion restricting the rights of others based on fundamentalist values. So even if this element of the story was dated at the time, I would argue that it's come back around.
On one hand, it could be argued that when this entry was written in 2016, the revival of the far-right was still boiling. A lot of the stuff I just mentioned stemmed from 2016 and beyond, and contemporary American culture stewed in the fear of radical Islam for well over a decade after 9/11 occurred. On the other hand, the idea that a story commenting on Christian fundamentalism is a product of its time - being pre-9/11 - doesn't feel right with the explicitly Christian lore elements of the franchise itself.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I don't think the lack of focus on Islamic terrorists (or the present focus on Christian radicalism and terror in comparison) is "a product of its time". I haven't seen any Evangelion fanfic where Islam - or any other religion other than Christianity and Judaism - has been a relevant factor in the narrative. I think even post-9/11, it makes sense for an antagonistic anti-NERV cell to be depicted as extremist Christians, given SEELE's stated goal to enact the Rapture in explicitly Christian terms and the Angels in the story apparently being the actual Christian Angels, and the idea that it's a development that would only be on people's minds before 9/11 changed the world forever is a major stretch.
So - is this entry relevant and worth keeping, or is it a stretch that can be deleted/reworded given broader context and the passing of eight years giving the subject more nuance?
Is the Unintentional Period Piece entry really relevant?
Like, it makes sense that the story would mention Christian fundamentalists if they were going for that sort of edgier, thriller-ish take on the Judeo-Christian imagery and mythology of the series - especially if the Angels of the story, written before later media would clarify that the Angels are actually extraterrestrial beings with zero connection to actual religious iconography, are depicted as the actual Christian angels from the Bible. It would make sense for a story with the actual Christian Angels as a part of the plot (as the bad guys, no less) to have Christian fundamentalists as a threat to the goals of the titular HERZ organisation. They don't want the Angels to be defeated. They want the Rapture. Even in a post-9/11 world, that story beat is relevant and makes sense.
It's certainly a fitting plot development for the time period and - presumably - the environment the story was written in if it was written by an American author, given the contemporary satanic panic going on at the time. And it's true that the threat of Christian fundamentalism in American society was shunted off to the side in favour of focusing on Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism with 9/11. To that end, I can see where an entry like this might be coming from - 9/11 being such a huge cultural moment in American culture that took eyes off of the Christian fundamentalist movement, whereas a story made before 9/11 would see Christian fundamentalism as a more relevant and contemporary topic.
That being said, I think this entry is a reach for two reasons. First, like I just said, Christian fundamentalists make more sense on the context of the story given the overt Christian bent of the angels and the apocalypic end-goal of SEELE to ostensibly bring about the Christian manifestation of the Rapture. Christian fundamentalists make more sense as an antagonistic force in a story like this whether it was published in 1999, or on September 12th 2001, or even today - in 2024. Even given 9/11, the idea that Islamic radicalism would be more of a focus in a story like this past that date seems... iffy.
Secondly, the past eight years have seen a resurgence in evangelical Christian fundamentalism with the rise of the "alt-right" and the associated revitalisation of both white nationalist movements and the militia movements that began to really spring up post-9/11. Maybe the topic wasn't as relevant as it was in the nineties, but I would argue that Christian fundamentalists have come back around as a group that can pose real harm, whether it be through radical cells taking after the Westboro Baptist Church, or through politicians explicitly getting elected on platforms that champion restricting the rights of others based on fundamentalist values. So even if this element of the story was dated at the time, I would argue that it's come back around.
On one hand, it could be argued that when this entry was written in 2016, the revival of the far-right was still boiling. A lot of the stuff I just mentioned stemmed from 2016 and beyond, and contemporary American culture stewed in the fear of radical Islam for well over a decade after 9/11 occurred. On the other hand, the idea that a story commenting on Christian fundamentalism is a product of its time - being pre-9/11 - doesn't feel right with the explicitly Christian lore elements of the franchise itself.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I don't think the lack of focus on Islamic terrorists (or the present focus on Christian radicalism and terror in comparison) is "a product of its time". I haven't seen any Evangelion fanfic where Islam - or any other religion other than Christianity and Judaism - has been a relevant factor in the narrative. I think even post-9/11, it makes sense for an antagonistic anti-NERV cell to be depicted as extremist Christians, given SEELE's stated goal to enact the Rapture in explicitly Christian terms and the Angels in the story apparently being the actual Christian Angels, and the idea that it's a development that would only be on people's minds before 9/11 changed the world forever is a major stretch.
So - is this entry relevant and worth keeping, or is it a stretch that can be deleted/reworded given broader context and the passing of eight years giving the subject more nuance?