lain.and.hoaxes >> E-mail from Chisa

Lain begins with people receiving "Mail" (e-mail, basically) from Chisa Yomoda, a girl who had committed suicide. At first, the students at Lain’s school comfort each other by saying that the e-mail from Chisa was just a hoax, a prank. Based on our class’ study of online hoaxes, the e-mail from Chisa would fit in this category. However, in the series, it does turn out that the e-mails are coming from Chisa, who has "abandoned her body." Regardless, the very nature of these e-mails qualify them as a hoax. Like online hoaxes, word of the incident spreads across students and other schools. The e-mail contains a deceptive and mysterious message: "We don’t need our bodies. We can live on and connect in the Wired." This is similar to online hoaxes in that it uses convincing language, such as "don’t need" and makes promises that the body can live on. In hoaxes, the e-mails appeal to human emotion. Chisa utilizes this characteristic of hoaxes to get her point across, and to get people to pay attention. The mysterious nature of the e-mail forces students to tell other students about the mail, thus spreading the information further. This online hoax in the world of Lain helps to show the power of the Internet, and how easily it can effect users emotionally. Since readers participate, and it spreads like a virus, this e-mail is similar to a hoax.