As the internet advances at an increasing rate, it has become more and more difficult to write compelling, relevant narratives about its influence. We’ve all seen the attempts: the hackneyed sitcom episodes or underfunded CG movies greenlit by wildly out of touch NBC execs that only serve to further alienate the digital generation.

Part of the reason why the 1998 TV series Serial Experiments Lain succeeded where so many others have failed despite being made, in some cases, decades before them is because it’s not entirely about the internet, at least not so directly. Presented through the hypnotic lens of “The Wired,” a sort of vague, pre-Y2K imagining of virtual reality, Lain explores the different personas people set up to suit different situations, a tendency that is especially prevalent online. The reason that these themes remain relevant despite 24 years of technological advancement is because the series examines the internet in an abstract way. Similarly, where many contemporary shows fail in commenting on the internet comes down to their scope. Where Lain’s messages of the effects of isolation and mass communication on identity are ubiquitous across mediums, newer works tend to get tunnel-visioned in on the modern internet, many of which have a narrow understanding of what they’re criticizing in the first place. For example, an episode of a crime mystery show examining the toxic environment of online communities might erroneously attribute this atmosphere to the websites or individuals themselves, rather than the complete anonymity that fuels the propensity for aggression present in everyone. 

Conversely, Lain remains relevant because it presents its conflicts as a symptom of the digital age as a whole. When the titular protagonist’s sister, Mika finally connects with The Wired after spending her whole life disinterested in it, she starts receiving strange omens: inane writing starts appearing on everyday objects, she sees her sister unmoving in the center of an intersection staring off into space, and  she starts hearing uncharacteristic, unacknowledged declarations from her parents. Soon, she becomes increasingly paranoid, checking over her shoulder when she’s walking down the street and questioning everyone around her, finally bursting through her front door and collapsing onto her legs, crying. When she looks up, she sees another version of herself and, after a moment, disappears, replaced by the dispositionally different copy. Here, instead of mentioning any specific service or website and near-instantly dooming itself to obsolescence, Lain invents its own, detached version of the digital world and, somewhat abstractly, projects it onto the physical, “real” world, at first presenting the two as entirely separate and, as the series goes on, progressively blurring the lines.

Serial Experiments Lain is a strange, ephemeral fever-dream of a show that, despite its inane plot and convoluted story structure, manages to paint an evergreen picture of the ever changing nature of human communication. In doing so, the series serves as something of a case study for writing in and about the digital age, a necessary resource for the years to come. Plus, its compelling plot and ample room for interpretation make it as fun to watch as it is important.