Summary
Major Motoko Kusanagi of Section 9 is the most advanced cybernetically modified human ever, her entire body being replaced with robotic parts. When a cyber terrorist hacker, The Puppetmaster, eludes section 9’s grasp, Major is faced with a mystery which tangles the state’s actions, the future of humanity, and her own identity.
My Journey with “Ghost in the Shell”
This is the third time I’ve seen this film. The first time I saw it, I didn’t understand it. I was still young in my film education and watched movies the way most people do, passively, as if it was music on the radio in the background of whatever I was doing.
The second time I watched it, I was very tired but I grasped a little more of it and was impressed by how ahead of its time it was. It still blows me away that this movie came out before “The Matrix” made certain ideas about the connectivity of technology commonplace amongst the general population.
This third viewing, I realize that this is one of my favorite Anime films, and animated films in general, which I have ever formed a relationship with. The depth of the character questions and layers of cyber-punk grit and neon encapsulate a spiritual drug, taking its viewer on a journey of being.
My Myriad Thoughts
Well I suppose from the above paragraphs it is obvious that I love this film. I could talk about it for an hour probably and intend to on the TMM Podcast but for now I will simply highlight a couple of the things that make “Ghost in the Shell (1995)” so astounding.
Animation
The first is the animation. It is gorgeous. Not only that, but it is used to reinforce many of the themes of the film. It really takes advantage of the fact that in animation, the director chooses every element that will be on screen. Their mind is the only limitation. Actions sequences which accomplish immersion and fascination the likes of which even a high budget Hollywood re-make can only brush the fringes. Meditative world explorations that are fueled not by drugs, but information and self realization. Character designs which dismantle our own understanding of humanity as a corporal form and rebuild a vision of a future where transcension through modification is a reality to be grasped rather than merely theorized about. The animation is simply sublime in its execution and conception.
Theme
When I hear some adults say that animated films are for kids, I just want to roll my eyes so far into the back of my head that they roll down the back of my throat, out my butt, and hand them to the individual who apparently needs a new set of eyes. The themes in this film are so philosophical and meaningful, especially as technology becomes more integrated into our lives, not less.
Some of the most interesting themes to me in all of literature, film, music, and other artforms are those of being, knowing, understanding, and action. “Ghost in the Shell” has that in spades. Many of the scenes, which as a young man, I would get up and go to the bathroom during, are essentially self examinations by characters on exactly these themes. The nature of Humanity and its future, while certainly resting in the inevitability of technology camp, is a thing that would behoove all to grapple with and ask, do my actions take me further down a road I want to be on or one I want to get off of as soon as possible.
One of the great values of science fiction is its ability to project possible worlds and give us better understanding as we decide what sort of world we will live in and at the same time comment on the world which we now inhabit.
I can’t recommend this film highly enough, especially to those who may think anime is simply Miyazaki (“Spirited Away”, “Howl’s Moving Castle”) and Dragon Ball Z. It is a serious artform which tackles the same subject matter as movies like “The Matrix” and “Blade Runner 2049.” Hardly simple popcorn blockbusters, it joins the pantheon of meditative cyber-punk dystopian masterpieces.
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