“Ghost in the Shell is not in any sense an aniÂmatÂed film for chilÂdren,” wrote Roger Ebert twenÂty years ago. “Filled with sex, vioÂlence and nudiÂty (although all rather stylÂized), it’s anothÂer examÂple of aniÂme, aniÂmaÂtion from Japan aimed at adults.” Now, when no critÂic any longer needs to explain the term aniÂme to WestÂern readÂers, we look back on Ghost in the Shell (1995) as one of the true masÂterÂpieces among JapanÂese aniÂmatÂed feaÂture films, mature not just in its conÂtent but in its form. Evan Puschak, betÂter known as the NerdÂwriter, takes a look at how it expressÂes its philoÂsophÂiÂcal themes through its still-strikÂing cyberÂpunk setÂting in his video essay “IdenÂtiÂty in Space.”
Puschak first highÂlights the presÂence (in the midÂdle of this “sci-fi action thriller” about the hunt for a wantÂed hackÂer turned self-aware artiÂfiÂcial intelÂliÂgence) of an action-free interÂlude: a “three minute and twenÂty-ish secÂond-long scene” conÂsistÂing of nothÂing but “34 gorÂgeous, exquisÂiteÂly detailed atmosÂpherÂic shots of a future city in Japan that’s modÂeled after Hong Kong.”
Its plot-susÂpendÂing visuÂal exploÂration of the film’s Blade RunÂner-esque urban space of “a chaotÂic mulÂtiÂculÂturÂal future city domÂiÂnatÂed by the interÂsecÂtions of old and new strucÂtures, conÂnectÂed by roads, canals, and techÂnolÂoÂgy,” emphaÂsizes that “spaces, like idenÂtiÂties, are conÂstructÂed. Though space often feels neuÂtral or givÂen, like we could move anyÂwhere withÂin it, our moveÂments, our activÂiÂties, our life, is always limÂitÂed by the way space is proÂduced.”
Just as all of Ghost in the Shell’s charÂacÂters exist in space, the main ones also exist in cyberÂnetÂic bodÂies, regardÂing their idenÂtiÂties as stored in their effecÂtiveÂly transÂplantable brains all conÂnectÂed over a vast inforÂmaÂtion netÂwork. The half-hour-long analyÂsis from AniÂmeEvÂeryÂday just above gets into the philoÂsophÂiÂcal dilemÂma this presents to the film’s proÂtagÂoÂnist, the cyborg police offiÂcer Motoko KusanaÂgi, examÂinÂing in depth sevÂerÂal of the scenes that — through diaÂlogue, imagery, symÂbolÂism, or subÂtle comÂbiÂnaÂtions of the three that viewÂers might not catch the first time around — illuÂmiÂnate the stoÂry’s cenÂtral quesÂtions about the nature of man, the nature of machine, and the nature of what emerges when the two interÂsect.
Film HerÂald’s briefer explaÂnaÂtion of Ghost in the Shell (which conÂtains potenÂtialÂly NSFW images) points to three main themes: idenÂtiÂty, CarteÂsian dualÂism, and evoÂluÂtion, all conÂcepts that come into quesÂtion — or at least demand a thorÂough reviÂsion — when the boundÂary between the natÂurÂal and the synÂthetÂic blurs to the film’s imagÂined extent. “My intuÂition told me that this stoÂry about a futurÂisÂtic world carÂried an immeÂdiÂate mesÂsage for our present world,” said direcÂtor Mamoru Oshii, and now, more than two decades latÂer, HolÂlyÂwood has even got around to remakÂing it in a live-action verÂsion starÂring ScarÂlett JohansÂson in the KusanaÂgi role. That does proÂvides a chance to update some of the now-datÂed-lookÂing techÂnolÂoÂgy seen in the aniÂmatÂed origÂiÂnal, but there’s no improvÂing on its artistry.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
Blade RunÂner Spoofed in Three JapanÂese ComÂmerÂcials (and GenÂerÂalÂly Loved in Japan)
EarÂly JapanÂese AniÂmaÂtions: The OriÂgins of AniÂme (1917–1931)
How the Films of Hayao MiyazaÂki Work Their AniÂmatÂed MagÂic, Explained in 4 Video Essays
The Matrix: What Went Into The Mix
Based in Seoul, ColÂin MarÂshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities and culÂture. He’s at work on a book about Los AngeÂles, A Los AngeÂles Primer, the video series The City in CinÂeÂma, the crowdÂfundÂed jourÂnalÂism project Where Is the City of the Future?, and the Los AngeÂles Review of Books’ Korea Blog. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.