Animesque: Losing consciousness

‘Ghost in the Shell’ponders the meaning of life

By Adam Tatelman, Senior Columnist

3/5

Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell: Innocence are set in a cyberpunk world where people project their minds into robot bodies called “shells” and computers can hack people’s brains. These films are considered two of the most influential and philosophically long-winded sci-fi anime in history, defining the genre for over a decade.

Both films are similarly paced, opening with a fanfare of gunfire and then settling into a hypnotic rhythm of introspective navel-gazing before kicking back into the action at the climax. The first film ponders the meanings of individuality and consciousness, following cyber-cop Kusanagi’s existential crisis as she pursues a notorious hacker who is more than he seems. Innocence dives deeper, fleshing out the cyber society and exploring the inexplicable human need to create life in our own image.

The plots are fast-moving, Noir-esque mysteries, even though much of the dialogue is waxing metaphysical. Innocence is especially guilty of this, randomly blurting quotes from Plato, Nietzsche, and the Buddha. This turgid thematic bludgeoning isn’t helped by the one-note, eardrum-piercing chants masquerading as a score. Without all the ironic montage and shock reveals, the films would truly reach oil drill levels of boring.

Some accuse the Ghost in the Shell films of cinematic theft. Entire visual sequences, such as the flight to the cathedral in Innocence, have been cribbed from Blade Runner. However, Ghost in the Shell inspired the famous “raining code” sequence from TheMatrix, which is often credited with inventing the effect.Even more blatantly, Innocence’s distinctive industrial-holographic style has been aped by video games such as Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It’s all part of the sci-fi continuum for better or worse, so let’s forgive Ghost in the Shell for that.

Controversially, the films contain animated female nudity, but always in some gruesome circumstance that illustrates robotics altering the human body. For instance, the gynoids from Innocence havenot yet been covered with fake flesh and so are doubly naked, doll-like. It is this artistically conservative depiction that manages to keep the films from devolving into the realm of mere cheesecake.

Could machines become self-aware? Is consciousness the same thing as life, or must there be physical genesis? If individuality is the sum of personal experience, what if your experiences aren’t real? After viewing Oshii’s opuses, I still can’t answer those questions, but that might be the point. These questions have no easy answers, and if modern debates on the subject of robo ethics are any indication, they will only become more pressing. So if you’re a fan of Isaac Asimov or William Gibson, you should find much to enjoy here.