User Tag List

+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Ghost in the Shell's Identity Crisis

  1. #1
    Points: 100,746, Level: 77
    Level completed: 31%, Points required for next Level: 1,804
    Overall activity: 9.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialYour first Group50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    IMPress Polly's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    156220
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Vermont, USA
    Posts
    8,575
    Points
    100,746
    Level
    77
    Thanks Given
    10,232
    Thanked 7,643x in 4,358 Posts
    Mentioned
    634 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Ghost in the Shell's Identity Crisis

    The new Ghost in the Shell remake is about the wrong questions.

    The original 1995 anime was about how the unchecked growth and use of technology threatens to wipe out our whole sense of identity, as humanity's biological housing may become rendered obsolete and memories subject to editing from without. And there was also a second layer: the original came from creators who captured the energy of a Japan that had rapidly transformed itself to become a major creator and distributor of technology and culture in the aftermath of the Second World War. Thematically, that movie hence also reckoned with what people as individuals, AND also as nations, gain and lose when systemic shifts happen. In other words, it was also spiritually about how Japan's adoption of capitalism and induction into the global community threatened to wipe out its own sense of national identity; it's own individuality.

    The new film, by contrast, tries to wipe away that specificity in order to appeal to a wider, international audience. The result is a story trajectory that feels much more generic and empty. The Major (the main protagonist), having lost her memories, in this film wonders more about who she was before and where she’s been, rather than who she really is and what part specifically differentiates her from others. This changes what originally was a philosophical reflection on the nature of humanity and identity into a standard-issue superheroish cop drama rife with generic corporate villainy.

    Likewise, continuing along this theme of eliminating the specificity of the original in order to broaden the audience, the violence has been de-bloodied and toned down in order to garner a PG-13 rating and, to appeal to a primarily white, American audience, the Major is played by a white actress rather than one who is ethnically Japanese. It feels like they're trying to pander to Western expectations and it ruins the material. And that's pretty ironic considering that the original Ghost in the Shell was all about the threat of losing one's sense of identity! Now, as technology and globalization have progressed further two decades later, the Ghost in the Shell franchise itself seems to have lost its identity. It has become just another bland, money-making venture aimed at a global audience of all ages.

    Last edited by IMPress Polly; 04-02-2017 at 10:02 AM.

  2. #2
    Points: 124,894, Level: 85
    Level completed: 64%, Points required for next Level: 1,156
    Overall activity: 0%
    Achievements:
    Social50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Crepitus's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    1255215
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Wichita, KS
    Posts
    41,416
    Points
    124,894
    Level
    85
    Thanks Given
    17,385
    Thanked 13,440x in 9,812 Posts
    Mentioned
    510 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    It is sad. I've been a fan of ghost in the shell for ages, and I don't think I'll bother to go see this.
    People who think a movie about plastic dolls is trying to turn their kids gay or trans are now officially known as

    Barbie Q’s

  3. #3

    tPF Moderator
    Points: 34,182, Level: 45
    Level completed: 16%, Points required for next Level: 1,268
    Overall activity: 0.3%
    Achievements:
    Social50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Hal Jordan's Avatar tPF Moderator
    Karma
    58782
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    9,394
    Points
    34,182
    Level
    45
    Thanks Given
    8,840
    Thanked 6,795x in 4,453 Posts
    Mentioned
    582 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I've long been curious as to how the 95 movie compares to the original manga.

    Coming to you from the depths of inner space.
    "For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been'." John Greenleaf Whittier

    "Our minds control our bodies. Our bodies control our enemies. Our enemies control jack shit by the time we're done with them." Stick

  4. #4
    Points: 124,894, Level: 85
    Level completed: 64%, Points required for next Level: 1,156
    Overall activity: 0%
    Achievements:
    Social50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Crepitus's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    1255215
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Wichita, KS
    Posts
    41,416
    Points
    124,894
    Level
    85
    Thanks Given
    17,385
    Thanked 13,440x in 9,812 Posts
    Mentioned
    510 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Hal Jordan View Post
    I've long been curious as to how the 95 movie compares to the original manga.

    Coming to you from the depths of inner space.
    Been a long time since I read that, but iirc the whole.thing fits together pretty well.
    People who think a movie about plastic dolls is trying to turn their kids gay or trans are now officially known as

    Barbie Q’s

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to Crepitus For This Useful Post:

    Hal Jordan (04-02-2017)

+ Reply to Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts