I just watched... Ghost in the Shell

 Existential Breasts.

                I have existential issues. I found that out when I was having a pretty good time one day and then suddenly the words “THIS TOO WILL PASS” resounded in my mind. Now, of course, that is a line to get out of those times when you’re feeling overly angst-y and melancholic about something that isn’t really even something to be melancholic because you have to just walk it off like a human being and not whine about it and feel that every sad song is about you, you self-absorbed miserable prick, but it’s also a line that you can apply to anything in life. Got a Dog? That too will pass. Thoroughly enjoying a new book, game or whatever? That too will pass. Finally whitened your teeth? That too will pass. I suppose an inevitable reality of our life is that everything ‘passes’, which is probably why we say that someone ‘passes away’ though I tend to prefer the more eloquent ‘existence terminated’ and when I’m feeling brash and rebellious I tend to prefer ‘died’.

                Nonetheless, the Science Fiction genre has always been there like an Easter Bunny, ready to give humanity little treats, treats that make us question why we do the things we do as well as the more primal, ‘why do we even exist’. Machines tend to be pretty good tools for existentialism, especially those of the artificial intelligence kind, since they basically say “Hey, we can do everything you can do, but better. Our problem is that we lack this one thing: HUMANITY.” And then there are androids and cyborgs who say “Hey, we look like you and we can do everything you can do, but better. Our problem is that we lack identity, because we’re kinda mass-produced and come with a barcode and can be bought on E-bay.”

                Ghost in the Shell is a Cyberpunk story, set in a world where machines, humans and cyborgs co-exist, a world interconnected by the web in every crevice and inch. A world where everyone is connected, a part of this greater network… a future where people can be hacked, putting them in the control of another… which certainly bumps up the existential rating up a few notches.

Look familiar?

                Ghost in the Shell is considered a landmark Sci-Fi work for a reason… actually many reasons, and these reasons exist on several fronts. Much like the case with Bladerunner, GitS’s story has inspired (and indeed, been copied by) many other works with The Matrix perhaps being the most direct and prominent example. Though time has been much kinder on Ghost in the Shell owing to the more inherently ‘timeless’ nature of animation and the fact that even in today’s somewhat large sea of such existential Sci-Fi, Ghost in the Shell has not been ‘outdone’ on several fronts, while Bladerunner was ‘surpassed’ (such is the nature of being the foundation of a genre).

                The story follows the hunt for a mysterious prodigal hacker who has been creating his own little reign of terror over the network, hacking several people and using them for his own causes, earning him the name ‘The Puppetmaster’. It follows a cyborg major and her cyborg team (with a token human) as they try to track the hacker down. Now, GitS’s story is good on several fronts: the core story is interesting, the world is fascinating and the various philosophical and existential (not that I have to mention it again) elements gel together really well, producing a classic responsible for breaking many anime-related illusions world-wide.

When does the machine end, and man begin?

When does man end, and the machine begin?

                What I do find interesting is the fact that GitS’s could be said to be looking at Bladerunner’s questions from an almost inverse angle, as though it is looking at the conundrums through the eyes of the replicants. Of course, the replicants from Bladerunner are very different from cyborgs in GitS, who live lives of acceptance and are generally (or always) real humans. So the two movies accompany each other rather well, looking at similar subjects from differing perspectives and in differing manners.

Bow wow.

                As a movie from the ‘Golden Age’ of anime, when animation was fluid, highly detailed and independent of obstructive CG popping up all over the place, it managed to bring the rusty cyberpunk world to life in a way that still looks phenomenal today. The music is still heralded as a mighty fine work, with the main theme being quite the Sci-Fi staple, and one that cemented Kawai’s career in the industry.

                I do remember when I first watched the movie when I was wee child my basic reaction to most of the movie was ‘Oh, Boobies!’ since I really didn’t understand what was going on when there weren’t guns and tanks and robots on screen (which are scarce, in reality). Though I do like how this movie is one of the finest example of using sexuality and sexualisation right as well as connecting it to the story in several ways (yes, including an existential level). There is a fair amount of frontal nudity (breasts) and I’d actually argue that they are an important element of the movie and certainly not the ‘fan service’ many accuse it of being. Since I’d say that human titillation, attraction and machines are a fine combination for some existential pondering. So yes, this movie basically has existential breasts in it. That’s one way to sell it, I suppose.

                All in all, I must say that Ghost in the Shell has existential breasts and you must watch it.