Ghost in the Shell is a highly influential and critically acclaimed anime film that was released in 1995. And I didn’t like it all that much.
It’s a film set in the possibly-not-too-distant future where cybernetics and The ‘Net have become commonplace up to the point where brainhacking is a real and persistent threat–a thing where some asshole can hack into your brain and erase your memories and your personality, then make you do things under newly assumed motivations. Just such a thing happens right as the film starts when an incredibly powerful entity known only as “The Puppetmaster” manifests in a nameless metropolis with the implied threat that his mere existence could wreak havoc on international relations. A really hot cyberchick is dispatched to investigate and cull this threat and she discovers some things about life, the universe, and everything along the way.
So, before I “dive in” and discuss the things I didn’t like about the film I would first like to say that I’m pretty sure I made a mistake in watching the English-dubbed version of this film. The voice acting is by and large completely fucking terrible. I suppose if enough people look at the grade and say ‘WTF dude this is the best movie EVAR’ I might give it another go using the Japanese dub instead. However, I was able to get used to it; this allowed me to concentrate on what was happening much better.
In spite of the amazing visuals and setting, I had enormous difficulty with Ghost in the Shell’s story. I just could not find my feelings for any of these characters whatsoever. Perhaps this was the point since everyone is a robot. The cold and logical tone actually made Blade Runner pop up in my mind more often than not: something I’m vaguely aware could have been done on purpose. While I liked the film’s thesis regarding life, spirit, consciousness, and what it means to truly exist, I wasn’t able to appreciate it principally because the plot was so profound and distant to me that I was unable to connect with it. What were the stakes in the Puppetmaster’s little gambit, anyway? What was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs actually working on? What’s humanity’s ultimate position in the midst of all this? I still don’t know. Or care.
I understand that we are gravitating towards a world where Ghost in the Shell presents an unnerving possible reality. However, instead of really focusing on just what it means to hack into a person’s brain and live out a dual life or perform some action for some nefarious purpose, I’m treated instead to international robot politics and crude existential philosophy. I want to know how dangerous and unethical it is having such power. I want to see the guy pulling the strings and I want to see how he could be defeated. Most importantly, I want to see how the future of humanity hangs in the balance. I just feel if I tried to fill in the gaps myself, I’d just get it wrong. And get called an idiot for trying.
ThomFiles 