preview

Analysis Of Ghost In The Shell

Good Essays

The term cyborg was first created when researchers attempted to alter the human body for space travel (Corbett, 2009). It is short for cybernetic organism, that is, a being with both organic and biomechatronic components. The film Ghost in the Shell (1995) is an example of speculative fiction and takes place in a futuristic Hong Kong inspired cityscape, where cyborgs and prosthetic bodies are not unusual. Oshii Masamune’s animated science fiction film is set in 2029, when people can customise their bodies, replay memories and move from shell to shell. Susan Napier describes the film as an "exploration of the possibilities of transcending individual and corporeal identity" (Napier, 2001, as cited in Ashby, 2008, 2.4).
It is common practice to own a cyberbrain; an artificially augmented brain that allows connection to the internet and other networks. Public security agency Section 9 is searching for a mysterious hacker known as the ‘Puppet Master’. The hacker is able to alter the memories of individuals with cyberbrains, leaving the Section 9 investigator, Motoko, wondering if her memories and feelings are real. It is later revealed that the hacker is a secret project created by Section 6.
So, what is the definition of a human in a society where the mind can be copied and the body replaced? When humans live in artificial bodies and artificially intelligent androids learn to feel, are they any different? Oshii uses the trans human as a theme to speculatively explore the

Get Access