Ghost In The Shell Cyborg Analysis

Cyborgs throughout science fiction have been presented in a variety of ways- from their appearance to the purpose of their existence; their plasticity enables them to serve as allegories of race, society and politics that concern both the present and the future. Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell uses the cyborgs to create these allegories by bringing forward the binaries of the East/West, white/non-white and the male/female. By examining how these binaries are presented in Ghost in the Shell, we can begin to understand how cyborgs become allegories themselves. Countries in the East were commonly associated with having a backward society in comparison to the West. However, the Easts rapidly increasing developments in technology in the late …show more content…
The cyborg is said to be a hybrid of both human and machine; the outer appearance of the cyborg associates itself with these two factors. The human aspect of Kusunagi’s body bares her humanistic features: hair, skin, eyes etc. And the plug in the back of her neck is associated with the machine. Furthermore, it is not only the outer appearance of a cyborg that defines its identity, but also the thoughts and the way it processes information as both human and machine. This can also be said in terms of defining human identity- the bus driver identifies himself with the memory of his wife and kid, however, he loses his sense of identity when told that his memory of them been an illusion. In view of this, Kusunagi’s memories are able to give rise to her own conscience that indeed make her feel closer to being human. Moreover, Kusanagi can be considered a minority in terms of her identity, this is partly because her existence lies in between being a mix of both human and a machine, constantly crossing between the two. Kusanagi’s job requires her to act like a machine, however, her outer appearance and the way that she is treated leads her to feel otherwise. This problem of identity mixing of the cyborg links to the “racial mixing” that is present amongst society. Racial mixing between white and non-white races to some, may seem to be defects in society as the inferior non-white race allows for the …show more content…
Kusunagi is constantly seen questioning her own sense of identity based on how human she is considered to be. However, she does not question her own identity based on gender identification. In many scenes throughout Ghost in the Shell, Kusunagi is depicted in her naked form. In the scene where Kusunagi is seen to be invisible to the criminal whilst standing in the canal, she is stripped naked; allowing the viewers capture a glimpse of her fully naked body. It is noted that the fact she was viewed in the nude right after fighting a criminal, makes her reassert her feminine identity to the viewers, this is because fighting crimes/ being a hero has always been associated with masculinity. Evidently, the male fighters such as Batou are not portrayed in the nude, as their masculinity is already assumed through their behavior and actions. Kusunagi naked body is viewed as an object for the desire of the male sexual appetite. This is apparent in the scene where she strips half naked in front of Batou, even though her back faces both Batou and the viewer. Batou gazes at her but quickly looks away, this is because he realizes that he views her body in a sexualized way, therefore associating Kusunagi with being a woman. If she was only considered a cyborg in Batou’s eyes, he wouldn’t have felt the need to turn