Oshii Mamoru’s Ghost in the Shell explores philosophical issues between the body, soul, and technology. While an aesthetically pleasing product of the science fiction genre, the film remarkably blends technology with religion and spirituality. It follows Kusanagi, a cyborg assassin working for Section 9, who, along with her team, is on a hunt to track down an anonymous hacker known as the Puppet Master. He is able to implant false memories in human bodies and, as a result, Kusanagi struggles with the effects these false memories have on her identity. Japanese literature analysts, Susan Napier and Charles Inouye, have two distinct interpretations of the film. While Napier focuses on self-identity in a technologically advanced world, Inouye emphasizes
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Ghost in the Shell “is a genuinely metaphysical work,” writes Napier, “that is concerned less with individual identity in society than with such philosophical questions as whether one can possess a soul in an increasingly technological age” (Napier 104). This question is constantly pondered over the course of the film and particularly affects the heroine, Kusanagi. Although uninterested in her origins, Kusanagi is particularly concerned about her individuality. The female assassin is aware of what remains of her origins and understands the Puppet Master’s ability to destroy her body and mind, but strongly believes there wouldn’t be much left. Kusanagi now recognizes that although she exists in a female body, she is “innately free of any basic human ties” (Napier 107). Kusanagi’s falls represent her search for spiritual answers. In the jump at the beginning of the film, she is umbilically attached to corporate networks. Napier states, “Kusanagi’s fall has allowed her finally to leave her body and to begin to move forward a larger, more encompassing entity.” (Napier 111). She believes that the heroine is dependent on them for her career as an assassin as well as her …show more content…
Ghost in the Shell transcends the boundaries of “man and puppet” (Inouye 207) grounded in a spiritual tone. The Puppet Master “desires extinction,” writes Inouye, “but he wants the kind of nothingness that guarantees continued existence, a contemporary version of the nothingness that is everything” (Inouye 207-208). In Buddhist terms, Inouye would agree that the Puppet Master has reached a state of Nirvana. Additionally, he argues that this “super intelligence born of the web” (Inouye 207) has understood the Buddhist notion of impermanence. The Buddhist doctrine of impermanence recognizes that our existence is in a constant state of flux and claims to awaken one to the temporariness of things. The Puppet Master says in the film, “…to be human is to be continually changing.” (Oshii, 1995) While he has no body of his own, the Puppet Master occupies other bodies. This evanescent existence leaves him searching for immortality in the form of death and offspring. He believes that he can copy himself endlessly, yet “a copy is merely a copy” (Oshii, 1995) and this lack of variety makes him susceptible to a destructive
Ghost in the Shell “is a genuinely metaphysical work,” writes Napier, “that is concerned less with individual identity in society than with such philosophical questions as whether one can possess a soul in an increasingly technological age” (Napier 104). This question is constantly pondered over the course of the film and particularly affects the heroine, Kusanagi. Although uninterested in her origins, Kusanagi is particularly concerned about her individuality. The female assassin is aware of what remains of her origins and understands the Puppet Master’s ability to destroy her body and mind, but strongly believes there wouldn’t be much left. Kusanagi now recognizes that although she exists in a female body, she is “innately free of any basic human ties” (Napier 107). Kusanagi’s falls represent her search for spiritual answers. In the jump at the beginning of the film, she is umbilically attached to corporate networks. Napier states, “Kusanagi’s fall has allowed her finally to leave her body and to begin to move forward a larger, more encompassing entity.” (Napier 111). She believes that the heroine is dependent on them for her career as an assassin as well as her …show more content…
Ghost in the Shell transcends the boundaries of “man and puppet” (Inouye 207) grounded in a spiritual tone. The Puppet Master “desires extinction,” writes Inouye, “but he wants the kind of nothingness that guarantees continued existence, a contemporary version of the nothingness that is everything” (Inouye 207-208). In Buddhist terms, Inouye would agree that the Puppet Master has reached a state of Nirvana. Additionally, he argues that this “super intelligence born of the web” (Inouye 207) has understood the Buddhist notion of impermanence. The Buddhist doctrine of impermanence recognizes that our existence is in a constant state of flux and claims to awaken one to the temporariness of things. The Puppet Master says in the film, “…to be human is to be continually changing.” (Oshii, 1995) While he has no body of his own, the Puppet Master occupies other bodies. This evanescent existence leaves him searching for immortality in the form of death and offspring. He believes that he can copy himself endlessly, yet “a copy is merely a copy” (Oshii, 1995) and this lack of variety makes him susceptible to a destructive