Conclusions on Ghost in the Shell.

Following my two previous posts on Ghost in the Shell and Anime overall, i wanted to elaborate on my points and bring up some conclusions on how the film has effected my perspective on anime.

Firstly, Ghost in the Shell’s themes and anime as a medium for children. Ghost in the Shell is a dark film, it challenges adult themes and events. This seems to be the case for a lot of anime that i watch, its aimed almost exclusively at young men, but not children. Ghost in the Shell for me is a perfect example of what anime can be, what it can offer older audiences and how it is not just children’s cartoons. This made me think about my first exposure to “anime”, in the form of Pokemon on morning TV. I suppose that Pokemon left an impression on me that all animation was for children, as i grew up i never really interacted with animation besides watching Pokemon and Dragon Ball before school. Then again, dragon ball isn’t exactly child friendly, its full of dark themes and intense violence. So why do i associate it so much with being a kid? is it simply the exposure? or do i consider it a childish show? ill have to dig deeper into demographics and tv ratings to get some greater context.

Secondly, i wanted to touch on Anime’s position on technology and the future. Ive been trying to draw parallels between technology in anime and technology in the real world, specifically japan. Interestingly enough, from my history student background, i kept arriving and two key aspects of Japan’s history; The Atomic Bombings and Japans interactions with the west. I feel like there is a fear of technology that comes with such rapid acceleration of technology and such horrid acts of violence that seeps into the culture of Japan. A lot of anime i’ve been exposed to has grappled with these themes e.g. Gundam. Its interesting to see how a fear of technology growing influences entertainment, turning big scary ideas into digestible stories that both reflect, and inform the culture.

Overall, Ghost in the Shell lead me to think about the medium of anime in a different way, and consider its culture roots more closely. Ive always been a fan of anime, and ill continue to love it into the future.

Expanding on my experience – Ghost in the Shell and Anime

Gosh, i’ve watched a lot of anime these past few weeks, and given some time to digest and reflect on Ghost in the Shell and its place within the medium i’ve expanded on some points i noted in the first post.

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Firstly, i wanted to build on my highlight of the question of what it means to be human? and what it is life?, which was a strong theme in Ghost in the Shell. When thinking about how this film appears in the context of Japan, i made a connection between the prevalence of technology in the film and the rapid westernisation of japan. This connection for me represents how quickly the Japanese had to adapt following their contact with the western world, e.g. the introduction of guns. I think this event is pretty significant in the way the Japanese view innovation and technological advancement, and i can see this concern come out in the film. Dealing with huge technological catch up, leading to present technological dominance must lead to at least some fear for the future of technology and disconnection with humanity. Ghost in the Shell for me, must be an exploration of this idea that technology may be advancing beyond human control. Which i’m sure is terrifying. This ties into my other idea, that Anime as a whole holds a strong connection to the future, at least in part. Some of my favourite anime lies within the Mecha genre ( giant fighting robots), specifically Gundam which focuses on huge machines in space and grand plots. These futuristic settings seem varied and plentiful across the board, often with saving the world and technology gone wild as themes, and i feel like this is driven by this technological explosion,as well as events like the bombings of Hiroshima.

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The other issue that i touched on was the perceived idea that anime is for children. From my experiences at home and with friends, people seem to think that i’m watching children’s cartoons. After watching Ghost in the Shell again at my parents house, my dad came into the room and seemed unimpressed that i was “watching kids shows instead of studying” and even more unimpressed when i assured him that it was in no way for kids (and i was technically studying). When you consider the themes of shows like Ghost in the Shell, and other popular series like Dragon Ball and Gundam, its easy to see they are not made for children. Violence death and often nudity are common, are just hidden behind colourful and pretty animations (probably a result of disney). Thats the key in understanding the misconceptions about anime as a medium, many people are simply driven off the concept by its presentation, but funnily enough thats what draws me in, helps me engage and enjoy these experiences. However i think anime has a lot to offer audiences who give it a chance and don’t dismiss it as a children’s medium.

Ghost in the Shell – An Auto-ethnographic Responce

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Ive watched Ghost in the Shell a number of times as a piece of entertainment in my own time, i never really considered the way it made me think and feel as a piece of Asian Media or just media in general. Ive always approached this film as a simple piece of entertainment and ignored the cultural and social significance of the story, characters and setting of the film.

Asian media seems to have a strong connection to the future, and Ghost in the Shell fits that trend for me. (although i do have a thing for sci fi so it could be coincidence) Thats an aspect of anime in general that always attracted me, the way it allows us to travel into these fantastic worlds that would be almost impossible in traditional western media.

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The question of “what does it mean to be human” in this film and how it addresses it, are why i’ve always loved this film. It doesn’t allow itself to be censored or constrained when portraying graphic violence and nudity, things that generally don’t see too much light in western media. (okay, maybe it does but often in a different context) Because those things are part of what makes us human to begin with. Does the body make us human? or the mind? or both? The way characters are placed within different levels of cybernetic or robotic enchantment pushes this question for me, as to where the line is drawn. From within a classroom perspective its hard to not analyse these questions, especially from a History Major background. The way cyborgs and androids debate the existence of other artificial intelligence or the soul and question the morality and the issue of privacy in a post humanity world create an universe thats so engaging to me that i just wanna see more. Overall i think this question and how its explored is what makes this movie unique and a classic for almost all fans of anime (including me), it has a very intelligent plot with good pacing and strong character development. Ill always be weak to a strong female lead, especially in anime

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Overall, Ghost in the Shell is just an enjoyable decent into the technological madness that possibly lies in our future, I don’t think its influence and ideas deserve to be limited to those who traditionally engage with eastern media, it has much to offer to the collective mind of all film fans across cultural boundaries and national borders. I had quite a strong emotional jerk when i saw people in the room had never heard of Ghost in the Shell, let alone seen it. I mean, seriously guys, whats going on here!

Anime as a medium has had a lot of influence in my life over the last few years, becoming one of my primary entertainment mediums. Animation is often viewed as a thing for children and its refreshing to be exposed to animation targeted at an older audience, at least for the most part. I think the value of animation comes from its ability to be anything it wants to be, not limited by conventional problems in live action content, the content can portray almost any location, character or event. This freedom is what i love about animation, specifically eastern animation, the vast variety of content that exists in a massive range of genres and styles.

Digital Asia

This blog is the platform for my weekly blogs for Digc330 – Digital Asia.

My name is Chris and im a History Major at UOW, and im hoping to move into a Masters of Education after i finish this degree. Ive always had an interest in Asian media, kung fu movies,anime and Kaiju have always been big sources of entertainment for me. Im very new too wordpress so this will be a work in progress, please bare with me.

Enjoy!