Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Composite Score: 81.6
Starring: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Ôtsuka, Kôichi Yamadera, Yutaka Nakano, Tamio Ôki, and Tesshô Genda
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Writers: Shirow Masamune and Kazunori Itô
Genres: Animation, Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Box Office: $918,738 worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Ghost in the Shell is the anime cyberpunk classic about a cyborg detective hunting down a hacker that has been threatening diplomatic relations around the world. It features a combination of exciting action pieces and impressive depth of theme. Beyond crafting a fun cyberpunk noir film, it explores definitions of humanity, personhood, the soul, and looks at how we deal with the rules of our universe. As an anime, its art is rich in detail, showing a truly decrepit cyberpunk world in the vein of Blade Runner, Akira, or The Fifth Element. The film invites you to enjoy both a surface-level watch of an action/mystery/noir and a deep exploration of humanity and technology.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
Ghost in the Shell’s treatment of its female characters in art is unnecessarily sexual. Both Kusanagi and the body of the Puppet Master’s shell are consistently depicted with minimal clothing or form-fitting clothes that leave little or nothing to the imagination. Such depictions are not carried over to the film’s male characters who are consistently fully clothed. The disrobing that Kusanagi does to don her invisibility camouflage is shown to be unnecessary when another character uses the same technology while remaining fully clothed. 1990s manga/anime are not necessarily lauded for their lack of female objectification, and Ghost in the Shell does not break that mold. While disappointing, there are enough positives to keep this film worth watching.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
The film’s action sequences are very exciting, featuring car chases, stealth assassinations, and gunfights. Most of these sequences accentuate the film’s setting, utilizing a combination of modern guns, futuristic technology, and mildly outlandish fictional situations. Each action sequence also contributes to the film’s plot, working to go beyond many 90s action films’ tendency to have action for action’s sake. The opening assassination sequence connects to the broader plot of Section 6 and the Puppet Master. The garbage truck chase that blends into the foot chase through the market introduces the hacking story line overtly into the plot. The final showdown helps conclude the story and bring Kusanagi together with the Puppet Master in the culmination of the entire film’s themes.
The film’s exploration of humanity vs. AI and what it means to be human is particularly compelling. Kusanagi consistently wrestles with her humanity and her cyborg nature. She was created in a factory but has a “ghost” in her manufactured brain that connects her to humanity and makes her crave everything that people also crave – connection, choice, success. As her own humanity or inhumanity is called into question, the character of the Puppet Master is revealed to be a fully sentient computer program, adding another wrinkle to the equation. Most of the other characters consider Kusanagi to be relatively human, as human augmentation is commonplace in the futuristic society of the film, but the Puppet Master’s lack of a body causes the others to question its humanity. The Puppet Master insists on its/his/her humanity, desiring specifically the reproduction and death that is inherent to human life. Ultimately, both Kusanagi and the Puppet Master are able to achieve both of those ends, leaving it up to the audience to determine whether the characters are actually human or not, the type of mind-bending question that keeps audiences discussing the film to this day.
Solid anime action combined with a deep exploration of what it means to be human keep Ghost in the Shell relevant more than twenty-five years after its original release. The film’s one knock of overly objectified female bodies is not enough to fully remove it from the conversation of Great Films. In fact, its problematic aspects also play into the film’s theme of humanity, as it is the film’s two main female figures that receive this objectified treatment and are also the two whose bodies were manufactured by a company – not excusing the problematic art choice, but perhaps helping redeem it somewhat. The film is a solid contribution to the Great Films pantheon and also a peak example of quality cyberpunk fiction, definitely worth watching.
