Before I begin with this post, I won't even pretend to be the expert on the movie. This post is up for my buddy Scallywag. I know he is a GITS nut and has tonnes to say on the movie and the series as well. What I will say about this movie is that it was definitely a classic. This along with Ninja Scroll were the two movies that pretty much got me into the whole anime scene. Back then of courses everyone in North America was still calling is "Japanimation". (Man did we have it wrong). Anyway, this movie gets nothing but positive review from me. Although it has been some time since I last watched Ghost in the Shell, I definitely found that this movie had a number of overtones that we can look at with the technological changes that are occurring to our society now. With the types of advancements we are making, the things that we were seeing 17 years ago when this movie released are becoming more and more of a reality.
I could go on and on about society and all the rest of that stuff, but what fun is that. The nice thing about anime series and movies such as this one is that they let us think and see beyond what we are capable of achieving to this date. If you look back to a show like Gundam 0079that released in 1979, who would have thought that Giant Mech Suits could even be something fathomable, yet someone in Japan has decided to blueprint and determine production cost of a 1:1 scale mobile suit.
I have always found that series what look at computer cybernetics, robotics, and pretty much anything technological have opened the boundaries that we are willing to explore and the as our own technology gets better and better. I am also told that the new Ghost in the Shell 2.0 Movie is releasing on BluRay this month. For those who haven't seen this movie yet, I would highly recommend picking this classic up. Many of the overtones that were relevant 17 years ago in this movie are still relevant today.
Gits is by far the biggest influence on me of all Anime. Its a series that has many levels. On its surface it is a future cop drama, filled with action, explosions. pretty girls, flashy guns excitement.
ReplyDeleteYet if you look just a little deeper you begin to see its real strengths and those lie in the questions it asks. Gits rarely answers these questions, but that's okay. The series asks questions about ourselves as individuals, what it is that makes us who we are, technology and its uses, the moral and ethical use of military force, the powers of law enforcement and what is and is not acceptable, politics and the debate of personal freedoms to enhanced security. It is a series that wraps as much mental as it does physical. Its an awesome spectacle and its about to get even better with Ghost in the shell 2.0