After feeling under the weather for the past week, I’m finally bouncing back a little and starting to catch up with my blog content! Since it’s already the first weekend of a new month, that means it’s time for me to announce April’s Muse of the Month, which is Ghost in the Shell.
Inspiring filmmakers such as The Wachowskis (and directly influencing one of their most well-known works, The Matrix), the 1995 film Ghost in the Shell has long been regarded as one of the greatest anime movies of all time. Set in a cyberpunk future where the line between human and machine is all but gone, the story follows cyborg policewoman Motoko Kusanagi as she and her team hunt a powerful hacker named the Puppet Master. It is a stunning blend of action, science fiction, philosophy, and political intrigue that also focuses on sexuality, gender, and what being “human” really means in a futuristic society dominated by technology. If our bodies become man-made machines, and our memories and personalities can be uploaded and downloaded like computer files, will we broaden the definition of what a human can be? Or will we transcend that definition become something else altogether?
A unique philosophical road trip through an imaginative cybernetic world, Ghost in the Shell is not only a profound fable about our own humanity, but a visually scintillating treat to watch from start to finish. The detail present in every frame helps bring an already vibrant story and cast of characters to life, making the world that much more intimate and believable… and it still holds up today as a delicately-crafted work of art.
Though the film is unrated, potential viewers should be warned that this movie has a lot of intense, sometimes explicit content that may not be suitable for everyone; those who are averse to graphic bloody/gory violence or body horror should know that there are plenty of both throughout the film. But if you don’t mind a little blood, profanity, and nudity, and have a taste for dark sci-fi stories, I couldn’t recommend it more!
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