For as long as I can remember, science fiction has been associated with the nerdier segments of society. As a fan of sci-fi, I'm not surprised by this. "The Andromeda Strain" may have put Michael Crichton on the map, but it's still at its heart a novel about the importance of thorough lab testing. I have never seen the film adaptation, but the novel has an almost obsessive emphasis on lab procedure, which isn't surprising considering that Crichton graduated from Harvard Medical School. Good science fiction tends to be written by people with such an intense knowledge of their subject that it tends to be "by nerds, for nerds."
Comics author Masamune Shirow is one of those nerds. His cyberpunk manga "Ghost in the Shell" may be comedic and sprinkled with gratuitous sex, but the background of his world is fully fleshed out. Japanese director Mamoru Oshii's take on this world, drops the sex, a remnant of the manga's nerdy origins, and brings it closer to being a "proper" cyberpunk story. On its surface, cyberpunk depicts a dystopian, near future where giant corporations rule, advanced robotics is commonplace, and everything -- including people -- is networked together. It's rather fitting that a hacker, usually on the wrong side of the law, is the genre's common protagonist. Essentially, cyberpunk is sci-fi film noir. However, to dig a little deeper, cyberpunk shows itself to be a genre of ideas rather than style or speculation. Because of the near future focus, much of the technology shown in cyberpunk film and literature exists in our time only with more gloss and sheen. Therefore, the focus rests more on the ramifications of this technology rather than the technology itself.
"Ghost in the Shell's" immediate technological focus is on cybernetics. The main protagonist, "Major" Motoko Kusanagi, is a member of the cover ops group Section 9. Like most of Section 9, her body is technological augmented. Although in the Major's case, her entire body, including her brain, is artificial; only her soul remains from her natural body. Even Togusa, the least augmented member of Section 9, has a cybernetic brain. Along with the rest of Section 9, the Major must track down the criminal hacker known only as the Puppet Master. Once the Puppet Master's identity and motivations are learned, Kusanagi's allegiance to Section 9 is tested. The Major's doubt centers around her own existential angst. Because of her completely cybernetic nature, she doesn't know if her memories are real or implanted. Even though this is a dilemma that is foreign to us, some philosophers believe that humans will transition to completely robotic bodies, making "Ghost" more than a flight of fancy.
While Motoko's body is out of our immediate technological reach, much of the other technology isn't. One of the film's most intense action sequences features a gunman in clothing that renders him invisible. This technology is currently in development and in the prototype stage. An autonomous spider-like tank is featured and is in within our grasp (the army has deployed radio-controlled armed robots in Iraq, and iRobot, the makers of the Roomba, has a government contract to develop an autonomous scout robot). Once these two are put together, there could be an autonomous tank. Even the cyberpunk trope of the human consciousness-accessible network already exists today as the smartphone. A person with such a phone can both upload and download information from the internet and communicate with others; even if the technical sophistication of such a device pales in comparison to direct brain connection, the availability of access is similar.
While "Ghost" hasn't necessarily influenced modern technology, it has influenced modern film, the most famous example being "The Matrix", whose creators (the Wachowski brothers) have not only cited "Ghost" as a large influence, but have admitted to borrowing its style for the opening credits for that of "The Matrix". For many people, exposure to cyberpunk begins with "The Matrix" and ends with "Blade Runner." Though not as well known as either of those movies, "Ghost in the Shell" earns its shelf space among them with its deft blend of action, near-futurism, and philosophy.
Be the first to comment on this article!