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In this flagship episode of our new podcast series, CJ Hitchcock, Jimmy Gnome and Suribot discuss the 2017 live-actoin adaptation of “Ghost in the Shell”. We also talk about what we are currently watching and dive into a meaty reader question submitted to us by a Patreon supporter. If you’d like to submit a question to the show, please visit our Patreon page to learn how.
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Opening Theme: First Light by Makotot Matushita
Ending Theme: Making of Cyborg by Kenji Kawai
-All Shell, No Ghost-
CJ, Jimmy, and Suri dive headlong into the mess that is the 2017 Ghost in the Shell film starring Scarlett Johannson and directed by Rupert Sanders. They discuss the whitewashing and culture conflicts that raise in the film, along with a poor characterization and misunderstandings of the original source material. Afterwords, CJ talks about seeing Interstella 5555 at a local art house theater, Jimmy gushes over another forgotten children’s show and Suri is captivated by Attack on Titan‘s latest opening. The episode ends with a Patreon question about Hollywood’s depiction of technology in the new Ghost in the Shell film.
-Excerpt-
Suri: So let me ask you guys something: Do you know where this movie takes place?
-Long silence amongst group-
Jimmy: I don’t fuckin’ know.
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Wave Motion Cannon 
(Disclaimer: I have only listened until minute 37 so far)
I heartily agree, that there was a seed of a good (in my opinion even very good) story in this movie. A dissident Motoko Kusanagi beeing arrested, transfered into a (white) prosthetic body, brainwashed and and then beeing turned into a weapon for a state agency makes for a very good premise. Especially because it can continue a few themes from the 1995 movie. There Motoko is bound to section 9 because her whole identity, body and mind, are owned by the state. She also is unsure of her whole identity, of her humanity even, since memories can be altered and she “never saw her own brain”.
However, the movie undermines that completely by shifting all the blame on a corporation and, as you fittingly called him, a comic book villain while the state and section 9 remain basically innocent. In a believable world, that scenario would not have worked without cooperation of several institutions of the state, especially not it’s security apparatus, which section 9 is a part of.
This makes the ending even more nonsensical, since why should Motoko choose to continue working for the very state that she not only used to oppose but that arrested, brainwashed and put her into a cybernetic body? In the 1995 movie she chooses to merge with the Puppet Master, precisely because she wants to escape the predicament she is in. In this scenario her situation is even worse, but she chooses to maintain the status quo. I guess in Hollywood the state and it’s gun toting ,anti-terrorist’ henchmen can’t be the bad guys…
Despite this long winded rant I don’t think I dislike the movie as much as some of you guys do. Considering Arise it seems to be another OKish, low level entry to GitS. However, I have the feeling my opinion of the movie might deteriorate over time.
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