For my cyberpunk course this week I watched two films: the original 1995 animated Ghost in the Shell, and then the 2017 live-action American version of Ghost in the Shell.
It was fascinating watching them back-to-back. So many of the story beats are similar (if not exactly the same), but so much of the underlying philosophy is radically different.
The original dives very deep into what it means to be human and is constantly questioning whether the protagonist, Major Kusanagi, is actually a human at all. What does it mean that people treat her like she’s human? Does that matter, or alternatively is that all that matters?
The second is focused instead on what defines us as humans, but sacrifices almost all the philosophical thought and pacing of the original to instead give us a more focused story on revenge and evil corporations. Which is a fascinating take on GitS, no argument, but it’s not nearly the same.
Anyway, it’s a very interesting study into the contrasts of the differences (at the time, at least) in Western vs Eastern cyberpunk. The original doesn’t “look” the way I usually think of cyberpunk, but the second doesn’t “feel” the way cyberpunk normally does.
Still. I was impressed with both in their own way (although the original is a stone-cold classic that is breathtaking both for its time and with a modern lens, and the second is just pretty good). A useful use of a few hours of my life.
I hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!