What exactly is the definition of human in a society where a mind can be copied and the body replaced with a fully synthetic body? Where is the boundary between human and machine when the differences between the two become more philosophical than physical? Ultimately how do we define what it is to be human?
I’m not going to try and answer this today but these are the philosophical questions that form the basis of the futuristic manga and anime series ‘Ghost in the Shell‘ created by Masamune Shirow (first published in 1989). Whilst being nearly 30 years old the franchise is still alive and well with three movies, a TV series, game and trilogy of novels being spawned from it along with many aspects having slowly percolated into popular culture (it heavily inspired The Matrix).
With such a strong pedigree it’s rather worrying that Production I.G has sold the rights for a live-action movie to DreamWorks under the direction of none other than Steven Spielberg. For fans this is a pretty worrying development. Whist there is no denying Spielberg’s talent it’s an altogether different proposition when applying it to something like this, the main fear being that it will be severely dumbed down for a Hollywood audience.
If they can respect and stay faithful to the original maybe this has a chance but then again the likelihood of that is pretty low – the precedent is already pretty well established for ruining Asian cult classics.
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I came across this picture of a rather insane book store earlier today and it immediately reminded me of the residence of a certain Yomiko Readman of “Read or Die” fame. The similarities are striking but goodness knows how they get away with the health and safety aspect of having thousands of books stacked this way 
The film and tv series are well worth watching; of course reading the manga would be even better! More pictures of the crazy shop can be found here.
In unrelated news I’ll be starting my rather rigorous jet-lag avoidance experiment tomorrow whereby I’ll be getting up and going to bed an hour earlier, progressively each day pushing my body clock closer to Korea time (GMT +9). By Friday I should be getting up at 2am, ouch!! If you’re in the UK, enjoy the bank holiday tomorrow!
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Today some spice of a different variety…
I’ve not watched much Anime in quite a long time, generally I find there is way too much mediocre stuff out there for me to keep up with, but every now and then the odd gem appears. I first heard of Paprika back when I was in China and had been dying to lay my hands on a copy. Last night I finally had a couple of hours to watch it and… wow… it’s a pretty trippy invasion into the sub-consciousness (quite literally) . As the poster proclaims “This is your brain on Anime“.
Paprika revolves around a group of experimental scientists who have developed a new psychiatric tool. Known as the DC Mini the device allows a treating doctor to enter directly into their patient’s dream, interacting with them to diagnose and treat any issues that the dream may suggest… The project is in danger, however, with the three latest DC Mini devices, just completed and without the proper security protocols installed, stolen from their creator, the absent minded behemoth Dr. Tokita. With security measures removed the thieves can use these devices to force themselves into people’s minds, trapping them in bizarre visions of the criminals’ own choosing and – most disturbing – they are showing an increasing ability to do this even to waking minds. The most likely hope in fighting against this threat is Paprika, the alter ego of Dr. Chiba – the lead treating psychiatrist experimenting with the DC Mini and herself plagued by an extreme split personality…” [Twitch review]
What I like about good Anime, and Asian film in general, is that it doesn’t treat the viewer as a fool and makes you think. Whether that’s just a side effect of having to read subtitles at the same time I don’t know but Paprika can certainly be taken on many different levels - whether it be for its stunning visuals or its questioning of collective unconscious you win either way. Those familiar with director Satoshi Kon’s previous works will undoubtedly see parallels in Paprika and it’s interesting to see further exploration of the duality of reality and dreams explored here, something he also notes in this interview.
Check out the sumptuous trailer in High-Def here. It’s not out on DVD yet but still well worth hunting down!
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To say last week was busy would be an understatement. To say it was the busiest week of my working life so far might be closer to the truth. I felt mentally and physically dead so the weekend was a bit of a write-off but it was a good excuse for lie-in!
On the plus side the downtime gave me a chance to finally see the hotly awaited “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society” (what a mouthful!) with the added bonus of English subtitles.
Was it worth the wait…? Is the Pope a Catholic? Do bears relieve themselves in the woods?
There is something so powerful about the whole GITS word which goes far beyond your run-of-the-mill pseudo philosophical cyberbabble. Just the shear vastness of the universe which has been created though it’s various incantations (manga, films, books, series…) is mind boggling. What is even more staggering is slow but steady convergence of this world with our world as technology ever more encroaches every part of our lives and inevitably becomes one and the same. Man-Machine-Mind ~ Is this the new Holy Trinity? Perhaps it’s a bad example and perhaps it is just fiction but I like it 
If you don’t mind a few spoilers check out some neat screencaps and semi-reviews here, here and here.
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~~ 公安9課から草薙少 NON STOP ACTION SUSPENSE が意味するものとは ~~
…is how the first trailer for Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society bills the new film, due for release 1st September in Japan (random Japanese added for effect!). Going by what we’ve seen it looks very good and hopefully a fitting continuation to the ongoing saga. Of note in the trailer is the great soundtrack (by Yoko Kanno I presume) and some pretty high class animation. I guess the big question to be explored now is just what sort of state of mind Motoko is in after the climax of 2nd Gig.
No doubt this will appear as a fansub fairly quickly after release (already causing a stir) but I’m sure most fans will buy it on DVD once it’s officially avaliable anyway. Can’t wait!
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