Released in 1991, Ghost in the Shell was originally a science fiction manga, or
ID: 3502860 • Letter: R
Question
Released in 1991, Ghost in the Shell was originally a science fiction manga, or Japanese comic. The manga is lighter in tone, more free-wheeling, rambling, and funny, and deals with a dizzying variety of serious and interesting issues. The 1995 film focused more on the question of identity, and the way technology and information shape the human experience. Highly influential (Ghost was a primary influence on such movies as the Matrix trilogy), the complex film provides an insightful vision of information technology in the post-modern age.
I. Public Security Section 9 is an anti-terrorism arm of the government, operating on the edge, or sometimes beyond, the boundaries of the law. Citizens are kept in the dark of the activities, and even the existence, of section 9.
a. In its covert activities dealing with the Puppet Master, does section 9 go too far? Explain. (150 words)
The movie was based on a manga originally published in 1989.
a. Various forms of media (using McLuhan’s definition of a medium as “an extension of ourselves”) have had an impact on the way people use, create, store, access, and communicate information. Give 3 historical examples of such media and describe their impact.
Explanation / Answer
Answer 1.a.
Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow tells the story of a fictional anti-crime/counter terrorist unit named Public Security Section 9 (also known as Section 9), that’s an intelligence department specializing in cyber-crimes. Here terrorism often takes the form of remote mind control or Cyberbrain invasions or infections, due to computer viruses. The level of cyberization demonstrated by the different members of Section 9 can vary from minimal interfaces to complete brain replacement with cybernetic parts, turning them into cyborgs. the Section 9 team emerges as policing more than violent criminals and as a police force it gets locked in an arms race with an increasingly inhuman opponent but lostbits ability to serve the public trust, and protect the innocent.