Ghost in the Shell placed a spin on what we saw with our eyes and what our mind was allowing us to think. Visually, Major Kasanagi was made in the image of a woman and at first glance one would expect her to act in that manner. As the movie progressed, Kasanagi took on more masculine and aggressive roles. This influenced the idea of identifying gender in that we could actually tell both male and female were merged. One could also say that there was no gender what so ever, being that she was a cyborg. The year is 2029 and we are post-gender during this time. The female that we see is a metaphor for establishing the idea of womanhood or femininity in the future. Although she appears to be a woman, she possesses masculine qualities that are very present and open in the movie. During one scene she goes from a soft feminine figure, to bulging muscles. Her partner is more aware of the gender differences in them. He turns his head when she changes and covers her up when she’s nude. It’s a possibility that Kasanagi was a man before being placed in a female shell. Kasanagi has no problem stripping down in front of anyone as if she was in a men’s locker room.
Besides the theme of gender roles, there’s also the idea that we are all just ghosts or robots for the use of others. A man working as a trash collector is brain washed into thinking he has a family so that he can carry out illegal acts for a group of people. His previous memory can’t be recovered. That leaves the question of who are we really, wide open. We are easily brainwashed into believing what we see on TV or hear on the radio. We are also just shells to be filled with advertisements and catch phrases. A message of the movie could be that we are all here to be programmed for the use of others. How do we know that we haven’t had our minds erased? Or that we are even who we think we are? We live in a world much like the movie, where we carry on day to day unaware of the dangers around us.
The movie’s use of voices and switching of shells is somewhat confusing. The puppet master is a deep male voice in the body of a Nordic looking woman. We wouldn’t expect this normally but from the movie, we come to understand that the body is just a shell and the mind is a separate entity. At the end of the movie when Kasanagi must change shells, she has merged with the puppet master. At first we see a young girl and Kasanagi even speaks in a young voice. As the movie comes to an end, we hear Kasanagi’s voice which helps to understand that she places no importance on her shell but on her intelligence.
The probability of cyborgs running the world is far fetched, but we fail to realize how much we actually use objects as an extension of ourselves. We have become accustomed to using tools and objects to help us in everyday life. Cyborgs aren’t whole beings but with the help of a shell, are able to go through life with little difficulty. The objects that we use for example, crutches, a wheelchair, a power drill, or screw driver are extensions that help us through life. We are also starting to blur the lines of gender roles. One hundred years ago, gender roles and boundaries were clearly set. In 2010, I see more and more everyday men and women switching roles. Women are out in the work place while men stay home with the children. Cyborgs might not be in our future, but as we evolve so does technology. How long will it be before technology takes over?
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