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Sci Fi's Not Trash - January 2007

Does a Ghost need a Shell?

January 13th 2007 02:35

One of the most famous Anime films would have to be Ghost in the Shell. This intriguing film about a computer program which becomes an actual entity questions life itself with regards to the soul. In this futuristic setting the majority of the population is at least partially cyborgian. The main character, Major Kusanagi is a complete cyborg, her body is mostly machine while only some of it is human. Because of this Kusanagi struggles with her own identity, wondering if she is even human - even truly alive. When assigned to a case in which a mysterious hacker is hacking into people's "ghosts" that is their consciousness, Kusanagi becomes almost obsessed with the case. For, as they discover the Puppetmaster is in fact a separate consciousness which began as a computer program. Determined to discover if it is possible for a machine to have a soul Kusanagi pursues the Puppet Master. The Puppet Master gives her hope. It argues that life cannot be explained and therefore why can't a machine possess a soul. But is this possible? It seems that the Puppet Master can survive even if it's "shell" is destroyed. Can the one survive without the other? Perhaps not, and this could be why the Puppet Master asks to "Meld" with Kusanagi. However I also believe what he needed was a woman to make him complete. So, can the Ghost survive without a shell? What is life? To me it is clear, God made the ghost and the shell. When the shell dies, the ghost leaves. But, what do you think?

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5 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Francis

January 13th 2007 04:56

Passionate Apathy

The whole meaning behind the word "ghost" is a spirit or soul that's still hanging around after the destruction of its "shell." If someoen could actually hack out wetware and alter our mind, would they in fact be re-writing our very soul?

As far as machines having souls, we don't actually know what ours is or why we have them. Why couldn't a sufficiently sophisticated machine have a soul to help guide its use of its intelligence?

Comment by Nina

January 13th 2007 08:44

TV Babble

I haven't seen Ghost in the Shell, but from what you've written here it sounds very intriguing.
I know that there is are Ghost in the Shell television shows as well - are these in the same vein, or do they move away from the orignal premise?

Comment by Tina

January 14th 2007 04:55

Sci Fi's Not Trash

I haven't seen the series but from what I've heard it does follow Kusanagi I would say it follows what happened after the end of the movie. There is also a sequel called "Innocence" and I think there is a third one coming too.

Comment by Tina

January 14th 2007 05:00

Sci Fi's Not Trash

When they hack the ghost in the movie it does destroy the person's identity. For example the perp that Kusanagi chases has been ghost-hacked and his identity is a mess. As well as this, the truck driver, whom the hacker was using has been given simulated memories. He too, is without an identity. The thing is, how does a machine get a soul to guide it? Can it create one? Where does the soul come from? Doesn't it have to come from somewhere? Why not God?

Comment by Francis

January 14th 2007 07:30

Passionate Apathy

Does the soul grow in one's mind/intellect/brain stem, developing over time, or is it placed there by an outside agency, fully developed? Or a combination of the two? Or some people develop a soul one way, some the other, some a third way?

Some people are born damaged in some manner... could a person be born without (or never develop) a soul?

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