CRAFT & ENCODE present: Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Set in a cyberpunk world of digital networks, cyborgs, and tech-enhanced humans, Mamoru Oshii's manga classic Ghost in the Shell (Japan 1995) follows members of an elite police force in their attempts to find and arrest an infamous criminal – the puppet master – who hacks into cyborgs and digitally connected human brains to obtain information and make his victims commit crimes on his behalf. When main protagonist, the cyborg police major Mokoto Kusanagi, finally manages to apprehend her antagonist, however, not everything turns out as expected.

 

Bearing the unmistakable stamp of mid 1990s manga cyberpunk (e.g. gender representation), the film appears contemporary with regard to the philosophical questions and conundrums it poses: What makes a life? Are humans, cyborgs, and AI simply different locations on a scale connecting human and artifical forms of life? Can an information network become sentient? In addition, the critical issues raised regarding the power of big tech commercial actors, the security of complex digital networks, and possible dangers of ever more embodied human-machine interfaces seem to have eerie contemporary relevance.

 

After a predicably mediocre US live-action remake from 2017 (that among other things changed the ending) and prior to the release of a new streamed series in 2024, you should not miss this opportunity to catch up with the original at this one-time big screen opportunity!

 

Introduction and Q/A by Holger Pötzsch (ENCODE) and Denisa Borit (BA student UiT).

 

Info on the VT-event here.

 

Courtesy Verdensteatret Cinematek entrance to this sceening will be free to all!