Ghost in the Shell

     "Ghost in the Shell" was definitely the most confusing movie to follow for me out of all of the movies we watched, but it interested me more after gaining some clarity. I had to do a little research about the major themes of the movie in order to better understand and analyze the movie, and the most interesting point i read about is how the movie explores the idea of humanity. When you live in a world where most are part human and part cyborg, where is the line drawn where you aren't considered human anymore? We see an identity crisis through Motoko's character; she doesn't feel entirely robotic, but she doesn't relate to other humans. A quote that resonated with me was, "There are countless ingredients that make up the human body and mind, like all the components that make up me as an individual with my own personality. Sure, I have a face and voice to distinguish myself from others, but my thoughts and memories are unique only to me, and I carry a sense of my own destiny. Each of those things are just a small part of it. I collect information to use in my own way. All of that blends to create a mixture that forms me and gives rise to my conscience. I feel confined, only free to expand myself within boundaries." I think many can relate to this quote. So many things go into developing our conscience, our personality, and our being as a whole, but it is so easy to feel confined in our society. Why do we allow ourselves to feel confined when we are born with natural gifts and are capable of so much? Motoko feels confined because she doesn't fully feel connected to be human because her body is almost entirely cybernetic. Watching her internal struggle with her identity ultimately strengthens her as a character, leading her to decide to preserve her humanity by merging with the Puppet Master. Humanity is valued within a society because it makes everyone unique. This idea of humanity leads into another important theme of the movie which is Cartesian duality. Cartesian dualism is essentially the idea that the being is split in two; the mind and the body. Considering Cartesian dualism with characters like Motoko is very interesting because her mind is human and her body is robot. We see how important having a human mind is when the audience realizes that the Puppet Master hacks into peoples' souls in order to have a human side. The Puppet Master's main motivation is to acquire a human presence in order to reach its true capabilities. Duality makes the cyberhumans capable of more because they have advanced technologies that make them physically stronger and more agile, but they also have human reasoning and consciences that help to guide them to make better decisions. 

    Overall, I think the film makes us rethink humanity and artificial intelligence, and how the two can be combined. It provides an interesting point of view on Cartesian dualism, and allows the audience to consider the ramifications of mixing artificial intelligence with humans. Ultimately, I think it makes us consider where we will draw the line with advanced technology and cyborgs. Do we want these things to intrude our humanity? When cyborgs exist will humanity even be seen as important? When will humans no be considered human anymore when most of their bodies and parts of their brains are robotic? These things may be achieved in the future, and humans need to consider these things before they become a reality.