Re:Philosophy of Ghost in the Shell (2012)
by yvdriess on Wednesday January 08, 2020 @12:16PM
(#21993444)
One of the strongest elements in that scene regarding the concept of 'identity' is completely missed by that video: Kusanagi briefly sees someone in an office building that looks exactly like her. It's a great nod to the book, which briefly explains that her face is made to look like a cheap factory-line model, belying the astronomically expensive military grade hardware she's made of.
Nothing better than having a bunch of people look exactly like you to make you believe in dualism, if only as a straw for your identity to hand on to.
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Re:Philosophy of Ghost in the Shell (2012)
by wayoutthere on Wednesday January 08, 2020 @01:35PM
(#21994342)
In the Stand Alone Complex timeline, Kusanagi is literally several different people throughout the story. She assimilates memories from a few different sources (the tank in episode 2, the Laughing Man, and Kuze, Puppetmaster in the SAC:SSS movie). It's implied (and made explicit in other GitS timelines) that the only reason she is able to do this and maintain her sense of self is because she was "cyberized" as a young child and had to figure out the answer to the question "who is Motoko Kusanagi?" independently of her physical form.
She even has a line towards the end of the SAC:SSS movie that says something like "next time you meet me I might be a completely different person". But there is indeed a "base" personality that she tries to hold on to (e.g. via her watch) despite the wide range of memories she acquires.
Re:Philosophy of Ghost in the Shell (2012)
by cheschire on Wednesday January 08, 2020 @04:39PM
(#21996082)
The second manga explores this in detail as well.