This is quite a disturbing film, at least for my personality. It is pretty heavy. It's definitely not a refreshing weekend watch. But although my stomach felt like hurling I decided it would be worth my time to suffer through. After all, it had pretty good acting, an interesting story line, and I'm all into underlining messages you can find in unique Sci Fi.
Honestly, the reason I couldn't pull myself away was that it seemed to me that this movie is more than meets the eye. I would go so far as to say it is probably prophetic.
The story takes places in a futuristic Japan where technology has become more integrated with humanity than ever before. There are a few concept similarities to Robo Cop and the movie Source Code, and I can say this without giving away any Spoilers.
The main character is a robot with a human brain, created by a corporation that is all about human/robot advancement. The idea was to create a robot with a soul, hence the movie title "Ghost in a Shell". The film is about this character who is more or less commissioned as an advanced law enforcer and body hunter for this prestigious company.
The problem is, "Major" as she is called, doesn't have any memory of her old life, only the new, empty one, that she leads. And she hates it. The questions of her purpose, true identity, and mission unfold as the story progresses before our eyes.
This may seem like a pretty simple plot, and of course there is a Villain....or two...But to be honest, I believe this movie is not so much an action flick as advertised, it felt more like a psychological experiment to me. It was a real trip-pity trip.
There's nothing so weird as seeing a brain enter a robotic body, it makes me cringe every time. It's super disgusting. To me this movie raises all sorts of questions, and I felt like the screenwriter/filmmakers were curious about what sort of reactions they would get because they knew that they were creating a glimpse into the future we will one day experience.
In this movie, we are the souls weaving in and out of the scenes that flash before our eyes, and asking the deep questions that this being evokes. This movie speaks to our moral conscience more than anything else.
Thoughts from my Ghost:
In Ghost in a Shell, the scientists that work with Major are always reminding her that she is more than a robot, she is still a human, because she has a brain, which they believe houses her soul/ghost.
I think this film is super spiritual, as are most SC FI stories. It's not since I watched a holocaust story, that I felt these kind of emotions that this flick brought to the surface.
But why? I was reminded that we are God's creation, made to represent His glory, and the works of the enemy are to destroy our view of ourselves and our Creator. Because when you think about it, the holocaust was pure evil, and the forms of torture that went on were intentional disrespect against God's people, down to the tattoo markings they received.
What this character experiences is pure torture, to separate a brain from it's body, is horrific. Beyond obvious reasons and disrespect to God's perfect creation; a person's spirit/ghost is not just housed in the brain, it is housed in the entire body, and looks exactly like the outward shell.
The main character feels soulless, despite these reminders of her mental humanity. She rushes into things, like a rebel, which constantly results in her destruction and being pieced back together.
She lives in a world where body modification is all the hype and fashion. People are getting robotic limbs, not because they lost their human ones, but because they want to be more efficient in their jobs, or more interesting to the opposite sex. In this fallen futuristic world, the body remains the focus, more than the soul. Most of the modifications are not pretty, nor natural in appearance.
* We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are unique beings, both natural and supernatural. Psalm 139: 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I will praise you, because I am fearfull and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth, there your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book, even before one of them came to be.
* Man can only imitate what God has already mastered. And playing God leads to destruction, as we have seen over and over again in history. The problem is that the business owners, politicians, artists and college graduates of our society view success as coming away from the simple beauty and creating something more fantastical. What if happiness came from embracing and becoming more aware of the beauty that already exists, instead of draining nature's resources only to create something that feeds their pockets or egos? The earth is dying, people's souls are going into hiding, and yet we think that we have a more advanced world? I do not see an entirely positive evolution.
* We all long for a state of immortality/incorruptibility, to "evolve" beyond our "fallen man". This is a desire for our "glorified bodies" which we will receive in the next life. These "shells"/bodies are beautiful, but our spirits won't always be confined to them.
1 Corinthians 15: 53-55 says: For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal body will put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall the saying be brought to pass that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your sting? O grace, where is your victory?.
* Without belief in our true value and purpose we are "useless", but through love we grow and find our vision. Love means sometimes getting our hands dirty, or putting our heart on the line. The world has lost the true meaning of love, and are ignorant as how to receive and give love; they are afraid of it. Love is patient, love is kind, love is long suffering, love thinks the best, love respects, love hopes, love forgives, love covers a multitude of sins, love means more than acceptance, it sometimes means embracing the unknown.
It is so important that we love ourselves, and this can only be done when we understand what it means to love God, who first loved us. We can only properly love ourselves, when we understand our value, and that value comes from our identity in God.
* It is important for us to be healthy in mind, body, and spirit. Most humans don't recognize that they have a soul, anymore. They don't understand the inward workings of the heart. In a world that is becoming more and more dependent in technology, one cannot help but wonder if we are losing some of our humanity to it. People no longer have meaningful conversations, or connect as easily on an intimate level. As relationships are replaced with social media friends, and people converse less and less....a part of the human brain is not only stifled, but handicapped. We were created with emotions, that are meant to be realized, and used to determine the state of the soul. People are no longer recognizing symptoms of unhealthiness.
* Man wasn't created to be alone, or to feel alone.
The world is becoming a lonelier place, as people disconnect from the communities around them, and plug into a world of technology that focuses mainly on the outward appearance more than the condition of the heart. People are no longer embracing the realities of humanity, but rather trying to create a world where everything is flawless, and emotions are weakness. It is in our humanity that we find our true purpose, not by disconnecting or ignoring it. We are reminded that as humans we long to belong and were made to feel a part of something bigger than ourselves.
* We are all God's creation/Children whom He loves personally. We are not some meaningless beings, we are beautiful creatures, with a divine destiny. We are super-wonderful, intricate, living vessels made in the image of our Creator. God loves us so much more than we imagine, and His love is not shifty like the world's. He made us the way that we are, because we represent so much spiritually in our physicality. The Devil would like us to think we are expendable and unloved
* We no longer live in yesterday, but in today.
The cool thing about this film, is that it reminds us through several lines of dialogue, that we shouldn't be so confined to the memories of who we used to be, because our identity and value is more found in our inherit humanity than in our positions, talents, or deeds. All humans deserve respect and love, because they are humans, eternal beings, and living breathing reflections of the image of God. God is the "beginning and the end" and at the heart of our DNA. True "Science" observes God in mankind and points back to Him.
Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what he has made, so that people are without excuse.
Thank you for reading my thoughts on this movie, Ghost in the Shell is rated PG 13, Directed by Rupert Sanders, Based on the Comic Book, and stares Scarlett Johansson.
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