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Ghost in the Shell I & II: The mythology of Dolls & Cyborgs in Post-modern Japan. By Alessandra Sabelli. Ghost in the Shell I & II. Post-modernism Images: reality vs. illusion Body [entity]: visions of identity in Japan. Identity displacement in Japan. Societal “Shocks” WWII: Defeat
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Ghost in the Shell I & II: The mythology of Dolls & Cyborgs in Post-modern Japan By Alessandra Sabelli
Ghost in the Shell I & II Post-modernism • Images: reality vs. illusion • Body [entity]: visions of identity in Japan
Identity displacement in Japan Societal “Shocks” • WWII: Defeat • National identity crumbles • Atomic bombs • Rapid Industrialization • consumerist culture • Economic bubble burst • Fall of Salary-men and “Wise” mothers scheme • Hyper-Technology • consciousness
“The Other” - the place of dolls & cyborgs Japan and the conception of “The Other”: • Spirit world • Shinto • Animism • Western world • Cyborgs/robots & dolls • Defining identity in relation to dichotomies • De-familiarizing narratives
From Cyborgs to Dolls GITS – creating mythologies • Cyborgs: towards a life on the Network • Dolls: Return to the Real
Cyborgs (1 of 2) GITS - • Progressive recreation of human body • Implications for a “bodiless” life
Cyborgs (2 of 2) Embodiment of needs in Japanese culture • Memory • Repetition • Rebirth
Dolls (1 of 3) GITS - Dolls: “who” are they? • Created for entertainment • Suicide? • A new social class • Ugly dolls: metaphor for mass production and consumerism & identity
Dolls (2 of 3) • High art and artisanship • Animism • Dolls as masks
Dolls (3 of 3) Origin of GITS doll design • Hans Bellmer (1930s)– dismantling and rearranging female bodies
Dolls & Cyborgs in Japanese popular culture Mechanism(?) of popularization: • Karakuri: the birth of the mechanical doll • Admiration of Western technology • Friendly robots: postwar manga representations • Contemporary search for Realism
Why to like the category of “robot”? • Anthropomorphizing robots • Human response to “living” behavior • world of fantasy and dreams • psychodrama