Ghost in the Shell (1995)

“Ghost in the Shell” questions the idea of existence, debating on whether it’s a human quality or if human-like machines, like robots or cyborgs can develop this notion of existence. It addresses questions like, what does it mean to actually exist? Or, what makes ‘something’ alive?

This anime transports us viewers to a technologically advanced future full of possibilities, including ones that seems distant in today’s technology. It presents the idea that a machine (the program, Project 2501) can create another machine (the Puppet Master) able to act on its own free will—and even against its programmed function. This makes the viewers imagine what it would be like if ever machines could have this kind of power (to create, decide and act free will)… How would human beings be able to control it? Moreover, what would happen if machines could question their existence? Then what would differentiate humans from cyborgs?

The Puppet Master not only escaped Project 2501, but managed to be imperceptible, like a ghost. Moreover, it was even able to live in human form, within a human body, and experience human qualities such as mortality (this through Kusanagi). This started when the Puppet Master began to contemplate his existence, questioning why he could not die… He wanted to be human, even if it meant to be mortal. At the end the Puppet Master merged to Kusanagi’s body, as its only way to escape was through a physical body. Kusanagi ultimately was a combination of her own self and the Puppet Master’s ghost. 

The Hacker's Manifesto / When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth

Both “The Hacker’s Manifesto” and “When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth” presents hackers as rebels, acting according to their views despite society’s conventional views and misconceptions. In Hacker’s Manifesto they expose themselves as if they were in a whole different social division. They do not follow the limitations that the governments, organizations, and society had established over the use of internet (for security reasons, to protect system information that’s supposed to be confidential and that could be used against a business or government)… Hackers believe they are unstoppable and that any limitation is against (their) freedom of expression. They as well aim to make the point that, as the internet is spread worldwide and it’s impossible to control its use, people cannot stop hackers as a whole…because, either way, they are all spread out everywhere, acting so alike that they can disguise: “You may stop this individual, but you can't stop us all.  After all... we're all alike.”

“When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth” is an interesting story, which makes us think of technology as a weapon that can be used for destruction. In a selfless world, we might imagine technology used for the common good, to make this world a better one, and be connected worldwide to unite us instead of to divide us more. However, we have created something so big and powerful (technology, the internet…cyberspace), that when we think we control it, the immensity of that technology falls out of our control and starts to control us. I think we might be reaching a time in which technology is power, as if becoming our new social division or standard, meaning how many we have may determine our social status:  The more technology, and the more knowledge you have about technology, the more power you have…and therefore, socially above the rest of society. Throughout this story, a debate emerges on whether the technology should be regulated (as possible) and its use inspected, or if it should be part of our freedom of expression (meaning we may use it as we may want). 

Westworld (1973) Ideologies

Westworld (1973) Ideologies 

“Westworld” (1973) explores the ideology that human beings can create human-like complicated machines able to do anything to make their lives more easy and pleasurable, wrongfully believing it’s risk-free. The film presents how the greed o further explore what advanced technology may allow us to do drives us to develop ambitious projects without considering any repercussion it might outcome if that technology ever gets out of control. In this movie, the whole concept of Delos was to offer people the chance to make their fantasies come true and have their dream vacation, within a safe environment (the program was set to keep human beings out of danger, so they could kill androids—for example—but it could not happen otherwise); this, as well had a lucrative purpose for the company. However, the androids were so complicated machines that when malfunctions started to emerge, Delos administrators/company members realized they did not know how to fix it. As a matter of fact, they initially ignored safety signs when something was clearly going wrong; they just care about the lots of money they were making with Delos, and therefore they were unable to control it when incidents continue to happen more often. The androids started to act at they own will, even against their respective programmed function they were designed to. People got killed…and still the company’s economic interests were more important than people’s safety. 

"They Live" (1988) Ideologies

"They Live" (1988) Ideologies

The movie “The Live, They Think” presents the ideology that those who have power (due to politics, status/ social class) has control over the rest of the population. While I was watching the film, I was constantly thinking that if we could see the world through glasses that allow us to see the real meaning behind things (ads, TV, magazines, businesses…), we would probable see the same kind of revelation as the main character of the movie. We are constantly surrounded by messages from power entities whose system controls our lifestyle. Everything that business creates and sells, for example, is done with the sole purpose of making the consumers believe they need more than they have and that what they have is never enough… Moreover, most of those products and services only advantage those who have money, those who created them…and most of them are not made to satisfy a need but vain desire or commodity people could live without. In this shot, we can see some of the messages the main character gets to see when he puts the glasses on. All of those messages seek to establish that the powerless common people in society are ruled by the powerful corporations, business, industries, government or entities that wants people to consume, buy, submit, obey… so they influence what people “should” do, accordingly to their convenience. 

2001: Space Odyssey (Sound)

The scene where Dave asks Hal 9000 (the computer) to open the pod bay door consists entirely of diegetic sound. The shots of the interaction between them appear in individual shots (separated from each other), with few exceptions. Moreover, both—Dave and Hal—have their respective sound which repeats through the shots as they appear. Hall’s sound is more like resembling the sound of the wind or some vehicle’s wheels (a car or airplane in motion). On the other hand, the sound in those shots in which Dave appears and/or is speaking resembles that of an old printer or a projector screen. In some moments, the shot cuts and is followed by a shot of the space; in the first of these shots there’s no sound and no transition as well (in the sound), meaning there’s an abrupt change or cut between these shots (the sound is interrupted and followed by a silent shot). Then, for the other ones the only sound we hear is Dave’s voice. These silent shots anticipate to the viewers that the lack of response from Hal is increasing the character’s anxiety. As we hear Dave repeatedly trying to get Hal to answer, his voice grows more impatient…until Hal finally responds. Same happens when Hal refuses to open the door and ends the conversation. 

Sound & Editing in "The Terminator" (1984)

The scene of the Police Station Shootout begins with The Terminator approaching the Police Station reception asking to see Sarah. After he’s told to wait, he states he’ll be right back and goes outside. Upon his departure the reception is all silent; the viewers can only listen to some non-diegetic sounds like the sound of drums as background music, and diegetic sounds like the reception employee’s hand writing. These initial shots serve as characterization of him as a man who’s so caught up in his routine (in this case, work) that he didn’t pay attention to The Terminator’s suspicious appearance and intimidating voice tone. 

Another moment where sound works together with editing in order to add suspense—and an overall atmosphere of tension within the scene—is the intermixed shots of Sarah Connor and those of The Terminator searching for her. These shots play with the viewers’ expectation as well, specifically when Sarah hides under a desk fearing she’s going to get shot. The viewers’ expectation is that Terminator is going to find her: The shooting feels getting nearer every time and it seems like he’s getting closer to where she’s hiding. The coming and going of the shots framing Sarah and then framing The Terminator shooting around and inspecting all the offices is what shapes that expectation. This intensifies with the presence of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds: The music (non-diegetic sound) is fast-paced just like her heart beats (fast, of course, because of the fear of being found and killed); and the diegetic sounds, the locked doorknob being shaken and the breaking of the door glass (to open from inside, to enter). That expectation falls apart when the door opens and it’s actually Kyle who has found her first, and they escape.

Editing in "The X-Files" (Season 5, episode 11)

The editing in this scene of X-Files (season 5 episode 11) builds viewers’ perception of the events through spatial relationship between shots and the use of ellipsis—a commonly used transitional effect between the shots, in which time is omitted. The overall result is the combination of multiple shots that are interrelated (through editing) in a way that forms the ultimate sense or interpretation of what the scene is about. 

In this sample shots I’ve chosen to analyze, the editing allows the viewers to perceive the woman’s (the "Invisigoth") state of mind first from the close-up (first picture), capturing her reaction towards what the camera is about to show us. Then the next shot captures the ruins of the house in a side-by-side camera movement for panoramic view, while her head is seen front yet blurred; right after, the camera lens’ focus changes within that same shot (instead of cutting into two shots) and the background fades into a blurred perspective while the woman’ face becomes the subject of the camera.

In the upcoming shots, Dana Scully sees her opportunity to break free; the rhythm of the editing—fast-changing shots with little duration each—adds suspense by switching between shots of her struggle and shots capturing the woman’s location as seen through Dana’s perspective (inside the car). Taking advantage of her distance, she manages to unlock herself. In the next shots, editing is important for viewers to know that Dana’s time is running out (to escape), as the woman gets nearer. She discretely continues to unlock by the time the woman gets into the car, and conveniently for Dana, the gun is placed in a reachable place.

When the woman gets inside the car, her reaction was unexpected for Dana. As a seemingly strong woman such as herself, to see her crying was a surprise; she does not know what to do or how she should feel about it. Nevertheless, her disbelief towards her (even despite she's in a moment of emotional weakness) leads her thoughts to her initial extent of escaping. The gun is a reminder of her intentions to escape. And chances have become easier: She already unlocked herself, and it was a matter of taking the gun and she would be in control of the situation. However, she’s aware of the circumstances of the woman’s emotional reaction as she contemplates the house’s ruins from distance while she listens her crying. And interestingly, the next consecutive shots reveal how Dana’s attitude toward the woman’s vulnerable state changes to her ultimate reaction. We can perceive that she feels bad about it, although she's still thinking about the gun. 

These following shots present the viewers with an unexpected change in Dana’s reaction, as she decides to show some emotion instead of remaining cold and distant. After the woman directly gives Dana what she wants (the gun and the power and control it represented), she’s touched by her (the woman’s) selfless reaction (she was willing to die…as if life makes any sense). Dana could understand how sad and lonely she was and finally consoles her. The last screenshot shows Dana as a woman that is able to empathize with other people’s suffering.

Cinematographic Elements in "Tron" (1982)

In analyzing “Tron” (1982) in terms of cinematography, it’s important to pay attention to how lighting, color, and camera angles are used and how it exposes the readers to a better understanding of the characters, their state of mind and the world they live in.

First of all, the use of lighting does not add dramatic elements to the plot, particularly in the “real world” scenes; there’s balance between light and shadows in most of the scenes. However, in the “cybernetic world” (the mainframe, the Grid), lighting is used in a way that allows the background to lose importance in the shadows to create the illusion of a seemingly never-ending world. The following screenshot serves as an example; moreover the tilt or diagonal angle of the frame amplifies that illusion, as the grids seems to continue on infinitely (and disappear into a dark background). 

The use of color differentiates the real world from the cybernetic world. While the real world presented in the movie is true to ours (viewers), the cybernetic world is presented as an “unnatural reality,” without losing the sense of “real world” viewed from a more abstract perspective, like a video game come alive. That is why the colors of everything within the cyberspace do not look natural: Colors are solid almost in simple tonalities and as bright as “neon.” In the first scenes the viewers get to see of that cyberspace, blue is one of the most constant colors that stand out in a shot (and again with the dark background to introduce the viewers to the seemingly infinite cyberspace). Moreover, the programs (that are actually living entities within the cyberspace) are dressed with gray and neon blue uniforms (or red like Sarks’), as shown in the next screenshot.

Another cinematographic element, camera angle plays an important role in the viewers’ interpretation of the characters’ state of mind. For example, the scene where Master Control Program (MCP) tells Sarks about the newcomer (“a new challenge” for him to train for the games) the camera focuses Sarks from a low angle, making him appear powerful and suggesting that—he feels—he has control over the situation, as he is used to dealing with different kinds of programs. That’s why he asked what kind of program it was. Inversely, once MCP explains it’s not a program but a user, the camera focuses Sarks’ reaction from an eye level angle. He argues about the dangers of having a user among a system of just programs, because users are the ones that create programs and therefore have knowledge that programs don’t have and that could interfere with any ENCOM system program. His ultimate state of mind is focused in a high-angle shot (3^rd picture below), meaning the camera focus from above the action. This high-angle shot serves for two main purposes: First, to emphasize MCP’s superiority over Sarks; and second, to denote Sarks is in a vulnerable position, as his new challenge turns out to be a user—a more powerful adversary in terms of knowledge (remember, knowledge is power).

The Concept of Form and Content in the movie "12 Monkeys"

At the ending scene of the movie "12 Monkeys," James Cole goes to the airport to stop Peters before he spread the virus to another country. He breaks through the security point and he's shot by the police. He dies in Railly's arms. A young James happens to witness his own death.

Throughout the movie, the director's emphasis on James' recurrent dream is important in understanding the ending. A way the director gives emphasis in that dream without revealing the whole picture (and particularly avoiding to reveal that dream as the film ending), is by breaking the dream into pieces of a puzzle. When James starts to have these visions, he barely recognizes any particular thing about it, let alone faces he's seen before (aside of his own as a little boy); moreover, by that time he never got to end it. The next times the dream reveals itself a little longer, lasting longer, at least enough for him to recognize faces...Until he completes the vision and is able to recognize Railly's face.

The vision of that dream serves as a prediction of the new future he's creating, as consequence of altering the past. What's out of the picture in the last scene is himself, sharing a same space of time as his own (young) self. The concept of time traveling revolves around the consequences that changing the past have in the present and future. At the end James did not accomplish his mission, the purpuse of traveling to the past (which was to stop the virus from spreading into the epidemic it becomes in the future). And the attempt costs him his own life. However, even in a movie like this, a common idea about time traveling, it's not possible to turn back time and change events (that already happened) without affecting the future as well...There's always consequences. No matter what, one cannot be twice at the same place and time.

Analysis on "Johnny Mnemonic" (Short Story and Film)

When analyzing the movie on Gibson’s “Johnny Mnemonic” short story, any viewer who’d read the story can tell that it lacks the detailed descriptions and the rich vocabulary used by the author. As matter of fact, the movie has the visual aspect that enables the viewers to experience the story without relying on their imagination; it doesn’t need to engage in further character descriptions other than what people are watching, specially when it comes to characters not directly linked to the main conflict of the story. For example, how the “Magnetic Dog Sisters” are presented differ from short story to film. Originally the author plays with the readers’ imagination as he provides descriptions of these characters in a way that turns out to be different than the readers’ expectations… First, the author alludes to two “Sisters,” giving a sense of a family relationship, and then he mentions they are almost identical “as cosmetic surgery could make them” (with the exception one is white and the other one is black)….and then further the reader discovers it’s more like a transgender-lesbian relationship, as the author reveals they are actually lovers. In the movie, however, the black one is presented as a man dressed as a woman and they are clearly not identical at all, which differs from the description given in the short story. This is an example of how carefully detailed descriptions, whether implicit or explicitly, are presented in the story as opposed to the film, which main focus is the conflict surrounding the main character Johnny Mnemonic in a way that invites viewers not to pay that much attention to characters that are not of much importance within the story and whose identities reveal nothing let alone have any kind of effect on what’s happening to Johnny. However, the main emphasis of the story remains the same as both story and the film presents the audience with themes on artificial intelligence and the overall cybernetic world. 

Welcome Message

Hi everyone! I've created this blog as a space for sharing cyber punk film analysis for my English course on "Topics in Cinema." Hope you all enjoy and have a great semester! ;)