Herring --- Ghost in the Shell

One of the most interesting aspects of anime today is their use of technology. Anime, being done with drawings and animation, has a lot of room for creativity and coming up with their own ideas. Technology is used in pretty much every anime and it is interesting how some animes take technology and make it a very important factor in their story. In Ghost in the Shell, and actually Perfect Blue and Akira as well, technology is so advanced that even though it hasn't completely taken over peoples lives, it is still a major aspect of it. Motoko, the main character in Ghost in the Shell, is created to where technology is the thing that keeps her running, literally. The use of her camouflage is a big example of how she uses this aspect of herself to her advantage. The art that is used to create the asthetics used in advanced technology is often interesting in itself as well.

I think part of the reason that people find this so interesting is when there is a highly advanced technological element in a story. We can relate to this because we see parts of that advancement in our own world. We are able to compare how far we have come along in our own "real" technological world, and then possibly even hope for what we may see in the future. It is interesting because even though most of us know that we are rapidly becoming more technologically advanced, we still like to see how far things can be pushed in these animes. In Akira, the government uses complete control over technology and is able to monitor and check almost everything that is going on. Maybe another reason we find situations like that interesting is because some of us are maybe even scared of what our rapid advancement of technology will bring in the future. The argument can then be made whether or not technology is truly helping us or hurting us. There are other movies that use the idea of technology becoming overpowered and taking over as well.

The way Mima's life is being stalked (all by the use of technology) is something that is already seen today. When that film was made, we may not have been as advanced as we are now, which also shows the rate we are moving forward. Even in everyone's personal lives, most of us are somehow connected throughout the internet in some way. As this seems like a good thing, and extremely useful, it could quite possibly result in a large downfall in the distant, or maybe near future.

 Akira, Perfect Blue, and Ghost in the Shell are three great films that contribute to one terrible idea: do we even really know who we are in this world, and do we have any control over our lives anymore? 

I got these images from here, here, here, 
and here.