Motoko Kusanagi: the Japanese superwoman : a comparative film analysis of Rupert Sanders’ and Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell

Abstract

This paper studies the two different versions of the film Ghost in the Shell by Mamoru Oshii and Masamune Shirow. In recent years, Hollywood has produced numerous remakes of originally Japanese cult classics. Often, even though the original film and the characters are Japanese, the setting is changed to America and the characters are acted by Americans. The location of Ghost in the Shell remains in Japan, but the main cast consists of Caucasian actors and actresses. In the year 1995 it was a significant film due to its strong female lead. The films are studied through Orientalism and Occidentalism. The aim is to explore whether these stereotypes of the East and the West affect the main character and her role as an Asian woman when the actress’s ethnic background is changed. The original film, which was released in 1995, was watched with Japanese audio and English subtitles, and the 2017 remake with English audio. This study will refer to studies about the history of anime, and ethnicity and gender in anime. Sources that study women’s role in the Japanese society will also be used.