Ghost in
the Shell: Identity in Space
I Watch the video taken
from the animated film ‘Ghost in the Shell’. What does this short video
sequence show? What emotions and feeling does it cause in you? Describe what
you see. Get ready to discuss your ideas in the classroom.
II Study the active vocabulary and focus on Ukrainian equivalents of English
words.
sci-fi науково-фантастичний
qualify визначати як
exquisitely вишукано
shot кадр
tempt
спокушати
dissect розібрати
aspect ракурс
transition
перехід
art and craft художнє ремесло
panel панель (окремий малюнок на сторінці комікса)
goal-oriented цілеспрямований
character персонаж
virtually практично
abandon
відмовитися
exploration дослідження
space
простір
evoke викликати
maze-like подібний
до лабіринта
cyclical циклічний
interlude проміжний епізод
frame кадр
sequential
послідовний
irrelevant який не стосується справи
perception сприйняття
plug into підключити
до
metropolis
мегаполіс
shell оболонка
ghost
привид
cyborg кіборг
incorporeal нематеріальний
AI штучний інтелект
merge зливатись
artificial
штучний
false несправжній
take advantage of скористатись
state-government
державний уряд
identity індивідуальність
in this respect у
цьому відношенні
layered багатошаровий
hand back повертати
vital життєво
важливий
fade
зникати
subjugation підкорення
impose
нав'язувати
redefine переоцінювати
effort зусилля
dystopia антиутопія
succumb поступатися
drive something home щось доводити
loop цикл
virtuous доброчесний
vicious порочний
III Vocabulary focus. Study the words and word combinations, check flashcards, practise translation, spelling. Take a test. Play matching vocabulary game (match words to their translations to make
cards disappear) and save the planet from asteroids by typing in correct translation of the words.
IV
Watch the video and fill in the gaps with the words from the list. There are
some words you don’t need to use.
graphic novel; atmospheric; themes; characters;
sequence; accomplishes; shot; characteristic; comics; goal-oriented; qualify; middle;
describes; meddle; majority; derives; thriller; minute; nation; video; author; apparatus;
time; derived; emphasis; modelled; rarely; accurate; animation; accomplices; imagination;
bling; sci-fi; space; transitions; cyclical;
gorgeous; mute; irrelevant; timed; city; impossible; sequential; preacher; thing;
mood; featured;
There’s a three 1)______ and 20ish second long scene in
the 2)______ of the animated 3)______ action thriller ‘Ghost in the
Shell’ that doesn’t really 4)______ as
sci-fi action or 5)______. It’s a sequence
of 34 6)______ exquisitely detailed 7)______ shots of a future 8)______ in Japan that’s 9)______ after Hong Kong. And I’m tempted
to make an hour-long 10)______ dissecting
each 11)______ individually, but I
really want to look at what this interlude 12)______
as a whole, by itself, and in the context of the film and its 13)______.
The first 14)______ to note is that this montage is full of what Scott
McCloud has called aspect-to-aspect 15)______.
McCloud is the 16)______ of an
absolutely essential 17)______ on
the art and craft of 18)______. And
in it he 19)______ the kind of panel-to-panel
transitions that have become popular in different parts of the world. In
American comics, for example, the 20)______
of transitions are action-to-action, fitting for a 21)______ culture interested in telling stories about goal-oriented
22)______. Japanese comics, on the
other hand, have long 23)______ a
kind of transition that is really very 24)______
seen in the West, the aspect-to-aspect transition in which 25)______ is virtually abandoned for the exploration of 26)______. These kinds of transitions evoke
a 27)______, they activate the
senses and 28)______, and they have
a rich tradition in Japan’s use of maze-like and often 29)______ works of art. The 30)______
is on being there instead of getting there. And it’s that emphasis at play in
this interlude from ‘Ghost in the Shell’. Though this is 31)______ and not comics, the aspect-aspect categorization is, I think,
pretty 32)______. I mean, people and
things move in these frames, but it’s 33)______
to tell if the shots are meant to be read as temporally 34)______. And I think it’s pretty obvious that that question is
really just 35)______.
V
Watch the video again and choose the correct
option to complete the sentences.
What
protector/director/producer Mamoru Oshii accomplishes here, is to expand/expansion/depend and draw
attention to the audience’s conception/perception/percept of space in the film.
And what mind/kindness/kind of space is it? It’s the space of
a chaotic/chaos/ethos multicultural
future city, determined/dominant/dominated by the intersections of and
new features/structures/structured, connected by roads, canals, and apology/theology/technology. Humans move about like electricity/electric/ethnicity along these avenues, bugged/plugged/pug into the body of the Acropolis/metropolis/police.
The relationship between body and mindful/mind/tide, shell and ghost, is, of
course, a central rhyme/thematic/theme of the film, which tells the
story of a female cyborg/cyclic/cyber
police officer who with her team hunts down a notoriety/notorious/authority
hacker. Only to discover that he’s an incorporeal AE/AI/II who wants to merge
with her and create a new liar/higher/pier life form. Since most
bodies in this feature/future/futuristic world are at least
partly artificial, people locate their identities in their ghosts or their
minds. But with the troubling knowledgeable/knowing/knowledge that these also can be hacked,
memory, identity, and humanity are all called into question/mention/quest.
“All your m_ _ _ _ _
_s about your wife and daughter are f_ _ _ _. They’re like a dream. Someone’s taken
a_ _ _ _ _ _ _e of you…”
So how can a m_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ on space _ _l_m_ _ _ _ the
problem and theme of identity in ‘G_ _ _t in the Shell’? Well, maybe the first
thing we should say is that _p_ _ _ s, like identities, are c_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _d.
Though space often feels _e_ _ _ _ _ or given, like we could move anywhere w_ _
_ _ _ it, our movements, our _ct_ _ i_ies, our life is always limited by the
way space is p_o_u_e_. In most places, but _s_ _ _ _ _ _ly in big cities, that production
is controlled not by the people, but by _i_ _ _ _ _c money interests, state-_o_e_
_ _e_ _ _ or both. And the same is true for identity. Spaces and identities are
constructed, and not always by _u_ _e_ _es. In this _e_ _ect Hong Kong was the
perfect city to _o_e_ for this film. It’s
a city _a_e_e_ with histories and c_lt_r_l memory.
VI Watch the video and fill in the gaps in the text.
1)_______
it or not, when ‘Ghost in the Shell’ came out in 1995, it was still a 2)_______
or territory of the United 3)_______. It had two years left on a 99-year lease 4)_______
in 1898 which was interrupted during the Second World War by a four year 5)_______
by Japan. Now it was about to be 6)_____ __
to Communist China with which it had little relation in both 7)_______ and
economy. So who were the Hong Kong people 8)_______ to be then? Indeed, how to
define 9)_______ was a vital question in the post-colonial 10)_______. As
the old 11)_______ faded, but left their centuries of subjugation and 12)_______
in the very streets and minds of 13)_______ cities like Hong Kong and its 14)_______.
You don’t want to maintain the often 15)_______ identities imposed on you by
the colonizers. But you really can’t go 16)_______ to what you were before either.
“You’re talking about redefining my 17)_______.
I want to guarantee that I can still be 18)_______.”
“There isn’t one. Why would you wish to?
All things 19)_______ in a dynamic environment. Your effort to remain what you
are is what 20)_______ you.”
Look
closely at the 21)_______, and you can see these dilemmas played out in 22)_______.
Cyberpunk has always 23)_______ these uneasy composites of multiple 24)_______.
These are not 25)_______, but they don’t have to be imagined as dystopias
either. The philosopher Michel Foucault called spaces like this ‘heterotopias’,
places that exists in a 26)_______ state of layered and changing meanings. Heterotopias
don’t succumb to those 27)_______ that try to make everything the same. They
are marginal spaces for the 28)_______ to construct identities for themselves. Cyberpunk’s
great radical 29)_______ was that the blending of man and 30)_______ would have
the same effect on 31)_______ identity that multicultural 32)_______ like Hong
Kong would have on collective identity. It would break down the constructs of 33)_______
and race, and class that had defined us for so long without our 34)_______. You
can see that hope in the main 35)_______ of ‘Ghost in the Shell’. The
three-minute aspect-to-aspect interlude in the 36)_______ of this film by its
strong break from the 37)_______ of the plot forces us to consider the 38)_______
between city and body, 39)_______ and ghost. To drive this home, the rest of
the film is 40)_______ with characters set against the city they live in. Yes,
spaces are made by 41)_______. But humanity is made by its spaces too. It’s a
feedback loop, a 42)_______ made virtuous or vicious based on the 43)_______ we
make together. ‘Ghost in the Shell’ wants to show us that the 44)_______ of
ourselves and our spaces are one and the 45)_______.
VII Watch the video and read the texts above.
Say if the statements below are true or false. Correct the false statements.
1) The video describes the first scene in the
animated film ‘Ghost in the Shell’.
2) ‘Ghost in the Shell’ is a TV
series.
3) The video explores the role of
identity in the space of the city.
4) A scene in the middle of ‘Ghost
in the Shell’ shows the city that looks like Hong Kong.
5) ‘Ghost in the Shell’ uses
Western principle of action-to-action transition typical for comics.
6) Japanese comics use
aspect-to-aspect transition, action is not very important for the story there.
7) ‘Ghost in the Shell’ focuses
on the relations between people and the government.
8) The city of Hong Kong is part
of China now.
9) In ‘Ghost in the Shell’ some
characters lose their memories or their memories are changed.
10) ‘Ghost in the Shell’ is the
story of a cyborg.
11) The animated film stresses
the idea that people change space and cities they live in, but space and cities
also influence people.
1 “These kinds of
transitions evoke a mood, they activate the senses and imagination, and they
have a rich tradition in Japan’s use of maze-like and often cyclical works of
art.”
2 “The emphasis is on being there instead of getting there.”
3 “All things change in a dynamic environment. Your effort to remain what
you are is what limits you.”
4 “Yes, spaces are made by humanity. But humanity is made by its spaces
too. It’s a feedback loop, a cycle made virtuous or vicious based on the
choices we make together.”
5. “Since most bodies in this future world are at
least partly artificial, people locate their identities in their ghosts or
their minds. But with the troubling knowledge that these also can be hacked,
memory, identity, and humanity are all called into question.”
IX Watch all parts of the video and answer the questions.
1) What
genre is the animated film discusses in the video (comedy, horror)?
2) What
relation between people and the city is discussed in the video?
3) Why was Hong Kong used as an example of the multicultural city? What important events
in the city’s history are mentioned?
4) What
are the characters of ‘Ghost in the Shell’?
5) What is the
difference between Japanese and Western structure of comics?
6) What is the most important
component of the story in Western comics? Is it space or is it action?
7) What modal of framing
does ‘Ghost in the Shell’ use: Japanese or Western one?
8) How
is the decline of empires and colonial powers connected to human identity?
9) What
is identity and how can it be defined?
10) What
is the relation between people and the spaces they live in?
11) According
to the animated film can human memories be lost or hacked or changed ?
X Match the parts of the collocations
used in the video. Use 5 collocations in
your sentences.
1.
|
in the middle
|
A.
|
tradition
|
2.
|
model
|
B.
|
hand
|
3.
|
the art
|
C.
|
of somebody
|
4.
|
on the other
|
D.
|
to forces
|
5.
|
evoke a
|
E.
|
city
|
6.
|
activate the senses
|
F.
|
or vicious
|
7.
|
have a rich
|
G.
|
histories and cultural memory
|
8.
|
temporally
|
H.
|
into
|
9.
|
multicultural
|
I.
|
back
|
10.
|
plug
|
J.
|
of
|
11.
|
hunt
|
K.
|
in space
|
12.
|
take advantage
|
L.
|
loop
|
13.
|
layered with
|
M.
|
and craft
|
14.
|
hand
|
N.
|
down
|
15.
|
play out
|
O.
|
mood
|
16.
|
multiple
|
P.
|
sequential
|
17.
|
succumb
|
Q.
|
identity
|
18.
|
collective
|
R.
|
after
|
19.
|
feedback
|
S.
|
cultures
|
20.
|
cycle made virtuous
|
T.
|
and imagination
|
XI Restore the order of
the words in the sentences.
1.
Space, / history / in / argues, / time. / a / closely / Foucault / Western /
bound / culture, / it’s / always / has / our / of / and / experience / to
2. / of / the / mentions / museum / heterotopia / time. / Foucault / as
3. erosion. / to / enclose / times / brings / It / time’s / – / attempts / totality / disparate / that / protected / from / that / the / together / a / totality / a / time / is / different / in / space / from / of / objects / single
4. complexity / its / The / means / of / coordinate / nobody / systems, / logic / each / can / autonomous / with / city’s / the / various / that / own / everything.
5. was / / plan / no / a / or / this / of / chief / planner. / a / master / longer / a / for / was / place / master / there / The / that / consequence
2. / of / the / mentions / museum / heterotopia / time. / Foucault / as
3. erosion. / to / enclose / times / brings / It / time’s / – / attempts / totality / disparate / that / protected / from / that / the / together / a / totality / a / time / is / different / in / space / from / of / objects / single
4. complexity / its / The / means / of / coordinate / nobody / systems, / logic / each / can / autonomous / with / city’s / the / various / that / own / everything.
5. was / / plan / no / a / or / this / of / chief / planner. / a / master / longer / a / for / was / place / master / there / The / that / consequence
XII OVER TO YOU. Research the concept of Foucault’s heterotopia.
What is a heterotopia in the context of a modern city? Get ready to share your
findings with the group. Choose a city in an English-speaking country (not
London, Oxford, Liverpool, Newcastle or Edinburgh since they were extensively
discussed in study materials) and get ready to speak for 5 minutes about the
way the city of your choice shapes the identity of its inhabitants. Think about
the example of Hong Kong in the video as the multicultural city projecting the
complex identity of the inhabitants. Think about the way the city of your
choice can be called a heterotopia. You can accompany your talk with a
PowerPoint presentation (no more than 10 slides). In your talk focus on the
connection between a person and a city, do not merely list the sites and
attractions of the place or recount the history of its construction.
Study
the passage below to find inspiration and start thinking about the connection
between cities and identities.
“The
built environment can help generate certain types of behaviour, in particular
when it comes to the use of public space. Places that are inviting, well
configured and programmatically activated can attract a lot of people, as
experiments in the revitalization of central Copenhagen have shown. Second,
built environment can also produce important social effects. “The only
indispensable material factor in the generation of power”, claimed Hannah
Arendt, “is the living together of people. Only where men live so close
together that the potentialities of action are always present can power remain
with them, and the foundation of cities, which as city-states have remained
paradigmatic for all Western political organizations, is therefore indeed the
most important material prerequisite for power.” (Arendt 1958)
The social forces that emerge when men and
women come together behind a common cause in cities are among the greatest
social forces we know. They have produced a series of important social changes
in the 20 th century – the Civil rights Movement, the fall of communist regimes
in the former USSR, and most recently the social movements we have seen in the
Arab Spring. It would be inconceivable for these movements to have occurred
without the congregations of people that cities form. Sometimes the causes of
these movements themselves originate from the spatial characteristics of
cities. Cities benefit economic activities with at least three important
attributes. They offer the benefit of size, which increases the volume of
opportunities for their inhabitants and economies of scale for their enterprises.
Size increases the number and variety of destinations available to a citizen,
and provides market area for specialized companies who couldn’t survive in a
small town. Second, cities generate density, which reduces transportation costs
and increases the likelihood for interaction. A concentration of people and
firms within close proximity allows us to get more done with less time.”
Sevtsuk, A. “”How we shape our
cities, and then they shape us”, MAJA: the Estonian Architectural Review,
2-2012 (72), pp. 10-15, 2012
