Ghost in the Shell

1995, Mamoru Oshii, Japan, 83 min., Japanese with English subtitles

Introduced by neuroscientist Dr. Leah Kelly

In the not-too-distant future, humans are connected to each other and the world by a vast electronic network, with “shells” containing their consciousness. Cyborg agent Major Motoko Kusangi works in federal intelligence, and he’s on a mission to track the Puppet Master, who ghost-hacks into the bodies
of fellow cyborgs, altering their minds and memories.

“Ghost in the Shell” is based on the popular Japanese manga, which has been adapted by Paramount Pictures in a 3D movie starring Scarlett Johansson.

Cabaret Cinema is showing the original animated movie from 1995, which is considered a groundbreaking work of Japanese anime, as part of the Rubin’s Brainwave series about perception versus reality. It raises provocative questions about how individual identity is defined in a technological world.

“Ghost in the Shell stands as one of the pioneering films of anime history, one that captures the imagination with its intricate story and dazzles the eyes with its gorgeous animation.”

—Jeff Beck

About Cabaret Cinema: Perception

Can the truth truly be trusted? Is it objective or rather tinted by our experience and memories? Perhaps there is no better medium with which to explore these questions than the illusory cinema. In that pursuit we have invited scientists to introduce films that potently demonstrate that much of our perception is clouded by the distorted lens of our assumptions and desires.

About the Introducer

Leah Kelly is a neuroscientist at Rockefeller University. She uses electrophysiology and optogenetics to map the neural circuitry underlying appetite. Recently her research has expanded to include the magnetic manipulation of neuronal activity. She has consulted on artistic projects for Palais de Tokyo, The Artist’s Institute, Watermill Center, Villa Gillet, and FIAF. In 2014, she co-curated Impakt Festival in the Netherlands the Netherlands— entitled “Soft Machines,” the festival explored AI and empathy. She also contributed to the book, Experience, in which artists, philosophers, anthropologists, historians, and neuroscientists explore aspects of sensorial and cultural realms of experience.