Ghost Whispers: Physical Memory and the Self in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Abstract

In Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex director Kenji Kamiyama tells the story of Motoko Kusanagi, a young woman who has inhabited a prosthetic body from the age of six. Through her life and the lives of her team, Kamiyama presents how items of sentimental value can become the embodiment of memories. These items can help preserve self-identity in the face of existential doubt in the truthfulness of memory and the unknown body. In the two seasons of Stand Alone Complex, Kamiyama challenges Motoko by raising up two figures to serve as mirrors for her own life and choices and presents to the viewer the decisions that Motoko faces and why she chooses to reject them. In a franchise like Ghost in the Shell where the prosthetic cyborg interface easily becomes the focus, Kamiyama instead presents the humanity of Motoko Kusanagi and what she does to maintain herself despite the challenges she faces.