1) Referring to our screening of Ghost in the Shell (1996) and The Terminator (1984), as well as Scott Bukatman's "Terminal Resistance," describe how in both films, the cyborg body functions in relation to: 1) the urban environment 2) gender boundaries 3)human interface with technology (For instance, according to Bukatman, what is the function of the male "armored body" in science-fiction/fantasy films?)
2) According to Donna Haraway ("A Cyborg Manifesto"), what is the cyborg's relation to and challenges it poses to the Western tradition, particularly the "myth of original unity" and dualism (mind/body, male/female, culture/nature)?
Friday, November 7, 2008
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In both films, the cyborg bodies function well in their environment. In The Terminator, the audience is shown within the first five minutes of the film of how well the cyborg does function. After Arnold is teleported from the future, his first task is to find clothing; he is already “fitting in” with the people around him, and in a larger sense, his urban environment. Other examples of the terminators body functioning in his new environment were when he “bought” the guns at the store, his ability to use the means of transportation provided, using the telephone and the telephone book to track down Sarah. Even though he was not from the city, or even the time period, he seemed to be made for the environment. He was able to use a variety of things to his advantage. In ghost in the shell, Kusanagi also seems to be “made” for her environment. She is able to jump off buildings, become invisible, she is able to fight, and she possesses detective-like skills, which all benefit her job to track down criminals.
The terminators body does not really function the same way that a normal human would, in relation to gender boundaries. When he was tracking down the Sarah Connors, he seemed to feel no sympathy towards them. Even though they were women, and that they were no threat at all, he killed them anyway. But this is not to say that he did not kill men either, he showed no discretion whatsoever; so I guess you cant accuse him of being sexist. Kusanagi’s relation to gender boundaries was apparent throughout the film, especially at the beginning when we saw her being built. One of Kusanagi’s roles in the film is representing a sex symbol. However she does not seem to desire love, or at least a romance with another being; this was made know to the viewer during the scene on the boat with the other cop.
In the terminator, the cyborg definitely represents human inerface with technology. It is the whole theme of the movie. When people think back to the movie, one of the key ideas is half man, half machine. In the beginning of the film, we are immediately aware of Arnold’s body, the physical presence he brings but yet how he still looks human. And then later when he is cleaning himself up, we see his mechanical arm and eye. It is the biggest theme of the movie. Kusanagi’s body in relation to human interface with technology is also a big theme in her movie. It becomes apparent in the opening credits when she is being made, and also when she fuses minds with the puppet master in the end.
The cyborg’s relation to and challenges it poses to western tradition are pretty similar in most cyborg movies. They often are surrounded by humans with souls, and are caught believing that they are human, and often contain internal struggles with who they are, what they should be doing, and if they have souls themselves. These issues came up in many of the films we have screened, especially in Blade Runner; it was a key idea throughout the narrative. Often in these movies, when these cyborg’s cannot answer their questions, they turn to violence, and that is usually the basic story for the film.
-Ryan Bender
In the films, Ghost in the Shell and Terminator, the cyborg blends into the urban environment quite seamlessly. They already have the appearance of a human and they have the technologic brain to be able to learn about their surroundings and adapt to them in any way necessary. As far as genders, in Bukatman’s essay, he suggests that male cyborgs have the desire to “annihilate the female” whereas the female cyborg will destroy anything and everything. I don’t think this is true in the Kusanagi’s case. She isn’t even the antagonist in the film until the very end when she merges with the Puppetmaster and we don’t exactly know what the Pupetmaster’s intentions are once the merger is complete. For most of the film, she has set targets and is very controlled in how she executes her missions. Bukatman also discusses the armored body and suggests that it is part of the male ego. Maybe even a manifestation of it. Seen as this hard and indestructible material that is part of the body. In the, Cyborg Manifesto essay, Haraway talks bout the “myth of original unity”. She discusses that as a product of militarism and capitalism, they have no sense of organic being. They don’t realize or have any notion that one-day they will cease to exist and become part of the Earth. The cyborg also has no understanding of familial units, mainly because it didn’t come from a mother and father. All these things that western culture holds as main properties, the cyborg has no tie to because in the end, it is just a programmed piece of machinery.
In the films “Ghost in the Shell” and “Terminator”, both cyborg characters exist in their environments in contrasting ways. Kusanagi is sort of ‘absorbed’ and a part of her environment; she eventually transcends and becomes a kind of omniscient part of it. The Terminator is the Freudian ego come to life; it murders and steals the clothes of a person off the street in order to disguise its nude exterior and, while still having a masculine presence, blend in. The “hypermasculine cyborg” in the “Terminator” is really a response to the “aggressive fear of sexuality” (Bukatman, 308) that a character like Kusanagi might represent. Bukatman argues that the Terminator cyborg is a way of fusing ones self with technology in order to be armored against it. She writes that this is an attempt “to reseat the human (male) in a position of virile power and control” (Bukatman, 308).
Haraway’s piece describes the “Western” idea of all social responsibilities and identities being intrinsically tied to an origin. Cyborgs, she writes, are a good metaphor for existing outside this idea. She writes, “The Cyborg incarnation is outside of salvation history. Nor does it mark a time on the Oedipal calendar, attempting to heal the terrible cleavages of gender in an oral symbiotic utopia or post-oedipal apocalypse” (Haraway, 476). I found this piece difficult to follow, however, I think she is arguing that “essential unity” is not possible when considering the different fractured identities people and groups might associate with. The cyborg, without its responsibility to its origin, does not assume this. I, however, am not confident enough to declare that this is Haraway’s definitive message.
-Joseph Belknap
Ghost in the Shell and Terminator represent the cyborg in two very different ways. Ghost in the Shell shows a harmonious living within one’s urban environment. Even on the cover of the DVD, Kusanagi is part of the city; she is the protector and in control. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cyborg in Terminator is a destroyer of the city in the past in order to get Sarah Connor. He has no problem destroyed people, buildings, or anything else in order to get to her. Gender boundaries also contrast these two films. Kusanagi clearly breaks these boundaries. Even though she has a highly sexualized body, this representation of her body is not what is important about her character. She even destroys her body willingly in the last scene against the tank which shows how unimportant her physical, gendered body is to her. Terminator represents the typical big, strong, “perfect male specimen” who is always in control of the woman. Sarah Connor is even at the manly mercy of Kyle Reese who is a human sent from the future to save her. She is never in control of her own protection. Both of these characters, however, do function as a symbiosis with technology. Bukatman in “Terminal Resistance” explains how “In the current era of techno-surrealism similar ambivalences pertain, and as the represented body moves ever more emphatically toward a symbiosis with electronic technology, it becomes ever more emphatically armored.” (Bukatman 304) Kusanagi and The Terminator embody the nonsexual, unemotional, “armored” beings that embody the connection between human and technology.
According to Donna Haraway in “A Cyborg Manifesto” the cyborg is constantly fighting with the Western traditions. These traditions emphasize past, family, and the connection people share from having a past. Cyborgs have no familial roots; they have no memories and feel the struggle of not being human, but appearing as such. They cannot relate to human beings or feel any unity with the human race. The cyborgs have no sense of mind and body because they are a machine. These two are combined entities in order for the machine to run properly. Gender has no matter because they are, again, a machine. As long as they carry out their purpose and function, that is what matters. With a lack of a past, the cyborg cannot form a culture or connection to nature.
-Julianna Pierandozzi
1) When comparing the urban environment in the films The Terminator and Ghost in the Shell, it is hard to see many similarities. The Terminator takes place in a current environment where people are unfamiliar with the technologies of the future. In a scene where the police are interviewing Kyle Reese, a man that was sent from the future, they simply laughed at the story that Reese was telling about why he was sent to the current time because they simply couldn’t believe what he was saying. In Ghost in the Shell the technology was common, it was usual to see people who were part robot. I felt that in Ghost in the Shell gender seemed to be looked at as equal between man and woman. Motoko Kusanagi, a female police officer and main character was a strong independent character that seemed to be equal with all the males. Looking at the male armored body in science fiction films we often see characters like the Terminator, a buff man that could beat up anyone he wants to. You also even see this in Ghost in the Shell, where the male police officer is a huge man similar to the character in The Terminator.
2) In Haraway’s essay she discusses the idea of the Western ideals and the cyborg’s relation to those ideals. When referring the Western tradition you would think of a male dominant world along with sometimes racist views. The cyborg exists in a time where there are no racial or sexual differences because it is not even human.
In both Ghost in the Shell and The Terminator, each have unique interactions with their environment. In Ghost in the Shell, the interaction with the urban environment is blended, where Kusanagi is almost a part of the city itself. The Terminator, however, is a destroyer of the city and environment in which he exists. Whether it is the past or the future, the Terminator stops at nothing to accomplish the mission of killing Sarah Connor. The "interaction" for the Terminator is fully adaptable, and he has the ability to make what he wants of any situation, since he is close to being indestructible.
Gender boundaries are seen more in The Terminator, where the Terminator himself is a superior male figure. Sarah Connor seems to be the helpless female and need the protection of a man, Reese, who is sent to save her. In Ghost in the Shell, the gender boundaries were a bit more blended. Although Kusanagi had strong elements of sexuality, the roles of males and females were not strongly distinguished, although noticeable.
Human interference with technology was, again, seen heavily in The Terminator both in the present and the future. The entire premise is based on the human's fight to overtake the machine world which was a result of the human creation. They had created their own worst enemy. Ghost in the Shell portrays human interference in the end of the film when Kusanagi blends minds with the Puppet Master. Human "interference," however, is more prominent in The Terminator. The function of the male "armored body" in The Terminator shows the dominant male having the need to "annihilate the female" which completely fills the role of the plot to the movie itself.
The cyborg's relation to the challenges it poses to the Western Tradition and dualism are quite eminent. As in many cyborg and sci-fi films, the cyborg is created by man, lives among man, but is not man itself. It does not have feelings, emotion, thoughts, drive, or any of the basic characteristics of humans. Cyborgs are always (or usually) portrayed as being lost in society with the only purpose being its programming. Once the mission of the cyborg is complete, its purpose is over. There is no connection to nature, culture, society, or humans. They do not have the ability to reproduce (traditionally. But this is shown to be different in The Terminator where cyborgs are mass producing themselves to annihilate the humans which plague the world in which they find themselves.
-Brandon Savage
Cyborgs in Ghost in the Shell function like humans, but have more controlled physical abilities and better survival tools. Terminator is similar, but differs in its social status in terms of “fitting in.” Terminator’s is on a mission and doesn’t care who gets hurts, and Ghost’s cyborgs interact for entertainment sometimes. In “Terminal Resistance” Bukatman writes, “Springer writes that these cyborg figures “perpetuate, and even exaggerate, the anachronistic industrial-age metaphor of externally forceful masculine machinery, expressing nostalgia for a time of masculine superiority.” He is referring to the body armor of leather in Terminator is an attempt to resist the “feminization of electronic technology.” My understanding of the reading is the terminator is compensating for internal feminine workings. It’s different in Ghost because though the cyborgs are sexualized visually, it doesn’t seem they feel it inside. Human interface with technology is seen in Terminator where it’s machine vs. man and in Ghost it is more of a union between the two who fight for similar causes. The big difference between the films is in who has power. Ghost’s cyborgs are human controlled, and Terminator’s are opposite.
According to Haraway, “Western, humanist sense depends on the myth of original unity.” A cyborg lacks this unity. It hasn’t been born from natural means, has not developed like child or redefines itself through social interactions. The idea of self presents a problem for the cyborg because they don’t have an idea of what it means to be human, and what it feels like.
Desten Johnson
In both films "Terminator" and "Ghost in the Shell" the cyborg body functions for many different reasons when it comes to the urban environment, gender boundaries, and human interface with technology. For example, in the film "Terminator" the terminator is an urban machine. The skeletal structure of the terminators body is specially designed to survive in urban and war environments. This is also the case with the technological characters in the film "Ghost in the Shell". The character Kusanagi is a very technological advanced creature. The human body is that of an "exoskeleton", while the internals are machine and electrical components. Both of these characters also relate to gender boundaries in the films. In the film "Ghost in the Shell", Kusanagi is a female body, but a technological specimen under neither the skin. The female body is used to create a feeling of innocence to the viewer. In "Terminator", the body of terminator is used to symbolize power to the viewer.
A cyborg relations to Western tradition is that of belongingness, even though the cyborg is not human. The cyborg is surounded by humans, therefore the cyborg believes that it is human rather than machine. The cyborg also symbolizes the thought of outside ideas in western culture.
In both films, the cyborgs are able to adapt to the urban environment very successfully. Kusinagi is able to use her invisibility to be able to literally merge with the environment. In the Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger's cyborg is able to merge into the environment with his naturally programed use of violence (e.g. getting clothes, guns). There is also a lack of gender boundaries in both movies. We discussed how Kusinagi is not viewed as a woman, despite how she is shown as having an exaggerated feminine form. She is viewed as just another person, and not as a woman by her coworkers. In the Terminator, the terminator does not have a feeling of a difference between male and female, seeing both as equal targets, without a difference between the two. In Ghost in the Shell, the interface that the humans have with the cyborgs is shown through the use of the puppetmaster. The humans attempt to create a better cyborg, and it backfires. In the terminator, the human interface can be shown through the entire movie, in which the whole plot is based around the humans attempting to kill the technology that is the terminator.
The cyborgs poses a threat to common western tradition because it does not have a gender, a culture, a common nature, or a mind of its own. It is just something that is created as something to achieve a goal, and not think for itself
In the films Ghost in the Shell and Terminator, both cyborgs are able to fit into their urban environment, Kusanagi more than the Terminator. They both look human but Kusanagi actually acts like a human. She was made for the environment she lives in. They are both programmed but the terminator functions for one purpose: to kill humans. His mission is to track down and kill Sarah Connors and kills multiple people on its way, without a care at all. Kusanagi is also an assassin but she seems to have a personality and emotions. She has many human-like qualities. She is identified as human but is not sexualized but it is known that her gender is female. The terminator appears male but really is genderless. They do not feel pain, as they are machines. After being shot, the terminator is able to go to his "home" and just cut up his arm and face without it appearing to be painful in any way. Kusanagi in her battle with the tank ends up ripping her arm off and destorying her legs but does not seem to endure pain as human would.
Cyborgs pose a threat because they can look and act human. We cannot tell the difference between a human and a cyborg in most circumstances. They lack gender and empathy. They cyborg is programmed and does not act on it's own. They can be dangerous as they they are in Terminator and Blade Runner. It is a higher technology that is difficult to understand.
In both Terminator and Ghost in a Shell, the main cyborgs fit into their respective environments quite well. In the case of the terminator, he slowly gets more acquainted with his surroundings as the movie progresses. He starts off naked, with no weapons but himself and no information regarding his mission. He gains clothing and weapons quickly and seamlessly gains transportation and information through means that are not even available in his time period. Scott Bukatman states that different genders of cyborg have different intentions when killing. His point is that the male is a “female killer.” However, the terminator doesn’t mind killing anyone, or anything that gets in the path of his mission. He is bound to his mission through coding and that isn’t to be against females in general just he is out for one specific female and any and all collateral damage is not worried about.
In reference to Donna Haraway, the cyborg lacks unity because it is not born through natural means. The cyborg is not changed through experiences as humans are. I feel this point is made very clear in the second terminator, Terminator 2. In this film John Connor tries to relate many times to the terminator only to have no success. The only time some of this is gained is when he follows an order given, as that is his mission written in the coding. This makes the cyborg completely lack unity.
Well, first off… BIG SURPRISE more about Ghost in the Shell …
Referring to that terrible, poorly animated movie and Terminator, we see different functions of the cyborg figure in relation to the body and the environment, gender boundaries, and human interface with technology. The cyborg in Ghost in the Shell relates to the environment with a camouflage suit – which literally lets her become part of the surroundings. A unique perspective on immersing one’s self in the environment. Terminator on the other hand interacts with the environment as being destructive, anything organic is expendable and a threat to the cyborg, while anything machine is supposedly not. It was irony when the terminator was crushed by the machine at the end. This was a means of man controlling the machines to work in a positive way instead of being a threat. In relation to gender boundaries, wait a second! Didn’t I just write an entire essay on this aspect? Yes, yes I did. I hardly think there’s room for all of that in here. See Short Response Essay #2. Thanks! Can we PLEASE get away from gender issues and Ghost in the Shell?? Human interface with the cyborg is different in the two films. Ghost in the Shell presents humans as nothing more than “ghosts” or souls, which can be coupled with cyborg parts, or enhancements to create new better humans. Examples include, mind implants, cyborg hands, and eyes. Other than that, the human interface is simply a soul for the machine being created. Terminator has very little human interface with technology, with the only exception being that the humans created the robots and cyborgs that eventually enslaved them.
“Cyborg Manifesto” presents the idea of cyborgs being essentially soulless machines that do not exist with full conscious because they do not understand the notion of existence. The cyborgs do not understand that one day they will no longer function or exist and that eventually will either be discarded or replaced. Furthermore, there is no notion of family, or birth to a cyborg, it simply IS.
While hidden from other character's within 'Terminator', Arnold's character undergoes routine maintenance to repair a 'wounded' eye and arm. These scenes are presented in a shock-voyeur fashion, almost intended to invite the viewer to his side instead of the protagonist's. It's only when the fire of the semi accident does the Terminator shed the human guise. Other than Kyle's description of who the Terminator is and the endless body count he leaves in his wake, identification of him being 'other' than human is held to the very end, proving his ability to function seamlessly within the earth's society. A gender boundary I saw in regards to 'The Terminator' was during the entire film Sarah is protected by Kyle, a male, from the Terminator, another 'male'. It wasn't until the end that Sarah, a female, ultimately ended the Terminator's 'life'. In regards to sexuality, it was interesting to find Sarah and Kyle 'interested' in each other, while no sexuality could be found in the Terminator. Kusanagi, on the other hand, had the guise of a highly sexualized female body, yet even so, the more pressing issue was that of her human identity, not in regards to her gender. Speaking of interaction with technology, Terminator was comprised of nothing more than the hybridity of organics and robotics. Kusanagi maintained only the organics, but her 'clock' was that of not herself, but the Puppetmaster. One would say the Puppermaster serves the same role as the robot designer, controlling all aspects of their existence.
Bukatman's many examples of armored bodies, even the enhancement from a previous version of armor, proves the "armored body has a powerful legacy in America and is often aligned with issues of technology." Given the example of Batman's progression from a leotard from the 1960's tv show to the encasing body-armor shows how one, in this case a hero, must continually progress himself to keep up with the changing technology. Another good example is the T-1000 in 'T2' that Arnold's character is obviously inferior to in regards to version of robot.
Western tradition has been practiced as the norm. Haraway refers to the Christian teachings in regards to the origins of life as being "a form of child abuse" as they go against modern beliefs and scientific theories. As many can attest, times change, beliefs change, and morals degrade as a result. The cyborg's challenge to Ryan and Kellner's Western conservative idealism is that it breaks away from that which is considered natural, defined by the human race. In other words, it's the shock-value direct opposite.
Jim
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