Machinic Desires: Hans Bellmer's Dolls and the Technological Uncanny in "Ghost in the Shell 2:

Innocence"
Author(s): STEVEN T. BROWN
Source: Mechademia, Vol. 3, Limits of the Human (2008), pp. 222-253
Published by: University of Minnesota Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41510912
Accessed: 16-06-2015 22:41 UTC
REFERENCES
Linked references are available on JSTOR for this article:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/41510912?seq=1&cid=pdf-reference#references_tab_contents
You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

University of Minnesota Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Mechademia.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

STEVEN

Machinic

Desires:

Dolls

and

the

in

Uncanny

Hans

T.

BROWN

Bellmer's

Technological
Ghost

in

the

Shell

2:

Innocence

Thereorenohuman
Thecharacters
beingsinGhostintheShell2:Innocence.
areallhuman-shaped
dolls.
- Oshii
Mamoru
One of the most distinctiveaspects of Ghostin the Shell 2: Innocence
, Oshii Mamorus 2004 sequel to the highlyacclaimed feature-lengthanimation Ghostin the Shell (1995), is the films obsession with the uncanniness
of ningy(literally,"human-shapedfigures")in the formof dolls, puppets,
automata,androids,and cyborgs.In interviews,Oshii has acknowledgedthe
in German;bukiminain
importanceofthe conceptoftheuncanny(unheimlich
and
its
relation
to
for
an
Japanese)
ningy
understandingof Ghostin theShell
2.1This concernis one that the sequel shareswiththe firstmovie,but Ghost
in theShell2 goes wellbeyondthe earlierfilmin the scope of its engagement.
Of particularinterestis Ghostin theShell2 s repeatedreferencesto the erotic
grotesque dolls constructedand photographedby German SurrealistHans
Bellmer(1902-1975). In this essay, I explore Ghostin theShell 2's intermedial playwithvarious ningyand how such engagementsenterintothe films
complexevocationsof the uncannyat the limitsof the human.

00Q

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Any study of the uncannymust acknowledgeat the outset how much

it owes to the pioneeringeffortsof not only SigmundFreud but also Ernst
Jentsch,2the earliestwritersto analyze the varietyof complexphenomena
associated with the uncannyand attemptto account forit in psychological
and/orpsychoanalyticterms.In addition,an enormousamountofcriticalattentionhas been givento Freuds essay on "The"Uncanny"'(1919) bycontemporaryphilosophers,literarytheorists,and culturalcriticssuch as Jacques
Derrida,Hlne Cixous,SanderGilman,Neil Hertz,Samuel Weber,and Nicholas Royle.3In mostcases, suchpost-Freudianreadersoftheuncannyhave focused theiranalysison deconstructingFreuds readingof E. T. A. Hoffmanns
"TheSandman"(1816).4In whatfollows,I am moreconcernedwithdiscussing
the uncannyas a literaryand artisticmotifwith philosophicalimplications
than I am in the explanatorypower of Freudiandiscourseto accountforthe
psychosexualetiologyof the uncanny.In otherwords,I am less interestedin
rereadingFreuds (mis)readingof "TheSandman,"or in critiquingpsychoanalyticmetanarrativessuch as the "castrationcomplex"or "deathdrive,"than I
am in unpackingthe functionofthe tropeofthe uncannyin GhostintheShell
2. Indeed, I argue that engagementswiththe uncannyappearingin Ghostin
theShell2 should be regardednot so much as Freudiangestureson the part
of Oshii as theyare byproductsof Oshis remediation5of the dolls of Hans
Bellmer,whichwereexplicitlydesignedto evokethe uncannyon manylevels:
in termsofthe repetitionof dj vu, theblurringofboundmorespecifically,
aries betweenlifeand death,animate and inanimate,and the doppelgnger.
Whatbinds togetherall oftheseinstancesoftheuncannyis thatin each case,
at the heart of the familiar,a
the uncannyevokes a sense of unfamiliarity
in
the
an
of
unhomeliness
home, estrangementof the everyday.The
feeling
defamiliarizations
producedbythe uncannyin GhostintheShell2 workto destabilizeour assumptionsabout what it means to be human in a posthuman
worldand how we mightrelateto all the ningywithwhom we increasingly
share the world.

RRE CUT,
"ONCE
THEIR
STRINGS
THEY EASILY
CRUMBLE"
In his essay "FromWooden Cyborgsto Celluloid Souls: Mechanical Bodies
in Animeand Japanese Puppet Theater,"ChristopherBolton points out the
stronganalogyin the firstGhostin theShellmovie between cyborgsand traditional Japanese puppet performance(ningyjruri) with respect to "the

MACHINI DESIRES 223

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

VI5UAUY, THE PUPPET MOTIF

APPEARS REPEATEPUy IN
CONJUNCTIONWITHSCENES IN
WHICHONE CHARACTER
UTERAUY OR METAPHORICALLY
"PUW-S THE STRINGS" OF
ANOTHER VIA CyBERBRAIN
HACKIN ANP MANIPULATION.

divide between body and voice" that is

"foregroundedby the ventriloquisticmedium of animation."6There is no question that puppet-likecharactersand the
division of body and voice are also importantto the world of Ghostin theShell
2. During the course of their investigations into a series of gruesome crimes
1
committedby femaleandroids called "gyfemalerobot[s] createdspecificallyforsexual comnoids"7- "hyper-realistic
panionship"8who have murderedtheirownersafterapparentmalfunctions
- Batou and his new partnerTogusa encounternuand then self-destructed
merous figureswho are likened to puppets and confrontedwith theirlack
of controlover theirown actions and identity.This concernwithpuppets is
announced to us in the soundtrackthatplaysas the openingcreditsrollin a
choralmelodycomposedby Kawai Kenji (withthreevariationsrepeatedduring the course of the film),entitled"Song of Puppets" (Kugutsuuta), which
tells of a legendaryJapanese creaturecalled a "nue,"with a monkeys head,
raccoondogs body,tigers legs, and snakes tail,who singsin griefabout the
inanimatespiritsof flowers,whichlament"theirbeingin thisworldoflife,/
Theirdreamshavingfadedaway,"awaitingthe dawn of a new worldin which
the "godswill descend."9The nue is a chimera,able to turnitselfinto a black
cloud, that bringsmisfortuneand malady to those it visits,such as in the
famousepisode fromthe Tale oftheHeike,whereit is said to have made EmperorKonoe (r. 1141-1155)sickbeforebeingvanquishedby Minamotono Yorimasa (1106-1180). In the contextof GhostintheShell2, as the nues "Songof
Puppets"is playedoverthe openingcredits,we witnessthe manufactureand
assemblyof a gynoid.Insofaras the ontologicalstatus of puppets (and their
close cousins: dolls,automata,robots,cyborgs)and theirrelationto humans
haunts the entirefilm,the elegiac "Song of Puppets"seems to announce not
onlythe disappearanceof completelyorganichuman beings,whose "dreams
havingfadedaway"grieveand fallliketheflowersmentionedin the song,but
perhaps also the corruptionof innocencethat Oshii associates withthe anthropomorphizationof dolls and robots.But even as it nostalgicallymourns
the loss of beautyand innocence,the nue also announces the dawn of a new
world.What thatnew worldentailsis the subjectof Ghostin theShell2.
Visually,the puppetmotifappears repeatedlyin conjunctionwithscenes
in which one characterliterallyor metaphorically"pulls the strings"of anothervia cyberbrainhackingand manipulation.In the worldof Ghostin the

T.BROWN
224 STEVEN

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Shell2, cyberbrainhackingis associated with"theimplantationofvirtualexperiences,includingfalsememories,in orderto steal informationor control

the victim."10
In the futuristicsettingof the story,whichtakes place in the
year 2032 in unnamed multiethnicAsian cities (modeled afterHong Kong,
Taipei, Manhattan,and Milan), Batou and most of his colleagues in Section
9 have cyberbrainimplants,whichare electroniccomponentsthat facilitate
directaccess to massiveinformationnetworksand memorystoragein cyberspace,as wellas otherfunctionssuch as silentcommunicationtransmissions.
Althoughclearlyaugmentinghuman capability,such implantsalso make one
vulnerableto hackers,despite the existenceof attackbarriersthat are supbut cannotguaranteeit.
posed to help preventinfiltration
Scenes of puppet-like cyberbrain manipulation are foregrounded
throughoutGhostin theShell 2. For example, when Batou and Togusa pay
a visitto the Kjinkaiyakuza gang, a local crimesyndicatesuspected in the
murderof JackVolkerson(a shippinginspectorforthe companythatmanufacturesthe gynoids),Batou defeatshis opponentsin the gun battlethatensues by hackinginto theircyberbrainsand infiltrating
theirtechnologically
vision
centers
so
that
shoot
at
a
they
holographof Batou rather
augmented
than at Batou himself.In the process, Batou also subdues a yakuza cyborg
outfittedwith an illegal Chinese prostheticlimb known as "the claw" and
manipulateshim like a marionette.In the conveniencestore scene that follows,whichis a spectacularblend of three-dimensionalcomputer-generated
backgroundsand two-dimensionaleel-stylecharactersmelded togetherinto
a hybridformthat astonisheswiththe sheer complexityof visual detail,11it
and is manipuis Batou himselfwho becomes the object of "ghost-hacking"
lated likea puppet,probablybythe professionalhackerKimat the requestof
Locus Solus (literally,"solitaryplace"), the companythat manufacturesthe
gynoids.In orderto protectBatou fromhimself,as well as otherpatronsin
the store,Ishikawa zaps Batou's cyberbrainimplants.Batou later does the
same to Togusa duringa visitto Kims mansionwhenTogusa is brain-hacked
by Kim and subjectedto a series of hallucinations,includingscenes in which
both he himselfand Batou have turnedinto automata. AlthoughTogusa is
the least cyberneticmemberof the Section 9 team,he is nonethelessvulnerable to ghost-hackingdue to his cyberbrainimplants.
The uncannyblurringofboundariesbetweenthe animateand the inanimate,thelivingand the dead, is clearlyexemplifiedbypuppet-likecharacters,
but the uncannyis also evokedin scenes involvingcyberbrainhackingand ebraincommunication.In recentyears,therehas been quite a bit of debate in
the UnitedStates about the constitutionality
(or lack thereof)ofwarrantless

MACHINI DESIRES 225

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

wiretappingperformedby the National SecurityAgencyforpurposes of domesticspyingon suspectedterroristsubjects.What Ghostin theShell2 offers

is a meditationon ontologicalwiretappingor electronictelepathy.Ifwarrantless wiretappingviolates freespeech and privacyrights,ontologicalwiretapping (or electronictelepathy)undercutsthe veryexistenceof the stable subject to which such rightssupposedlyaccrue.12What makes such instances
of electronictelepathyprofoundlyuncannyis that,as AndrewBennettand
Nicholas Roylehave suggested,theyinvolve"thethoughtthatyourthoughts
are perhaps not yourown, howeverprivateor concealed you mighthave assumed themto be."13
Of course, this also raises serious questions about the status and authenticityof memory.If one s memoriesare not entirelyones own,ifvirtual
memoriesare as vivid and realisticas actual memories,then how does one
know whetherones memoriesare real or simplyfake memoriesthat have
been implantedlike those of the replicantsin RidleyScotts Blade Runner
(1982)? In the firstGhostintheShell, Batou expressesa thoroughgoing
skeptithe realfromthevirtual:"Virtual
cismabout thepossibilityofdistinguishing
experiences,dreams.... All data that existsis both realityand fantasy,"says
Batou to Kusanagi. And he articulatessimilarviews in Ghostin theShell2,
wherehe affirmsthat "thereis no wayto distinguishreminiscencefromtrue
memory"and asks Togusa: "Do yourwifeand daughter,waitingforyou at
home,reallyexist?. . . Yourfamilyexistsonlyin yourmind."In so doing,Batou drawsan implicitcomparisonbetweenTogusa and a ghost-hackedtrash
collectorwho appeared in the firstGhostintheShell, whose implantedmemoriesled him to believethathe was livingwithhis wifeand daughter,when,in
fact,he was livingalone.14And on thismatterat least, Batou is in agreement
with the philosophicallyinclinedhackerKim in Ghostin theShell2, who explicitlyquestions how one can distinguishbetween physicalrealityand "an
extension of false illusions generatedby virtualsignals.""Humans,"argues
Kim,"arenothingbut the threadfromwhichthe dreamoflifeis woven."
With memoryand subjectivitydestabilizedin this way,it is no wonder
that charactersin the worldof Ghostin theShellare frequentlysubjectedto
acts of ventriloquism,in which one is used as the mouthpieceforanother.
This ventriloquismis perhaps most pronounced in Ghostin the Shell 2 in
of its screenplay.The dialogue of Ghost
termsof the unbridledintertexuality
in theShell2 is repletewithlayerupon layerof literary,
religious,philosophito
from
the
Buddha
and
scientific
Confucius,fromthe
citations,
cal,
ranging
Bible to Milton,fromZeami to Gogol, fromJulienOffrayde La Mettrieto
RichardDawkins.

T.BROWN
226 STEVEN

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Amongthe manyquotationsappearingin the filmis one thatis repeated

timeand timeagain.Afterthespectacularfestivalscene,as Batou interrogates
an informantin an effortto determinethewhereaboutsofKim,Togusa spots
a stone plaque on thewall ofa mausoleumin ruins,on whichis inscribedthe
followingpoem: "Lifeand death come and go like marionettesdancingon a
table. Once theirstringsare cut,theyeasilycrumble(,Seishino kyoraisuruwa
htno kairaitariissentayurutokirakurakurai ra)"15Oshii underscoresthe
importanceoflanguagein his animatedcinemanot onlybythe tissue ofquotationshe interweavesthroughoutbut also byvisuallyforegrounding
specific
quotations such as this as textson the screen.The same poem appears again
as Kims "dyingmessage"16in the formof a hologram(see Figure1). Later,it
shows up yetagain painted on a wall inside the offshorefactoryship belonging to Locus Solus. AlthoughGhostin theShell2 is repletewith quotations,
this is the onlyone thatis repeatedmultipletimesand linkedeitherdirectly
or indirectlyto Locus Solus, Inc., and its manufactureof gynoids.Clearly,it
is significantto the animatedworldthat Oshii has constructed.So how are
we to interpretit?
First,it should be pointed out that this quotation is froma poem includedin a treatisebythe Muromachi-period
nohplaywright
and actorZeami
(C.1363-C.1443)entitled"Mirrorof the Flower"(1424, Kaky).17Takinginto
considerationthe Buddhistconnotationsand genealogyof the poem, a more

figurei. Animage
ofthepoemthatconstitutes
Kim's
cardandeventually
hisdying
mescalling
intheShell2:Innocence.
sage.Ghost

MACHINI DESIRES 227

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

literaltranslationmightbe: "Cyclesof birthand death come and go, a puppet dances on the stage. When one stringis cut,it collapses and crumbles."
In the contextof nohdrama,Zeami uses this poem to advise the actor that
he must"makehis mind [function]like [these]strings,and withoutits being
perceivedby anyone."18In otherwords,when playinga particularrole, the
nohactormustlearn to createthe illusionthata characterhas come to lifeon
the nohstage,just like a marionettemanipulatedbya puppeteer.Theperformance of nohreliesupon formsof artificenot unlikethe stringsof a puppet.
In the contextof Ghostin theShell2, this quotation fromZeami's "Mirrorof
the Flower"treatiseunderscoresthe functionof citationalitythroughoutthe
film,as well as the performative
aspect of animationitself.
At the formallevel,the techniqueof interspersingquotations with dialogue is one thatOshii openlyborrowsfromFrenchNew Wave directorJeanLuc Godard,who has made greatuse ofsuch citationalityin his films.Godard
is well knownforrejectingthe continuityeditingof classical Hollywoodcinnarrativestyle
ema and offeringinstead "a discontinuousand fragmentary
that breaks up time and space, therebyforminga collage of letters,words,
images, sounds, music,voices, paintings,quotations, and referencesto art
and cinema."19Godards employmentof quotation,in particular,adds a distinctivedimension to his filmsthat foregroundsthe status of language in
cinema,with"wordsand images interminglfing]
constantly,"20
"infusingthe
image with language,"21therebycreatinga sort of "cinematicessay"22that
constantlyremindsus that we are viewinga filmthat is the productof the
directors arbitrarychoices.
However,in addition to being an obvious homage to Godard,231 would
argue that Oshis use of citationalityin Ghostin the Shell 2 also serves a
largerphilosophicalpurpose in relationto the ventriloquismof the puppet
theater.Such citationalityforegroundsnot simplythe ventriloquismof the
theventriloquismof the
directoror screenplaywriterbut,moreimportantly,
flowsof transnationalculturalproduction,as has been discussedby numerous contemporarycriticaltheorists."Who speaks and acts?" asks philosoeven withinthe person who
pher Gilles Deleuze. "It is alwaysa multiplicity,
becomes
a tissue of citations.The
In
the
and
acts."24
short,
subject
speaks
numerousliterary,poetic, philosophical,and scientificquotations in Ghost
in theShell2 underscorethe extentto whichits charactersare akin to talking dolls- mouthpiecesfor the socioculturalmachineryand transnational
the transnationalintertextuality
flowsthatintersectthem.Byforegrounding
of human subjectivity,Oshii underscoresthe extentto whichwe are thoroughlymediatedanimals,withno authenticthoughtsor intentionsbut only

T.BROWN
228 STEVEN

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

THE NUMEROUS LITERARY POETIC,

always already mediated thoughts
PHILOSOPHICAL-,AMP SCIENTIFIC
and intentions.This citationalityat
QUOTATIONS INGHOST IN TH
the narrativelevelis paralleledat the
Z UHVBRSCOKB THE EXTENT TO
visual levelby a citythatis overflowWHICHITS CHARACTERS ARE AKIN
ing withsigns and advertisements,a
TO TALKINGPOLLS- MOUTHPIECES
commodifiedurbanspace
thoroughly
POR THE SOCIOCULTURAL
not unlike what one finds in the
MACHINERYANP TRANSNATIONAL
shopping districtsof Tokyo,Osaka,
FLOWS THAT INTERSECT THEM.
or Hong Kong today.In his directors
1
notes for the film,Oshii has com1/-^
mentedon the ubiquityand importanceof signs (especiallythose using Chinese characters)to the visual appearance of the urbanlandscapes in Ghostin
theShell2.25Thisubiquityof signsand unavoidabilityofmass media suggests
that the cityitselfand almost everyonein it is subjectto the mechanismsof
commodification:"reality"dissolves into the virtualityof mass media.26In
such a world,human beings startto resembleautomata.

FROM PUPPETS

TO AUTOMATA

Althoughthere is no question that a significantproportionof imageryin

Ghostin theShell2 resonateswiththe historyofthe puppet theaterin Japan,
the Japanese puppet theaterdoes not go farenough to account forthe appearancein thefilmoftheplethoraofdoll-likefiguresofvaryingtypes,which
extendfarbeyondthatof traditionalpuppets. In particular,Ghostin theShell
2 also places greatemphasison two typesof dolls thatare quite distinctfrom
the dolls of the Japanese puppet theater: mechanical dolls or automata,
called karakuriningy,on the one hand, and the gynoidsinspiredbythe dolls
photographedby Hans Bellmer,on the other.Beforeturningto the gynoids
and theirrelatonto the dolls of Bellmer,it is worthspendingsome time to
unpackthe roleplayedbykarakuriningyand theirrelationto the uncanny.
Japanhas a long historyofmechanicaldolls,stretchingback as faras the
seventhcentury,when a doll that could indicatedirectionsby means of an
internalcompass was presentedto Empress Saimei (r. 655-661) in the year
658 by the BuddhistpriestChiyu.27Perhapsthe most famousancient Japanese mechanicaldoll is one that was developed duringthe ninthcenturyby
PrinceKaya (794-871) in responseto a terribledroughtthatwas chokingthe
ricefieldsthroughouttheland. PrinceKaya,who,in additionto beingthe son
of EmperorKanmu (r. 781-806), was known as a skilledcraftsman,devised

MHINI DESIRES 229

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

a mechanicaldoll to aid a local templethat was particularlyaffectedby the

drought,as recountedin the Konjakumonogatari(Tales of TimesNow Past)
fromthe twelfthcentury:
He madea dollin theshapeofa boyaboutfourfeettall,holdinga jugupraisedinbothhands.Itwasdevisedso thatwhenitwasfilledwithwater
thewaterwouldinstantly
pourdownovertheboys face.Thosewhosawit
ladles
full
of
water
so thattheycouldfillthejugandwatchtheboy's
brought
facegetwet.It wasa greatcuriosity;
thenewsspread,andsoonall thecapitalwasthere,pouringwaterandloudlyenjoying
thefun.Andall thewhile,
thewaterwas collecting
in thefields.Whenthefieldswerefully
naturally,
the
Prince
took
the
doll
andhidit.Andwhenthewaterdried
inundated,
up,he tookthedolloutandsetitup again.Justas before,
peoplegathered
to pourwater,andthefieldswereinundated.
In thismannerthefieldswere
keptsafefromharm.28
Like manyotherdolls that were later
developedin medievaland earlymodern Japan, Prince Kayas mechanical
doll,whichis known as the mizukumi
ningy, or "water-splashing doll,"
combined practical technologywith
entertainment.Anotherfamousearly
1
exampledates back to the Muromachi
when
Gosukin
(1372-1456),the fatherof EmperorGoperiod (1392-1573),
hanazono (r. 1428-1464), describesin his diaryan "elaboratemechanicaldoll
tableaux reenactingfamousbattle scenes such as Yoshitsunes perilous cliff
descent at the Battle of Ichinotanior the greathunt on Mount Fuji of the
Insofaras earlyJapanese mechanical dolls seem to have
Soga Brothers."29
been inspiredby even earlierChinese examples,the etymologyof the term
"
"
karakuriningyis said to reflectthis genealogywith the kara of karakuri
phoneticallyconnotingits Chinese originor derivation.
The developmentof karakuriningyand their popularitypeaked during the Edo period under the guidance of Takeda mi (d. 1727),who incorporated and adapted clockworktechnology,which had been recentlyimported fromthe West, and establishedthe firstmechanicalpuppet theater
in the Dtombori entertainmentdistrictof Osaka to compete with kabuki
and ningyjruri,Japans traditionalpuppet theater.Takeda specialized in
karakuriningybased on technologyinvolvingwooden cogwheeland string

WHATSHARPl- PISTINUISHES
AUTOMATASUCH AS KARAKURI
NtN&y PROM THE VOU&
IMTHE JAPANESE
PUPPET THEATER IS THE FORMER'S
MECHAMISMOF SEt-F-AMIMATIOM^
4/

T.BROWN
230 STEVEN

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

mechanismsbased on the displacementof sand,

mechanisms,weight-driven
and a new springmechanismzenmai), whichhe had develwater,or mercury,
that
was
made
out of whalebone.A wide rangeof karakuriningywere
oped,
developed forTakedas theater,includingexhibitsand performancesthat illustrated"the developmentof a fetuswithinthe womb,""a neck-wrestling
figurein whichmembersoftheaudiencewereinvitedto matchtheirstrength
against a life-sizedmechanical doll, and calligraphydemonstrationsbased
on the charactersfor plum,' cherry/and pine,' in which a mechanicaldoll
simultaneouslyexecuted these figuresusing a brush in both hands and his
mouth/'30In an effortto compete with kabuki and traditionalpuppet theater,the karakuriningydisplaysbecame even more complexand spectacular; however,thiswas not enoughto preventTakeda s karakuriningytheater
frombeing eclipsedby the morepopularkabukiand ningy
jruri.
What sharplydistinguishesautomata such as karakuriningyfromthe
dolls employedin the Japanese puppet theateris the formers mechanism
of self-animation,
theirabilityto move (or at least appear to move) by themselves. Althoughespeciallycomplex karakuritableaux sometimes required
the employmentof operators,the karakuriperformancesweremoremechanicallydriventhan puppeteercontrolled.In contrast,the dolls of traditional
Japanese puppet theaterwere animated,but theywere not automated. It is
"
"
thisautomation- theverymechanismdenotedbytheword karakuri- that
also distinguishesautomata frompuppets in Ghostin theShell2.
In the contextof Ghostin theShell2, we see threetypesofkarakuriningy
in action: (1) enormousdashikarakuri(parade floatmechanicaldolls) created
forprocessionalfloatsused in festivalparades, such as the giant automated
elephant and other large-scalecreaturesappearing in the religiousfestival
witnessedby Batou and Togusa on theirway to investigatingLocus Solus,
which were traditionallyintended not only to entertainthe gods but also
to serve as vessels into which the gods were thoughtto descend; (2) much
smallerzashikikarakuri(parlormechanicaldolls) producedforhome use and
enjoyment,such as the "tea-serving"karakuriningyencounteredin Kims
mansion; and (3) life-sizedbutaikarakuri(stage mechanicaldolls) designed
forpublicperformance,such as in Takeda mis theater.The figureof Kim,
the professionalhackerworkingforLocus Solus, as well as the automatonlike doubles of Togusa and Batou that are hallucinatedby Togusa in Kims
neo-baroque mansion, are reminiscentof the sort of life-sizedmechanical
dolls used in butai karakuri.Althoughall three types of karakuriningyare
relevantto the film'sdiegeticworld,it is the last typethatbecomes the focus
of Oshis engagementswiththe uncannyin Ghostin theShell2.

MACHINI DESIRES 231

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

THE UNCANNY

MANSION

In Batou and Togusa s encounterwith Kim in his surrealisticmansion,it is

Kims mechanical movementsand gesturesthat make him more akin to a
karakuriningythan to an androidor cyborg.Thisis not to say thatandroids
are not also capable of inhuman movementslacking smooth transitions,
but in the case of Kim,he is representedin a way thatrepeatedlyevokes the
mechanismsof otherkaraautomaton-likeappearance and cogwheel-driven
kuriningy,
such as the "tea-serving"(chahakobiningy
) doll thatalso appears
in Kims mansion. In her studyof Edo-periodaestheticsand culture,MorishitaMisako has suggestedthatit is the strangenessofkarakurimovements
thatunderscorestheirliminality:
Thekarakuri
puppetappearson theborderwheremanandpuppetmake
thehuman
contact.Thefigure
ofthe[karakuri]
precarious
puppetresembles
the
moment
that
it
starts
to
it
reveals
a
decisive
move,
However,
figure.
itmakesrapidshiftsdifficult
to capture
fromhumanmovement;
divergence
withthenakedeye,whilesimultaneously
its
clumsiness.
Eachmoexposing
mentthatitsnaivemovement
is inscribed,
theexpectedmodesofeveryday
Thisdisillusion
and
standard
narrative
aredislocated.
performance
patterns
forbyourattraction
to themovements
and changeswhich
is compensated
fromthehumanbody,enactsto a greater
or
thatstrangebody,distinct
lesserdegreethannormal.31
It is at thisintersectionbetweenattractionand repulsion,betweensimulation
betweenthe organicand themechanical,
ofthehumanand its estrangement,
thatTogusa and Batou encounterthe uncannyin all its multifariousness.
In the scenes thatunfoldat Kims mansion,the uncannyis evokedin four
ways.First,the uncannyentersKims mansionin the formofdj vu, a sense
that somethinghas happened before,of havingseen or experiencedsomethingbefore.32Each feedbackloop in which Batou and Togusa findthemselves caught,as theyare compelledto repeat theirtour of Kims mansion
again and again and again, producesthe repetitionassociated with dj vu.
Such repetitionhas the effectof evokinguncertaintyas to whichrealitiesare
trulyreal and which are simulacra- uncertaintythat is furtherheightened
by the numeroustrompel'oeil paintingsand holographsfoundthroughout
Kims mansion.33It is onlywiththe help of Batous guardianangel,Kusanagi,
who functionson morethan one occasion as a sort of deus ex machina,that
Batou is finallyable to discernthe illusorinessof the dj vu experience.

T.BROWN
232 STEVEN

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The second waythe uncannybecomes an issue is in termsof theblurring

ofboundariesbetweenlifeand death evokedby the confusionas to whether
Kim is dead or alive in his study.34Not onlyBatous reflectionson the myth
of the Golem,as promptedby Kusanagis holographicmessages concerning
the Hebrewwords for"truth"(aemaeth) and "death"(maeth), but also Kims
own philosophicalmeditationsare relevanthere. "Thedoubt,"asserts Kimin
a guise thatmakeshimlook likean automatonversionofTogusa, "iswhether
a creaturethatcertainlyappears to be alive,reallyis."
live.That'swhy
thedoubtthata lifelessobjectmightactually
Alternatively,
but
dollshauntus. Theyaremodeledon humans.Theyare,in fact,nothing
ofbeingreducedto simplemechahuman.Theymakeus facetheterror
In otherwords,thefearthat,fundamentally,
allhumans
nismsandmatter.
to
the
void.
belong
Kims mode of embodimentprovokessuch boundaryconfusionpreciselyinsofaras he is an automaton,whichbringsus to the thirdformoftheuncanny.
AlthoughFreud suggests that the uncannymay be summonedwhen "what
is human is perceivedas merelymechanical,"such as in the case of epileptic
fits,sleepwalking,and othertrance-likestates,the opposite is also true:au- .
tomata are also potentiallyuncannybecause "whatis perceivedas human is
in factmechanical."35
In his dialoguewithBatou, Kim (stillwearingthe guise
of the automaton-likeTogusa) offersan explanationforwhythis confusion
betweenhuman and machineespeciallyresonateswiththis era:
In thisage,thetwintechnologies
ofroboticsandelectronic
neurology
Andnow
of
man
as
machine.
theeighteenth-century
resurrected
theory
humanshavepursued
haveenabledexternalized
thatcomputers
memory,
the
limits
oftheirownfuncto
self-mechanization
aggressively,expand
thishuman
tions.Determined
to leavebehindDarwiniannaturalselection,
oddsalso revealstheveryquestforperto beatevolutionary
determination
hardware
thatgaveitbirth.Themirageoflifeequippedwithperfect
fection
this
engendered nightmare.
AfterKim offersthis explanation,Batous head turns toward Togusa with
a clickingsound and opens up to reveal the sort of mechanismsthat were
firstshownin the openingscene when a gynoidattemptedto commitsuicide
in an alleywayaftermurderingher owner and two police officers.In Kims
mansion,afterTogusa reactswithhorrorto the mechanizationof Batou,the

MACHINI DESIRES 233

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

feedbackloop begins again with anotherscene of dj vu. This bringsus to

the fourthformof the uncanny:the doppelgngeror double.
In the last instanceof dj vu, the structureof repetitionentersinto the
scene of the uncannyin the formof the doppelgngeras Togusa has nightmarishvisions thatboth he himselfand Batou have automata doubles. Even
afterthe appearance of the automaton double of Togusa,
more horrifying,
whose voice was that of Kim,in the next sequence the automatondouble of
Batou is substitutedfor Kim. Afterthese multiplescenes of doubling,Togusa, hallucinatingthat he has been injuredby an attackon Kims mansion
launchedbytheoffshorefactoryshipofLocus Solus,witnesseshis chestburst
open to revealthathe himselfis an automatonwitha metal rib cage. As Michael Bennettand Nicholas Roylehave argued,"Thedouble is paradoxically
both a promiseof immortality(look, theres mydouble,I can be reproduced,
I can live forever)and a harbingerof death (look, thereI am, no longerme
here,but there:I am about to die,or else I mustbe dead already)."36
Although
Kim soughtperfectionand immortality
his
consciousness
to
by transferring
an automaton-likeshell,theproliferation
ofdoubles Kims double,Togusas
Batou's
double
ends
double,
up underminingthe verylogic of identity.37
Each instanceof the uncannythatunfoldsat Kims mansion (the repetition of dj vu, the blurringof boundariesbetween lifeand death, animate
and inanimate,and the doppelgnger)evokes a feelingof unhomelinessin
the home, a defamiliarizationof the everydaythat destabilizesour assumptions about what it means to be human in a posthumanworldand how we
are to relate to all the ningy(dolls, puppets, automata, and androids) that
- referred
inhabitthe worldwithus. It is to the last typeof uncannyningy
to as "gynoids"in Ghostin theShell2- and theirrelationshipto the workof
Hans Bellmerthat I now turn.

THE

DOLLS

OF HfiNS BELLMER

Oshii has made it veryclearin his productionnotes to Ghostin theShell2 and

relatedinterviewsthat his conceptionof the gynoidowes much to the work
of Hans Bellmer,whose female dolls are referencedboth visuallyand narrativallythroughoutthe film.Accordingto the productionnotes, Oshii "has
wanted to explorethe theme of dolls" forthirtyyears,since he first"fellin
love" as a student "withphotographsof Hans Bellmers ball-jointeddoll."38
Bellmers influencecan be seen throughoutthe film,fromthe design of the
gynoidsthemselvesto recreationsof specificposes fromBellmersart. In the

T.BROWN
234 STEVEN

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

remainderof my essay,I explorethe significanceof Bellmers work,review

some of the relevantscenes fromGhostin theShell2 in whichBellmerswork
is clearlycited,and thendiscusshow Oshn s gynoidsreiterateissues raisedby
Bellmerin relationto the question of machinicdesire.
Hans Bellmerconstructedhis firstlife-sizedfemaledoll (whichhe dubbed
"Die Puppe"- German for "doll" or "puppet") in 1933 out of papier-mch
and plaster coveringa frameworkmade of wood and metal. Bellmerstated
his goals forthe doll as follows:"I am goingto constructan artificialgirlwith
anatomicalpossibilitieswhichare capable of re-creatingthe heightsof passion, even of inventingnew desires."39This doll was the subject of Bellmers
firstbook of photographsalso entitledTheDoll ( Die Puppe),published privatelyin Germanyin 1934,featuringten black-and-white
photographsof the
doll situated in a varietyof tableaux.40These photos, along with eight additional,were then publishedat the end of the yearin the sixthissue of the
famousSurrealistmagazineMinotaurewiththefollowingheader:"Doll. Hans
Bellmer,variationson the assemblingof an articulatedfemaleminor."41
withthe limitedrangeofmovement
Perhapsborne out ofhis frustration
of the firstdoll, Bellmercreated a second female doll (whichhe called "La
Poupe"- Frenchfor"doll"or "puppet"),fabricatedin 1935 out of glue and
tissuepaper paintedto resemblefleshovera structureof "woodenball joints
and appendages pivotingaround a centralball joint."42"Inspiredby a pair of
articulatedwooden dolls in the Kaiser FriedrichMuseum,"
sixteenth-century
accordingto specialist Sue Taylor,Bellmer"produceda sphericalbelly for
the new doll, around whichcould be arrangeda numberof parts in various
combinations:fourlegs, fourround stylizedbreasts,an upper torso,three
pelvises,a pair of arms,and the recycledhead and hand fromthe firstdoll."43
Thissecond doll was the subjectof over one hundredphotographstakenbetween 1935and 1938,manyof themhand-coloredwith monochromaticyellow,green,blue, or pink,or combinationsof fluorescentcolors.
The genderpoliticsassociated withBellmersdolls are complicatedto say
the least. ThereseLichtensteinand othershave critiquedBellmers dolls for
"linkinghis fantasiesof adolescentgirlsas passivevictimand powerfulseductresswiththe themesof nostalgiaand eroticism,and t[ying]his workto the
FrenchSurrealists'ambivalentdesireforand revulsionat the femalebody."44
Lichtenstein
s conclusionabout "revulAlthoughstoppingshortofconfirming
sion at the femalebody,"in his essay"Memoriesofthe Doll Theme,"whichis a
revisedversionoftheforewordto his book TheDoll,Bellmerdoes admitto the
importanceofmasculinefantasyin thecreationofthedoll:"Anddidn'tthedoll,
whichlivedsolelythroughthethoughtsprojectedintoit,and whichdespiteits

DESIRES 235
MACHINIC

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

unlimitedpliancycouldbe maddeninglystand-offish,
didn'tthe verycreation
of its dollishnesscontainthe desireand intensitysoughtin it by the imagination?"45And yet,such genderpoliticsare also complicatedby the factthat
Bellmerviews the dolls as exposingthe foundationsof such embodiedfantasies and bringingto lightthe "anatomyofthephysicalunconscious"(anatomie
de l'inconscient
as he referred
to it.46To illustratethe mechanismsof
physique),
and theirlinkto exteriority,
Bellmerconceivedofa dollwitha rotatinteriority
in
mechanism
installed
its
stomach,an illustrationofwhichwas
ingpanorama
includedin thepublicationofhis book TheDoll. Bypressingthebuttonlocated
in thedolls leftbreast,47
thepanoramawas set intomotionand one couldgaze
materialsand colourpicturesin bad
upon a jumbleof "smallobjects,different
which
were
to
"a
but
taste,"
supposed display girl'sthoughtsand dreams,"48
whichmorelikelydisplayedwhatthe artistprojectedonto them.
Bellmers practice of reconfiguring
the doll in grotesque ways, includsectionsof the doll to createwhat he acknowling doublingand multiplying
- "a second pair of
were
"monstrous"
additions
edged
legs and arms,another
torso with fourbreasts,"49and so forth pushed the limits of what might
be construedas human througha grammarof infinitecombinationand recombination."I am talkingabout the possibilitiesof decomposingand then
recomposingthe body and its limbs against nature,"'wrote Bellmerin his
50
unpublishednotes fromJanuaryof 1946. What Bellmerwas attemptingto
do withhis doll experimentswas to constructcorporealanagrams:"Thebody
resemblesa sentence,"wroteBellmer,"thatseems to inviteus to dismantle
it into its componentletters,so that its truemeaningsmaybe revealedever
anew throughan endless streamof anagrams."51
Although Bellmer's dolls are not functioningautomata, their quasimechanicalinternalworkings,whichare frequentlyexposed, seem designed
to underscoretheirresemblanceto automata.52As arthistoriansThereseLichtensteinand Sidra Stichhave remarked,insofaras "the entirebody could be
assembledand reassembledlikea machine,"53
Bellmer's dolls seem to embody
the Surrealist"nightmareof mechanization"54
that haunted manyartistsin
the wake of the FirstWorldWar.55And like the automatonOlympiain E. T.
A. Hoffman'sshortstory"TheSandman,"whichhad a significantimpacton
Bellmer,the dolls evokethe uncannyin theirblurringofboundariesbetween
the livingand the dead, the animateand the inanimate.Whetherin relation
to thepanoramamechanismcontainedin thebellyof the firstdoll or the mechanicalmobilityof the ball joint utilizedin the second doll,whichBellmer
considered"a perfectcog aroundwhichendlessbodilycontortionscouldpivot
56the
and out ofwhichhe deviseda vastoperatingsystem,"
uncannyautomaton

T.BROWN
236 STEVEN

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

WHAT&EU-MER WAS
is centralto an understandingof Bellmersart.All
ATTEMPTINGTO VO WITH
of the concepts that he employsto describe his
HIS POU- EXPERIMENTS
work- such as "anatomyof the image" (anatomie
WAS TO CONSTRUCT
de l'image)y"anatomyof the physicalunconscious"
CORPOREAS ANAGRAMS.
( anatomiede l'inconscient
), and "anatomy
physique
1
of love" (anatomiede l'amour)57 emphasize the
^
machiniclinks between interiorityand exterioritythat are part and parcel
of Bellmers ongoingattemptsto make visible the "desireapparatus"of our
unconsciouswithits mechanisms,both real and virtual.58
The crime"againstnature"that Bellmerenthusiasticallychoreographed
in the erotic scnographiesof his doll photos was perpetratednot against
actual human beings but ratheragainst the fascisticconceptionof beauty
and the perfectbodyproffered
by National Socialist ideologues.AfterHitler
came to power on January30, 1933,Bellmerwas determined"to avoid any
workthat mightin any waybe of serviceto the state."59Bellmerwritesthat
what he was doing was "a gestureof rejectionof German fascismand the
As Michael Semff
prospectof war: cessation of all sociallyusefulactivity."60
and AnthonySpirahave suggested,Bellmeremployedthe doll "as a powerful
tool forsocial critique,and a violentattackon stereotypesand thepromotion
of an idealisedAryanrace."61Byphotographinghis dolls in a waythatunderscored theirgrotesqueand uncannyaspects, Bellmerofferedacts of artistic
resistanceagainst the Nazi regimeand its cult of the perfectbody.Although
Bellmers art was not singledout forthe Nazi-sponsoredexhibitionon "DegenerateArt" ("EntarteteKunst"),which opened in Munich in 1937 before
62
travelingto Berlinin 1938, nevertheless,Bellmerwas well aware that his
styleof art and its subjectmatterwerehighlytransgressiveand thathe was
isolated"63in Germanyin the currentpoliticalatmobecoming"increasingly
in Marchof 1938,BellmerfledBerlinforPariswitha host
sphere.Therefore,
of otherGermanartistsand intellectuals.

BELLMER/OSHII
Bellmers influencecan be seen throughoutGhostin theShell2. Everyscene
in which a ball-jointedgynoidappears may be construedas a referenceto
and remediationof Bellmers doll photos. Amongthe strongestcitationsare
images fromthe manufacturingscene in the opening credits,which shows
us the assemblyand doublingof the gynoids ball-jointedbody (see Figures
2 and 3).

MACHINIC
DESIRES 237

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

figure2.Theassembly
ofa ball-jointed
intheShell2:Innocence.
Ghost
gynoid.

intheShell2:Innocence.
figure3.Thedoubling
ofthegynoid's
Ghost
body.
When manipulatingand deformingthe integrityof the body, Bellmer
had many tools at his disposal, includinganatomical division,subtraction,
64
addition,and multiplication(see Figure4). By utilizingtwo of those techthe openingcreditsof Ghostin theShell2
niques, divisionand multiplication,
offera poignantremediationof Bellmers corporealanagramsin the service
of posthumancapitalismand its fetishisticobsession withwhatWalterBenjamin has describedas "thesex appeal of the inorganic."65
Perhaps the most significantscene forunderstandingOshii's remediation of Bellmeroccursat the filmsoutset when Batou comes face-to-facein
a darkalleywitha gynoid,who has just murderedher ownerand two police

T.BROWN
238 STEVEN

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

officers.The gynoidrepeatedlyasks
for help before tearing open her
chest withher own hands in an apparent suicide attemptand is then
dispatched with multiple shotgun
blasts by Batou. As Oshii confirms
in his productionnotes,66this scene
is a directcitation
of self-mutilation
ofan illustrationbyBellmerentitled
Rose ouvertela nuit (Rose open at
night)from1934 (see Figure5), produced contemporaneouslywith his
doll photos. In addition to being a
itis worthnotingthat
photographer,
LoPoupee(1938).
2007
Copyright
Bellmercreatednumerousdrawings, figure4. HansBellmer,
NewYork/ADAGP,
Paris.
Artists
(ARS),
Society
Rights
paintings,etchings,and sculptures
as he called it,"dedicated
"inan obsessivequest fora monstrousdictionary/"
RatherthanpigeonholingBellmeras a Surto the ambivalenceofthebody."67
realistphotographer,it is probablymoreapt, as Michael Semffand Anthony
Spira have suggested,to describehim as "an anatomist,an engineer,even
a geographeror cartographerof the body."68Executed in pencil and white
gouache on paper,Rose ouvertela nuitis consideredby manyBellmerscholars to be "the most overtlytransgressive"of all the monochromedrawings
fromthis period,since the girlexposes her "internalorgans and . . . ushers
A numberof Bellmers doll
in the theme of 'undressing'- of interiority."69
photos reveal a similarinterestin
the disclosureof the dolls interior
spaces and mechanisms.As I have
alreadysuggestedin mydiscussion
ofhis "anatomyof the physicalunconscious,"Bellmerwas intensely
interested in the reversibilityof
inside and outside, in turningthe
inside out and the outsidein.70
Standing in sharp contrastto
the grotesque scene depicted in
Rose ouvertela nuitis the delicate
ofHansBellmer,
Roseouverte
figure5.Closeup
Soci- ornamental pattern appearing to
lonuit
2007Artists
(1934).
Rights
Copyright
the left of the girl, "undulating
Paris.
New
ety(ARS), York/ADAGP,

MACHINI DESIRES 239

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

like a lacy curtain."71

As is the case in otherworksby Bellmer,the interlaced
patternin Rose ouvertela nuitvisualizes pulsatinglines of energy,tension,
and desireas emittedfromthe girls body.In comparingOshii's gynoidwith
Bellmers self-rending
girl,it is noteworthythatthe gynoidalso wearsa similook
on
her face even as she tears open the skin on her torso
larlyimpassive
and revealsthe ribcage and machinicinnardsbeneath (see Figure6) - an expressionthatthegynoidalso shareswiththewax anatomicalfiguresmodeled
afteractual corpses that Oshii studiedduringpreproductionat La Specola in
Italy,whichhave sometimesbeen comparedto Bellmers work.72
The brickwall behind the gynoid,whose distortedlines are the result
of the gynoids impact against the wall duringher combat with Batou, appear to undulate in the low-keylightingmuch like the lines of energy,tension, and desireemittedfromthe girls bodyin Roseouvertela nuit.However,
whereasBellmers self-rending
girlpeers into the interiorspaces ofherabdoOshii's
looks
men,
gynoid
directlyat the camera at the precise moment of
self-mutilation,
appealing not only to Batou forhelp but also to the audience. Moreover,just as Bellmers dolls,manyof whichreveala similarinterest in and disclosureof the bodys interiorspaces and mechanisms,function
as an artisticprotestagainst the Nazi regimes cult of youthand the perfect
at the outset of Ghostin the
body,so too the scene of gynoidself-mutilation

intheShell2:Innocence.
figure6.Agynoid
suicide.
Ghost
attempting

T.BROWN
240 STEVEN

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Shell2 seems to functionas an act of resistanceagainst the ideal of beauty

to whichthe kidnappedadolescent girlsare being held captive.The gynoids
in orderto drawattention
engage in acts of destructionand self-mutilation
to the plightand exploitationof adolescent girlswho have been kidnapped
by the Kjinkaigang and supplied to Locus Solus forthe purpose of "ghostto
dubbing"- a processbywhichthe mindor spiritofa human is transferred
a gynoidin orderto make it more "desirable."
The key to understandingthis scene and others that followis a detail
thatappears in the crimescene whereJackVolkerson,the shippinginspector
forLocus Solus, was gruesomelymurdered.During the course of investigation,Batou comes across a copyof Bellmers book TheDoll (see Figure7), into
whicha holographicphoto of an adolescentgirlhad been inserted.What we
are shown in this scene is the frontcover of a Japanese edition of TheDoll,
whichwas firstpublishedin 1995,featuringone of the hand-coloredphotos
of Bellmersball-jointeddoll.73
Thatthe cameradwellson the coverof thebook long enoughto make out
the titleand even the authors name leaves no doubt that Bellmers workis
crucialto an understandingof Ghostin theShell2. But it is what is inside the
book that providesthe most importantclue to the significanceof Bellmers
workto the filmas a whole.As Batou looks throughthebook, he comes upon

figure7.Batouholdsa copyofHansBellmer's
TheDoll.Ghost
intheShell2:Innocence.

MACHINI DESIRES 241

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

a holographicphoto ofan adolescentgirl,whichhe studiesat the crimescene

and then again at his house. By situatingthe holographicimage of the missinggirlinside thebook of TheDoll by Bellmer,Oshii providesus witha visual
metaphorthat anticipatesBatou's eventualdiscoveryof the kidnappedgirls
In effect,
beingheld captiveby Locus Solus forthepurpose ofghost-dubbing.
just as Bellmers book on artificialdolls containsthe simulacrumof the captivegirlinside of it, so too, the Locus Solus gynoidshave been instilledwith
the simulacrumof the adolescent girlsheld captive.In this way,the reversibilityof inside and outside thatso deeplyinterestedBellmeris reenvisioned
of gynoidsand otherroby Oshii as a critiqueof the anthropomorphization
bots.74Whyis it necessaryto make robots in our own image? Is it possible
to coexistwithformsof artificialintelligencewithoutforcingtheminto the
human mold? These are the sort of questions raised by Ghostin theShell2
duringthe course of the animes engagementwithuncannyningy.
However,Oshii does not stop there.Justas importantas the critiqueof
of robotsis a questioningof the human as such.
the anthropomorphization
As CoronerHaraway(a characternamed afterDonna Haraway,authorof the
famed"CyborgManifesto"75)remarks,in a scene that featuresdisassembled
resembleBellmers dollphotos,especially
and suspendedgynoidsthatstrongly
those showingdolls thatare hangingin mid-airfroma door frameor tree,
forrealbabies.Little
Thedollsthatlittlegirlsmotherarenotsurrogates
as
somechild
aren't
so
much
imitating rearing, theyareexperiencing
girls
. . . Raisingchildren
is thesimplest
wayto
thingdeeplyakinto childrearing.
life.
achievetheancientdreamofartificial
It is not onlythat dolls or gynoidsare modeled afterhumans, it is that humans model themselvesafterthe ideals embodied by artificialdolls such as
gynoids.In otherwords,what we consider"human"is not simplya natural
phenomenonbut a complexsocioculturaland philosophicalconstruction.In
responseto Haraways philosophizing,Togusa exclaimsin protest:"Children
aren't dolls!" However,Batou acknowledgesHaraways point by remarking
man frommachine,animate frominanithat "Descartes didn'tdifferentiate
mate. He lost his beloved five-year-old
daughterand thennamed a doll after
the
doll named Francineas if it were his
doted
on
Francine."
Descartes
her,
own daughter.Oshii not onlyblursthe boundariesbetweenhuman and machine,animate and inanimatein orderto evoke the uncanny,he also shows
betweenthe human and the machinic- the
us the chiasmicintertwinement
machinicin the human and the human in the machine.

T.BROWN
242 STEVEN

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

In the penultimateshot of the film,Oshii bringsto the forethe machinic

nature of the human by showingTogusas daughterhappilyembracingthe
doll thatshe has just receivedas a giftfromherfather.
blonde-and-blue-eyed
Thissimpleimage of a girlhuggingher doll resonateswithnew meaningsin
the wake of all thathas preceded,suggestingthat,at the veryleast, it should
be reinterpretedas constitutingnot merelyan imitationof human rearing
but more pointedlya circuitof relations- i.e., a machine- connectinghumans and artificialfiguresmade to look human in a relationshipof coexistencethatmodifieseach otherin unforeseenways.As Oshii has remarkedin
is betweenan adult raisinga childand
interviews,"to ask whatthe difference
a girlplayingwithher doll" is "not an immoralquestion,nor does it indicate
some kind of regression."Rather,it is quite simply"the onlywaywe can understandthe natureof human existence."76
In the end, GhostintheShell2 offerssomethingmoreprofoundthan simplyanotherlesson in compassionatehumanism,since it places into question
enhanced
the veryfoundationof humanismitself.When the cybernetically
human subject looks into the mirrorin Ghostin theShell2, what it sees is
nothingmore or less than what it has alreadyprojectedas human. In other
words,at the limitsof the human, Batou discoversthat human natureis it- human "nature"is itselfan artificialconstructand desiringselfsynthetic
machine.77
As Togusa remarksto Batou in the elevatoron thewayto Coroner
Haraways lab, quoting Meiji-periodsatiristSait Ryokuu(1867-1904): "The
mirroris not a tool of enlightenment,it is a tool of illusion [kagamiwa settorinogu ni arazu, mayoinogu nari'."7SHowever,in the midst of demystifying such anthropocentricillusions and projections,just as it seems that,as
philosopherFriedrichNietzsche argues, "the human intellectcannot avoid
seeingitselfin its own perspectives,and onlyin these,"since "we cannotlook
Oshii suggestsa way outside of ourselvesthat is
around our own corner,"79
in termsof transcendencebut ratherin terms
not conceivedmetaphysically
of the "innocence"ofbecoming-animal.

ON THE
ANGELS,

OF DOLLS,
INNOCENCE
ANIMAL
AND BECOMING-

Althoughthe anime is known internationallyas Ghostin the Shell 2: Innocence,in Japan it was originallyreleased as simplyInosensu,the Japanese
phoneticizationof the Englishword "innocence."Oshii's stresson the word
"innocence"begs the question as to whom or what the word applies in the

MACHINIC
DESIRES 243

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

film.Duringa discussionheld at the Japanese premiereof Ghostin theShell

2, Oshii offeredthe followingreflectionson the problemof innocencein relation to humans and dolls:
Whatwoulditmeanfora humanto "becomemorethanhuman"?One answerwouldbe to discardtheactualhumanbody,andembracebecoming
a
doll.Peopletryto adjusttheirnaturalbodies,evolvedforsomething
very
to themodernurbanenvironment.
Insteadoffollowing
thattradifferent,
we'rebetteroffturning
intodolls,intointendedartifice.80
jectory,
In a sense, thisis whathappens whentheadolescentgirlsare ghost-hackedin
orderto breathelifeintothegynoidsbymakingthemmoreanimatedand dethegirlsintodollsthemselves.However,
sirable,metaphorically
transforming
Oshii goes to greatlengthsto undercutthe innocenceof the youngwomen.
Even as the self-destructing
the culturalconstructedness
gynoidsdemystify
of
the
ideal
of
in
which
the figureof the adolescent
(and artificiality)
beauty
girlis quite literallytrapped,GhostintheShell2 underscoresthe complicityof
youngwomen in the constructionand perpetuationof such ideals. Although
the girl released by Batou and Kusanagi proclaimsloudly that she "didn't
want to become a doll,"Kusanagi criticizesthe girls self-pity,
sayingthat "if
the dolls could speak, no doubt they'dscream:'I didn'twant to become human/"In otherwords,the girl-gynoidinterfaceevokesthe loss of innocence
ratherthan its positiveassertion.Ifinnocenceis to be foundhere,it is not in
theadolescentgirlsbut ratherin thegynoids
beforetheyhave been imprintedbythegirls.
"WHATWOUU? IT MEANFOR
As suggested by science fictionwriterYaA HMAMTO 'BECOME MORE
mada Masaki, who wrotethe prequel novelTHAMHUMAN3?ONE ANSWER
ization to Ghostin theShell2, entitledInnoWOUU? BE TO PISCARP THE
cence:AftertheLongGoodbye
: "an emptydoll
ACTUAL HUMAN, ANP
is muchmoreinnocentthanpeople attached
EMBRACE 6 A POUU"
to the illusionof 'human-ness.'"81
1
On anotherlevel,innocencemaybe sug4/
Batou
s
ethereal
gested by
relationshipwithhis "guardianangel,"Kusanagi,
who existslargelyin cyberspaceaftermergingwiththe Puppet Masterat the
end of the firstmovie. In his discussion with Oshii at Ghostin theShell2s
premiere,Yamada Masaki offeredthe followinginterpretation:
ThereasonBatougoesintoenemyterritory
isn'treallybecausehe wantsto
rescuesomeone,noris itreallybecausehe wantsto solvethecase.He just

244

STEVEN
T.BROWN

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

wantsto meethisangel,Motoko.It doesn'treallymatterwhether

theirreis a conventional
romanceornot.Yousee,theirlovemightseem
lationship
coldto humans,butwhatis betweenthemis no longerhuman,andnow
veryinnocent.82
However,what is all too oftenlost in discussionsof the innocenceof Batous
relationshipwith Kusanagi is the significanceof Kusanagis name, whichis
Accordrichwithculturalconnotationsin Japanese historyand mythology.
the Kusanagi Sword(or Kusanagino Tsurugi)was
ingto Japanesemythology,
one of the legendaryimperialtreasuresonce given as a giftto the warrior
YamatoTakeruto help him defeathis enemies- a weapon comparablein importanceto the swordExcaliburin the historyof Britain.It was thoughtthat
anywarriorwho brandishedthe Kusanagi Swordcould defeatan entirearmy.
It is said that in one particularbattle,when he was trappedin an expanse of
grasslandignitedby his enemy,Yamato Takeruemployedthe swordboth to
cut the grass and controlthe directionof the wind,therebyprotectinghimselfand blowingthe grass firetowardhis enemy,who was soon vanquished.
To commemoratehis victory,Yamato Takerurenamedthe sword"Kusanagi,"
whichmeans "grasscutter."83
In the contextof Ghostin theShell2, as soon as Batou has gainedaccess to
theproductionarea forHadaly-modelgynoids,an armyofgynoidsis released
to seize the intruder.Batou initiallykeeps the gynoidsat baybut is soon outnumbered.Suddenly,Batous guardianangel,Kusanagi,downloadsherselfinto
one of the gynoidsin orderto protectBatou and assist him in defeatingthe
gynoidarmy.In thissense,howeverinnocentBatous relationshipto Kusanagi
mayseem,byturningKusanagiintoa weapon forBatous protection,hercharacteris reducedto littlemore than a supplementto aid him in defeatingthe
armyof gynoids.Indeed,even Kusanagiremarkson the limitationsplaced on
heragencyand powersof expressionwhen downloadedinto thebodyof a gynoid: "To be precise,its just a fragmentof me downloadedvia satellite.This
gynoidse-brainlacks capacity.It can onlyhandle the combatroboticscontrol
system.This is the best I can do forfacialand vocal expression."As soon as
she has fulfilled
her mission,Kusanagi disappearsagain into the etherof cyberspace,leavingthe viewerto wonderifthisrepresentationof the vanishing
womanwithits erasureofthe femalebodyis reallyso innocentafterall.84
However,thereis one moreexampleofinnocence,and it is one thatOshii
has raised repeatedlyin interviewsabout Ghostin theShell2. In response to
the question thatwas consideredearlier- "Whatwould it mean fora human
to 'become morethan human?" - Oshii offersa second possible answer:

MACHINI DESIRES 245

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Anotheroptionis to communicate
withdogs.Onceyoudiscardanthrocentrism,
youhaveto takeanimalsintoconsideration.
Dogsprovidea much
bettercontrast
robots
or
dolls
than
humans
do. . . . Dogsbecame
against
andlivingwithhumans.... Bycommunicatuniquecreatures
byinteracting
I
with
humans
aboutthemselves.
ing
dogs, thought
mightrealizesomething
So I wantedto contrast
humansagainstdogs,ratherthansimplyagainst
artificial
intelligence.85
Oshii is wellknownforinsertingcameos ofhisbelovedbasset hound "Gabriel"
in most of his anime and a fewof his live-actionfilms,but Ghostin theShell
2 providesthe most extendedhomage to basset hounds thus far.In addition
to modelingthe animatedbasset hound afterthe likenessof the real Gabriel,
Oshii recordedhis dogs barksand othersounds foradded authenticity.
From
Batous affectionate
with
his
to
the
basset
hound
relationship
postersand
dog
imagerysprinkledthroughoutthe film(includinga mechanicalbasset hound
in the likenessof Gabrielat Batous house and imagesofa basset on the spinning globe inside Kims mansion), the dog motifplays a significantrole in
Ghostin theShell2.86Indeed, the importanceof dogs is signaledin the very
firstscenewhenwe are showna neon signsituatedon top ofa largeskyscraper
displayingthe Chinese characterforsmall dog or puppy.Likewise,in the last
scene of the film,afterwe see Togusa hug his daughterand his daughterhug
the new doll thathe has just givento her as an omiyage,
the cameracuts to a
close-upof the dolls face,followedby a head-and-shouldersclose-upshot of
Batou hugginghis dog withcityskyscrapersloomingin the distance.Batous
basset hound emitsa low murmurand starespensivelyat thegirland hernew
doll,whileBatou looks directlyat the camerathroughhis opaque cyborgeyes.
Insofaras the dog motifappears in both the firstand last shots of the film,it
enframesthe filmas a whole,underscoringthe importanceof the
effectively
to
Ghost
in theShell2. To understandwhyOshii has "gone to the dogs,"
dog
it helps to considerthe conceptof "becoming-animal"
elaboratedby philosoGilles
Deleuze
and
Flix
in
A
Guattari
Thousand
Plateaus.87
phers
Ratherthanreducethe animalto "a representativeofthe drives,or a representationoftheparents,"whichis, accordingto Deleuze and Guattari,what
psychoanalysisdoes everytime it encountersthe question of the becominganimal in humans, Ghostin theShell2 shows us a cybernetichuman (Batou)
who is becoming-animalby enteringinto compositionwith a dog, thereby
forminga new assemblage with one another,an assemblage in whichrelations of movementand rest,speed and slowness,as well as zones of proximityand intensity,are shared. Batous becoming-animaldoes not involve

246

STEVEN
T.BROWN

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

imitationofhis dog- he does not tryto representthe dog as human; rather,

he entersinto compositionwithit,therebyreleasingnonhumanpossibilities
into the human "outside the programmedbody."88Becoming-animalis not
simplythe reproductionof an animal image,much less the metamorphosis
into that animal,but rathera deterritorialization
of the human and the aniin
which
both
the
human
and
animal
become
mal,
somethingelse involving
new intensities,affects,speeds, and modes of being as a resultof the new

assemblageformedbytheircircuitof relations,such thatit becomes "impossible to say wherethe boundarybetweenthe human and animal lies."89
At the veryend of Ghostin theShell2, as Batou and his basset appear in
the last shot in a mutualembrace,the becoming-animalof Batou approaches
cyborgtheoristDonna Haraways reflectionson "companionspecies"as an attemptto find"non-anthropomorphic
ways"to conceiveofagenciesand actors
and the coevolutionarynetworksthat constitutethem.90It is not simply,as
Lisa Bode argues,that "the unconditionallove and animal innocenceof our
pets is one of the fewthingsthatkeeps us frombecomingtrulydehumanised
whilelivingand workingin dehumanisingsystems."91
Rather,it is thatas we
enter into coevolutionarynetworkswith dogs, as we learn to coexist with
nonhumanentitiesin the most intimateof spaces- our homes- we are alteredby dogs as much as dogs are alteredby us. In the end, Oshii suggests
thatour relationswithdogs maybe a possiblewayout of our anthropocentric
obsession with uncannyningy,a way outside of ourselves.As Deleuze and
Guattariput it: "Thereis no longerman or animal,sinceeach deterritorializes
the other,in a conjunctionof flux,in a continuumof reversibleintensities."92

Notes
wishestothankDaisukeMiyao,
TomLooser,
Gerald
Theauthor
Figal,andPaulYoungfor
theirconstructive
feedback.
2D to3D no
1.Interview
"Anime
wazurekarahajimaru:
withOshiiMamoru,
2D and3D),Yuriika
hazamade"(Anime
Startsfrom
a gap:Attheinterval
between
30,
"Frankenstein
andtheCyborg
no.4 (2004):59.AlsoseeSharalyn
Metropolis:
Orbaugh,
inCinema
Anime:
Critical
ofBodyandCityinScience
Fiction
TheEvolution
Narratives,"
T.Brown
ed.Steven
with
Macmillan,
Animation,
(NewYork:Palgrave
Japanese
Engagements
2006),98,102-3,109n.43.
inTheStandard
Edition
2. Sigmund
"The'Uncanny,'"
Freud,
oftheComplete
Psychologetal. (London:
icalWorks
ed.andtrans.JamesStrachey
1955),
Freud,
ofSigmund
Hogarth,
1
no.
ErnstJentsch,
"OnthePsychology
oftheUncanny,"
(1995):
2,
17:217-56;
Angelaki
7-16.
"TheDoubleSession,"
inDissemination,
trans.Barbara
Johnson
3. Jacques
Derrida,

MACHINI DESIRES 247

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

ofChicago
"FicPress,1981),220n.32,268-69n.67;HlneCixous,
University
(Chicago:
'Das Unheimliche
A Reading
tionandItsPhantoms:
ofFreud's
New
('The"Uncanny"'),"
7 (1976):525-48;SanderGilman,
Freud's
(NewYork:
ed.,Reading
Literary
History
Reading
andtheSandman,"
inTheEndofthe
NewYorkUniversity
Press,1994);NeilHertz,"Freud
onPsychoanalysis
Line:Essays
andtheSublime
(NewYork:Columbia
Press,1985),
University
Samuel
The
Freud
Calif.:
Stanford
296-321;
Weber, Legend
(Stanford,
Press,
of
University
TheUncanny
2000);Nicholas
(NewYork:Routledge,
2003).
Royle,
4. E. T.A. Hoffmann,
inTheGolden
"TheSandman,"
PotandOther
Tales,trans.
Ritchie
Robertson
Oxford
85-118.
(Oxford:
Press,2000),
University
5. "Remediation"
is defined
andRichard
Gruisin
bymediatheorists
JayDavidBolter
as follows:
"Itis thatwhich
thetechniques,
andsocialsignificance
forms,
appropriates
ofothermediaandattempts
torivalorrefashion
theminthenameofthereal."I would
thisdefinition
thelastpart:actsofremediation
areperformed
notonly
qualify
byrevising
inthenameof"thereal"butmayjustas wellbeperformed
inthenameof"literary
or
aesthetic
"cultural
orpolitical
as wellas "pleasure"
and"entervalue,"
authority,"
"beauty,"
tainment."
thefunctions
ofremediation
areprobably
as diverse
as theaudiences
Indeed,
ofremediation.
Onremediation,
seeJayDavidBolter
andRichard
Remediation:
Grusin,
NewMedia(Cambridge,
Mass.:MITPress,1999),65.
Understanding
6. Christopher
"From
Wooden
toCelluloid
Souls:Mechanical
BodBolton,
Cyborgs
iesinAnime
andJapanese
no.
3
748.
Theater,"
10,
(Winter
2002):
Puppet
positions
7.AsTatsumi
wasfirst
coinedbyBritish
scipointsout,theterm"gynoid"
Takayuki
encefiction
in
novelist
Jones
Divine
Endurance
Boston:
Allen
&
(London;
Unwin,
Gwyneth
andartists,
from
Richard
Calder
toSorayama
1984)andlaterappropriated
byotherauthors
See
Tatsumi
Full
Metal
Transactions
between
and
Hajime.
Takayuki,
Apache:
Cyberpunk
Japan
America
N.C.:
Duke
n.1-2.
213
(Durham,
Press,
2006),93-102,
Avant-Pop
University
8. Fromthemarketing
materials
forInosensu,
dir.OshiiMamoru
(2004);translatedas Ghost
intheShell2:Innocence,
subtitled
DVD(Universal
Calif.:
DreamWorks
City,
HomeEntertainment,
The
murders
are
committed
a
2004).
by "Hadaly-model"
gynoid.
Thename"Hadaly"
invokes
notonlythefemale
android
ofthesamenamethatappears
inthenineteenthscience
fiction
novelL'Evefuture
(Future
Eve,1886)byFrench
century
writer
Villiers
del'lsle-Adam
whofirst
coinedtheword
(1838-1889),
symbolist
Auguste
"android"
andwhoseworkisquotedintheepigraph
attheoutsetofGhost
intheShell2,but
alsothehumanoid
robotwiththesamenamedeveloped
in1995attheHumanoid
Robotics
inTokyo
Institute
atWasedaUniversity
toinvestigate
human-robot
interaction
andcomwhich
hadthecapability
tospeakandlisteninJapanese
andmakemeaningful
munication,
withitsarmsinorder
togivedirections.
HansBellmer
alsocitedL've
gestures
Incidentally,
as a minor
influence
onhiswork.
Fora discussion
ofGhost
intheShell2 inrelation
future
toL'Evefuture,
seeSharalyn
"Frankenstein
andtheCyborg
97,100,
Metropolis,"
Orbaugh,
as wellas Orbaugh's
inthisvolume.
Onrobotics
research
atWasedaUniversity,
see
chapter
Humanoid
Robotics
Institute
Website,http://www.humanoid.rise.waseda.ac.jp/
booklet/
booklet2000.html
October
andL'vefuture,
seeSueTaylor,
(accessed
15,2006).OnBellmer
MIT
HansBellmer:
TheAnatomy
Mass.:
n.33.
Press,
2000),
231,
ofAnxiety
(Cambridge,
9. OshiiMamoru,
Ghost
intheShell2:Innocence
4
trans.
vols.,
Yuji
(Ani-Manga),
Oniki(SanFrancisco:
Viz,2005),2:148-49.
inOshii,Ghost
10.See"Glossary
ofTerms,"
intheShell2:Innocence
3:2.
(Ani-Manga),

T.BROWN
248 STEVEN

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

11.Whereas
limited
ona tight
animation
wasfirst
as a waytocutcorners
adopted
Oshiipushesthecomplexity
animation
whom
ofcontemporary
(andtheanimators
budget,
heemploys)
tothelimitinscenessuchas this,which
two-to-three
reportedly
required
thousand
background
drawings.
12.SeeBolton,
"From
Wooden
toCelluloid
733-34.
Souls,"
Cyborgs
An
Introduction
to
and
13.Andrew
Bennett
andNicholas
Literature,
Criticism,
Royle,
See
"The
3rd
ed.
U.K.:
Pearson
38.
also
(Harlow,
2004),
Freud, 'Uncanny,'"
Theory,
Longman,
TheUncanny,
256-76.
234;Royle,
14.Thetrashcollector
officials.
wasa puppetusedtoghost-hack
government
15.Thispoemalsoappearsinthelate-fourteenth-century
RinzaiZentextGettan
oshhgo(Priest
Gettan's
tonohscholars
OmoteAkira
and
Buddhist
sermons).
According
korai
KatShichi,
themedieval
wouldhavebeenslightly
different:
"Shji
pronunciation
tokirakurakurairai.n
SeeOmoteAkira
andKatShichi,
eds.
htnokwairaiissentayuru
inNihon
shistaikei,
vol.24 (Tokyo:
Iwanami
Zeami,
Zenchiku,
Shoten,
1974),100.
meth16.OshiiMamoru,
"Inosensu"
Methods:
OshiiMamoru
enshutsu
nto("Innocence
Kadokawa
ods:OshiiMamoru's
direction
notes)(Tokyo:
Shoten,
2005),12.
17.Oshiiontheaudiocommentary
toGhost
intheShell2:Innocence
DVD.
"
: Zeami'sFundamental
ofActing
18.MarkNearman,
(PartTwo),"
Principles
Kaky
Monumenta
1982):490.
37,no.4 (Winter
Nipponica
I KnowaboutEuro19.PederGr0ngaard,
"ForEverGodard:
TwoorThree
Things
and
12
American
Cinema,"
(December
2001),
http://pov.imv.au.dk/Issue_12/
pean
p.o.v.
tc5A.html
section_l/ar
10,2006).
(accessed
September
"AMarried
"TwoorThree
20.Jean-Luc
"AWoman
Is a Woman";
Woman";
Godard,
Things
I Know
Films(London:
153.
aboutHer":Three
1975),
Lorrimer,
14(June2001),http://www.
21.JohnConomos,
SensesofCinema
"OnlytheCinema,"
October
(accessed
14,2006).
sensesofcinema.com/contents/01/14/godard_conomos.html
"ForEverGodard."
22.Grongaard,
andPolitics,
DaniCavallaro
23.InTheCinema
Oshii:Fantasy,
ofMamoru
Technology,
derived
from
Godard
but
doesnotexplore
thatOshiis useofintertextuality
is
recognizes
inthecontext
ofthefilm's
exthelarger
ofsucha technique
philosophical
implications
Oshii:Fantasy,
SeeDaniCavallaro,
TheCinema
tended
withningy.
ofMamoru
engagement
N.C.:McFarland
& Company,
andPolitics
Inc.,2006),202.
(Jefferson,
Technology,
inLanguage,
Practice:
andPower,"
24.GillesDeleuze,"Intellectuals
Counter-memory,
ed.DonaldF.Bouchard
Selected
andInterviews
Foucault,
(Ithaca,N.Y.:CorEssays
byMichel
nellUniversity
Press,1977),206.
4.
25.Oshii,"Inosensu"
Methods,
Science
Fiction
: TheVirtual
inPostmodern
26.ScottBukatman,
Terminal
Subject
Identity
N.C.:DukeUniversity
Press,1993),66-67.
(Durham,
TheArtoftheJapanese
Doll(Boston:
27.AlanScottPate,Ningy:
Tuttle,
2005),229.
MorI
am
indebted
to
karakuri
Forthisandotherdetailsconcerning
224-30;
,
Pate,
ningy
ishitaMisako,
Edonobiishiki
1988),
160-90;
(Edo'saesthetic
sense)(Tokyo:
Shinysha,
ofKaracollection
andTakedami,karakuri
ezukushi
Nishimura
(Illustrated
Shigenaga
Hosokawa
and
Kawaeda
1933);
Kanchusen,
kuri)(Tokyo:
Toyonobu,
Yoneyamado,
Tagaya
onKarakuri)
kinmo
Karakuri
andKikuchi
(Textbook
Yorinao,
Toshiyoshi,
kagamigusa
Kowa
1976).
Shuppan,
(Tokyo:

MACHINI DESIRES 249

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

andLosAngeles:
TalesofTimes
NowPast(Berkeley
28.MarianUry,
trans.,
University
ofCalifornia
Press,1979),142.
inKanmon
seenandheard),
29.Recorded
quotedinPate,
(Diaryofthings
gyki
224.
Ningy,
224.
30. Pate,Ningy,
The
31.Morishita,
Edonobiishiki,
187-88,quotedinYamaguchi
Masao,"Karakuri:
inTokugawa
in
: The
at
LudicRelationship
between
ManandMachine
Japan," Japan Play
ed.JoyHendry
andMassimo
Raveri
LudicandtheLogicofPower,
(London:
Routledge,
2002),74.
"LocusSolus,"
is a reference
to
32.Thenameofthegynoid
company,
manufacturing
Roussel.
theprotagonist
novelofthesamenamebyRaymond
the1914French
Canterei,
KiminGhost
thehacker
intheShell2 notonlywithreofRoussel's
LocusSolus,resembles
ofstrange
estateheoccupies,
which
contains
allmanner
specttothesurrealistic
country
numerous
reanimated
butalsoinsofar
as heorchestrates
scenes
corpses),
sights(including
themostimportant
eventsoftheir
livesagain
ofrepetition,
thedeadtoreenact
causing
LocusSolus,trans.Rupert
andagainina perpetual
Roussel,
cycleofdjvu.SeeRaymond
andLosAngeles:
ofCalifornia
Press,1970);
Copeland
(Berkeley
University
Cunningham
and
the
Dreams
N.Y.:
Cornell
UniverandMarkFord,
Roussel
(Ithaca,
of
Republic
Raymond
121-50.
Press,
2000),
sity
wereinspired
33.Anumber
ofthesurrealistic
scenesinKim'smansion
bythework
and
Arthur
Tress.
to
ofAmerican
Uelsmann
Jerry
photographers
Accordingthedirectors
forGhost
intheShell2,Oshiiconsulted
thefollowing
colannotations
tothestoryboards
Process
and
Press
lections
Uelsmann:
Uelsmann:
(Gainesville:
Perception
University of
by
Uelsmann:
Photo
PressofFlorida,
(Gainesville:
Florida,
1985),Jerry
Synthesis
University
Press
of
and
Uelsmann/Yosemite
(Gainesville:
Florida,
1996).Onthepho1992),
University
Arthur
Arthur
Tress
:
Fantastic
of
see
Richard
Tress,
Lorenz,
Voyage:
Photographs
tography
1956-2000(Boston:
Little,
Brown,
2001).
34.Hereitisworth
thatthecharacter
bythe
noting
designforKimwasinspired
known
as Yotsuya
workofartist
Shimon
hislifeSimon),
Yotsuya
(commonly
particularly
dolls(seeespecially
a workentitled
"Man"from
2000).SinceYotsuyas
sized,ball-jointed
blurtheboundary
between
theliving
andthedead,thehumanandthe
dollsfrequently
itis easytoseewhyhisworklentitself
toOshii'svisioninGhost
intheShell
mechanical,
2. Indeed,
workanditsresemblance
tothedollsofHans
Oshiiwasso takenbyYotsuyas
whois alsooneofYotsuyas
thathecollaborated
withYotBellmer,
principal
inspirations,
which
exhibition
entitled
"DollsofInnocence,"
washeldat
suyaonanOshii-supervised
7 through
theMuseum
ofContemporary
ArtinTokyo
from
March21,2004.The
February
included
works
ofdoll-related
artbyartists
exhibit
manydisturbing
Yotsuya,
including
AmanoKatan,andMiuraEtsuko.
Onthe"Dolls
Bellmer,
Mahoko,
Akiyama
IgetaHiroko,
ofInnocence,"
seehttp://www.simon-yotsuya.net/information/dolls-of-innocence.htm
October
(accessed
15,2006).
35.Bennett
andRoyle,
AnIntroduction,
36-37.AlsoseeFreud,
"The'Uncanny,'"
226-27.A similar
uncanniness
is evoked
whenthefaceofCoroner
whoappears
Haraway,
tobeanorganic
to
reveal
hidden
mechanisms.
human,
opensup
36.Ibid.,39.
37.Seeibid.

T.BROWN
250 STEVEN

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

38.During
Oshiimadea specialtrip,
which
is saidtohave
research,
preproduction
had"aprofound
on
his
vision
for
Ghost
in
the
Shell
to
the
International
Center
2,"
impact
ofPhotography
inNewYorktostudy
a specialexhibition
ofBellmer's
dollphotos.Seethe
notesforGhost
intheShell2 athttp://www.gofishpictures.com/GITS2/main.
production
html(accessed
Inosensu
sosku
noto
: Ningy,
ken28,2007).AlsoseeOshiiMamoru,
July
shintai
no
tabi+taidan
Innocence
The
of
notes:
chiku,
(
production
journey dolls,architecture,
bodies+ interviews)
Tokuma
Shoten,
2004),26-28.
(Tokyo:
39.QuotedinPeterWebbwithRobert
HansBellmer
Short,
(London:
Books,
Quartet
1985),29.
40. Forexamples
ofthefirst
TheDoll,trans.Malcolm
Green
doll,seeHansBellmer,
AtlasPress,2005),45-54;Michael
Semff
andAnthony
(London:
Spira,eds.,HansBellmer
"Hans
(Ostfildern,
2006),72-78;andSueTaylor,
Germany:
HatjeCantzPublishers,
Bellmer
intheArtInstitute
ofChicago:
TheWandering
LibidoandtheHysterical
Body,"
(accessed
17,2006).
http://www.artic.edu/reynolds/essays/taylor
August
in
41.QuotedinAgnsdela Beaumelle
andLauredeBuzon-Vallet,
"Chronology,"
HansBellmer,
ed.Michael
Semff
andAnthony
Spira,236.
42. Fromthecurator's
ofHansBellmer's
held
introduction
toanexhibit
photography
isprobably
attheInternational
Center
ofPhotography,
March29-June10,2001,which
Oshiirefers
inhisproduction
notes.SeeTherese
theexhibit
ofBellmer's
worktowhich
"Behind
ClosedDoors:TheArtofHansBellmer,"
Lichtenstein,
http://museum.icp.org/
museum/exhibitions/bellmer/introl.html
5,2006).
(accessed
September
intheArtInstitute
ofChicago."
Forexamples
ofthesecond
43.Taylor,
"HansBellmer
Hans
see
The
Semff
and
Bellmer,
doll, Bellmer, Doll,73-101;
88-101;andTaylor,
Spira,eds.,
A selection
of
"HansBellmer
intheArtInstitute
ofChicago."
ofBellmer's
photographs
bothdollsis available
onlineathttp://www.angelfire.com/in2/belmer/
(accessed
29,
July
2007).
44.Therese
"Behind
ClosedDoors:TheArtofHansBellmer."
Lichtenstein,
inTheDoll,trans.
40.
45.HansBellmer,
oftheDollTheme,"
Malcolm
"Memories
Green,
atretoBellmer
andhiscohorts,
he aimedfrom
theverybeginning
46.According
inHansBellmer,
SeeMalcolm
thephysical
unconscious.'"
Green,
"Introduction,"
vealing
andWarTheDoll,trans.Malcolm
Arts(London:
Seeker
Green,
16;PeterWebb,TheErotic
HansBellmer
; 38.
1983),366-70;andWebbandShort,
burg,
41-42.
47.SeeBellmer,
"Memories
oftheDollTheme,"
234.
anddeBuzon-Vallet,
48. Quotedindela Beaumelle
"Chronology,"
49.Ibid.,237.
"HansBellmer:
TheStakesatPlayinDrawing
50.QuotedinAgnsdela Beaumelle,
ed.Michael
Semff
andAnthony
LesJeux
delapoupeinHansBellmer,
Spira,35.
of
"ABrief
the
or
TheAnatomy
51.HansBellmer,
of
Unconscious,
Anatomy
Physical
inTheDoll,trans.Malcolm
133.
theImage,"
Green,
52.SeeBellmer,
TheDoll,41,45-48.
53.Lichtenstein,
"Behind
ClosedDoors."
ArtMuseum;
54.SidraStich,
Visions:
Surrealist
Art(Berkeley,
Calif.:
Anxious
University
NewYork:
Abbeville
Press,
1990),51.
HalFoster,
"HansBellmer,"
33.Alsocompare
55.Seedela Beaumelle,
Compulsive
MIT
136.
Mass.:
Press,1993),
Beauty
(Cambridge,

MACHINI DESIRES 251

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

56.De la Beaumelle,
"HansBellmer,"
34.
57.Wieland
inHansBellmer,
"TheEngineer
ofEros,"
ed.Michael
Semff
and
Schmied,
22.
Spira,
Anthony
58.Ibid.,24;dela Beaumelle,
"HansBellmer37.
59.Green,
15.
"Introduction,"
60. Quotedindela Beaumelle
anddeBuzon-Vallet,
233.
"Chronology,"
61.Michael
Semff
andAnthony
in
Hans
eds.Semff
and
Spira,"Introduction," Bellmer,
Also
seeTherese
Behind
Closed
Doors:TheArtofHansBellmer
Lichtenstein,
(BerkeSpira,9.
ofCalifornia
Press,2001),5-6,16-17,127-28,137-38,
leyandLosAngeles:
University
159-60.
62.Lichtenstein,
Behind
Closed
131-35.
Doors,
63.De la Beaumelle
anddeBuzon-Vallet,
238.
"Chronology,"
64.Seedela Beaumelle,
"HansBellmer,"
35.
65.Walter
theCapitaloftheNineteenth
"Paris,
(1935),inThe
Benjamin,
Century"
Arcades
trans.Howard
EilandandKevinMcLaughlin
Mass.:Belknap
Project,
(Cambridge,
"desire
andtechnofetishism,
seeThomas
Press,1999),8. Oncyberpunk's
formachines"
TheSoulsofCyherfolk:
Posthumanism
as Vernacular
Foster,
Theory
(Minneapolis:
University
ofMinnesota
Press,2005),81-114.
66.Oshii,"Inosensu"
52.
Methods,
67.Ibid.,10.
68.Ibid.,12.
69.De la Beaumelle
anddeBuzon-Vallet,
237.
"Chronology,"
inHansBellmer,
70.Bellmer,
"TheBall-Joint,"
TheDoli,trans.Malcolm
60-61.
Green,
71.Taylor,
HansBellmer,
28.
72.Forexamples
from
thecollection
atLa Specolathatbeara striking
resemblance
totheself-rending
in
Bellmers
Rose
ouverte
la nuitandOshiissuicidal
inGhost
girl
gynoid
intheShell2,seeMonika
vonDring,
MartaPoggesi,
andGeorges
Didi-Huberman,
EncyAnatomica:
MuseoLa Specola
Florence
Taschen,
2006),72-79.
clopaedia
(Cologne:
73.Although
thetextofthebookhasbeenchanged
toKorean,
thecoverisa reproduction
oftheJapanese
edition
ofHansBellmers
TheDollthatwaspublished
byTreville
in1995andis citedinthecredits
toGhost
intheShell2. SeeHansBellmer,
TheDoll(Tokyo:
Treville
Co.,Ltd.,1995).
74.InhispressreleaseforCannes,
Oshiiopines:"Thismoviedoesnotholdtheview
thattheworldrevolves
aroundthehumanrace.Instead,
itconcludes
thatallforms
of
- humans,
- areequal.. . . Whatweneedtodayis notsomekind
life
androbots
animals,
ofanthropocentric
humanism.
hasreached
itslimits."
Humanity
75.DonnaHaraway,
"AManifesto
forCyborgs:
andSocialist
Science,
Technology,
Feminism
inthe1980s,"inTheHaraway
Reader
(NewYork:Routledge,
2004),7-45.Alsomeofthegynoids
inGhost
intheShell2,particularly
thosewithout
hairthatare
though
inCoroner
's
seem
to
bear
more
a
than
resemblance
to
lab,
suspended
Haraway
passing
theamorous
androids
madefamous
inBjrk's
acclaimed
1999musicvideo"AllIs Fullof
Love"(dir.ChrisCunningham),
Oshiihasindicated
thatthegynoids
wereinspired
bythe
workofHansBellmer
andYotsuya
Simon.OnBjrk's
"AllIs FullofLove,"
seehttp://www.
(accessed
27,2007).
director-file.com/cunningham/bjork.html
July
76.OshiiMamoru,
"Afterword:
MasakiYamadaandMamoru
OshiionInnocence,"
in

T.BROWN
252 STEVEN

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

YamadaMasaki,Ghost
intheShell2:Innocence:
theLongGoodbye
Viz
(SanFrancisco:
After
Media,2005),193.
77.Compare
Christine
andDaniCavallaro
onthe"mass-production
ofidenBoyer
See
M.
:
in
the
Electronic
CommuniChristine
Visual
of
tity."
Boyer,
CyherCities Perception Age
cation
Architectural
(NewYork:Princeton
Press,1996),108;andDaniCavallaro,
Cyberpunk
andCyberculture:
Science
Fiction
andtheWork
Gibson
Athlone
(London:
Press,
ofWilliam
108.
2000),
78.SaitRyokuu,
Fuzanb,
1991),75
aphorisms)
Ryokuu
(Ryokuu's
(Tokyo:
keigo
in
Cavallaro
The
Cinema
who
(translation
mine).Compare
Oshii, notes,"Oshii
ofMamoru
as a symbol
ofself-absorption
haspositedtheimageofthemirror
and,byextension,
egoismandaccordingly
furnished
Kim'smansion
witha plethora
ofreflective
includsurfaces,
andpolished
ingmarble
gold"(211).
Kaufmann
79.Friedrich
TheGayScience,
trans.Walter
Nietzsche,
(NewYork:
Vintage
Books,1974),aph.374.
80. Oshii,"Afterword,"
190.
192.
81.YamadaMasaki,"Afterword,"
82.Ibid.,193-94.
83.Thesword
wasoriginally
called"Ame
nomurakumo
notsurugi,"
or"Sword
ofBilClouds."
lowing
ofnewvisual
84.Onthefigure
ofthevanishing
womaninrelation
totheemergence
thefemale
in
the
nineteenth
and
twentieth
centuries
and
anxieties
about
technologies
N.C.:
Karen
Women:
and
Feminism
see
Beckman,
Film,
(Durham,
body,
Vanishing
Magic,
DukeUniversity
Press,2003).
85.Oshii,"Afterword,"
190-91.
of
86.InthesceneofBatoufeeding
hisbassethound,
itishardnottobereminded
thecharacter
ofAshandherpetbassetinOshii'
s live-action
similar
scenesinvolving
cyfilm
Avalon
hisdog'sfood,Batoufirst
(2001).LikeAsh,after
berpunk
lovingly
preparing
tastesit,as a mother
doforherbaby.
might
A Thousand
Plateaus:
andSchizophre87.GillesDeleuzeandFlixGuattari,
Capitalism
ofMinnesota
nia,trans.BrianMassumi
Press,1987),242-43,
(Minneapolis:
University
257-60.
88. Ibid.,273-74.
22
Recherche
89.Ibid.,258,273,quoting
RenSchrer
andGuyHocquenghem,
Co-ire,
(1976):76-82.
in
toCompanion
90.DonnaHaraway,
Species:Reconfiguring
Kinship
"Cyborgs
inTheHaraway
Reader
2004),315-16.
(NewYork:Routledge,
Technoscience,"
91.LisaBode,"Oshii's
PetsandKiller
http://www.realtimearts.
Redemptive
Puppets,"
October
net/rt65/bode.html
(accessed
10,2006).
trans.Dana
a Minor
92.GillesDeleuzeandFlixGuattari,
Literature,
Kafka:Toward
22.
Polan(Minneapolis:
of
Minnesota
Press,
1986),
University

MACHINI DESIRES 253

This content downloaded from 190.245.105.211 on Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:41:40 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions