curated by Yellowmenace (38+ images)
I had to do a GITS art collection, with all the controversy swirling around this film I felt compelled to weigh in on the issues of whitewashing & appropriation. I'll be peppering my comments & supporting videos in with 38+ thought provoking artworks from talented artists around the world.
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HAIKU Review: Ghost in the Shell
What color's your soul?
Yellow ghost in white washed shell
Mirror doesn't reflect...
Abigail Diaz aka Serafleur (Philippines)
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Masamune Shirow 士郎 正宗 (Japan)
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With GITS, as with most issues in life I stand somewhere in the middle. I'm actually excited about the project, unlike IronFist or Great Wall & will venture out to the theater to see it soon, but I think they could've been more inclusive &/or really made whitewashing an essential theme in the script.
Masamune Shirow 士郎 正宗 (Japan)
"Who can gaze into the mirror without becoming evil? The mirror does not reflect evil, but creates it."
Ghost In The Shell (2017) - Official Trailer - Paramount
Masamune Shirow x OtakuWorks (Japan)
Ukiyo-E Artisans: Kazuo Watanabe & Hideo Yoshida
ClogTwo aka Eman Jeman (Singapore)
Katsuya Terada 寺田 克也 (Japan)
Artgerm aka Stanley Lau (Singapore)
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Craig Drake (US)
Craig Drake did a very admirable thing by creating 2 versions of his GITS poster one with SoJo as The Major & the one above with his own imagined casting of Sonoya Mizuno. I have nothing against Scarlett Johansson & yes, it's plausible that a large robotics company in the future may own likenesses of long dead celebrities. Anyway, it's a shell in a very diverse neo Hong Kong. My issue is with the mental gymnastics mostly white male creatives go through to justify another white hero.
"Your effort to remain what you are is what limits you."
Yellowface is a bad look, Hollywood by Vox - If you don't understand the problem with whitewashing after this video, you simply don't want to empathize, period.dot.
The Major is a female lead & that is progress, but what's interesting is the argument often made by white Hollywood business insiders is that POC just can't carry international blockbusters. This is the same logic used against women in the action hero 80s & against black men in the 70s.
Martin Ansin (Uruguay)
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Ghost in The Shell PSA by Chewy May - Here's what is means for a minority to find some popular media that represents them. When I was 5, I saw an IronFist & PowerMan (Luke Cage) comic & thought IronFist was Asian.
These issues are as complex as they are important. There are white guys who identify more with Japanese culture, rejecting their own representations & move to Japan. This is a small fraction of the overall population, but the feeling of being an outsider & not fitting in is a completely common human experience. The difference lies in how often you are reminded by external forces that you aren't important in your society.
For more about these topics, check out The Nerds of Color
"Understanding is in principle solely based on wishful thinking."
Chester Ocampo aka Elpinoy (Philippines)
I wish the GITS screenplay would've at least tackled this issue of whitewashing head-on with the agenda of the Puppet Master being complete diversity, equality & representation for all - android, cyborg, robot, shelless sentient AI, black, yellow, brown, LGBTQ, etc. Then use the Hanka CEO as a metaphor for the growing far right racist agenda. Throughout the film he could be saying, "preserving humanity & controlling our property", but what we would see on the screen is an all white enclave in Hong Kong fighting to preserve a pure white bloodline & maintain their place at the top of a crumbling pyramid (scheme). The Major would learn from the non-white "terrorists" that she has been a pawn in this plot, an Asian transferred into a white shell to do the Man's bidding.
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Ugh! Finally saw the GITS movie & what a disappointment & it's not that it's bad... It just isn't good, or challenging, or fresh, or anything but a generic sci-fi action flick.
I'm so sick of these big empty Hollywood movies posing as profound, ground-breaking visions. Just be what you are! If it's a "safe" international blockbuster you want to make then just go full Michael Bay & use the script to loosely connect your huge CGI action sequences. Dive into those action scenes like John Woo or The Matrix & make them long & ridiculously complicated.
GITS felt a lot like The Great Wall to me. It was just there, like a competent screenwriter & director got together & followed all the rules of filmmaking they learned at school.
I'm so sick of these big empty Hollywood movies posing as profound, ground-breaking visions. Just be what you are! If it's a "safe" international blockbuster you want to make then just go full Michael Bay & use the script to loosely connect your huge CGI action sequences. Dive into those action scenes like John Woo or The Matrix & make them long & ridiculously complicated.
GITS felt a lot like The Great Wall to me. It was just there, like a competent screenwriter & director got together & followed all the rules of filmmaking they learned at school.
So, my review of GITS, it's fine. See it if your a fan or curious but don't expect much.
DCWJ aka Derrick Chew (Singapore)
● Buy this GITS Print @ InkInk Collectibles - Esty
Re: Whitewashing in GITS - Yep, it bothered me how they tried to tack on the Major's Japanese mother subplot. It felt like more mental gymnastics to try & justify the whitewash casting. "See the Major had to be white so her mother wouldn't recognize her at first." I think you can do better.
& Takeshi Kitano was just a WTF choice, as the only Japanese speaker in the entire film he seemed so very token trying to give the film some yellow cred.
Tan Zhi Hui aka Kudaman (Malaysia)
● Get this GITS Print @ InkInk Collectibles (Esty)
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Jeremy Chong aka Mixppl (Malaysia)
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Hoi Mun aka Tham Mun (Malaysia)
● Find this GITS Print @ InkInk Collectibles (Esty)
Felix Ip 葉偉青 (Hong Kong)
Kevin Hong (US)
I have a confession, GITS isn't one of my favorite animes. I wouldn't put it in my top 8 & I haven't read the manga, yet. The animation is fantastic & the action scenes are stunning, but it has that signature Mamoru Oshii - Skycrawlers pseudo-philosophical boredom. I think his sequel, GITS2: Innocence is a much better film, sacrilege I know.
Here's an amazing video essay detailing Oshii's meditative, zen use of space & time by The Nerdwriter: Ghost In The Shell: Identity in Space
What is your favorite GITS property?
Manga, film, anime or art collection ;)
Manga, film, anime or art collection ;)
Muju Monster aka Ignatius Tan (Singapore)
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The Arvo Brothers (Spain)
WenJR aka Jonathan Romeo (France)
Sangrde (Korea/US)
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● Buy this GITS Print @ InkInk Collectibles (Esty)
Matt DeMino (US)
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ひと和 aka Hitowa (Japan) | PixIV
Ilya Kuvshinov (Japan)
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● Find More Ilya Art Prints @ Society6
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● Find More Ilya Art Prints @ Society6
Jay Tablante (Philippines)
Tsuchinoko (France)
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Ad: Amazon - The Art of GITS by David S. Cohen
● Hardcover Artbook 160 pages - Concept & Production Art
● Hardcover Artbook 160 pages - Concept & Production Art
Sundragon83 aka Alex Figini (Canada)
Pant aka Paolo Pantalena (Italy)
Orlando Arocena aka MexiFunk (Mexico/Cuba/US)
● Buy this GITS Print @ Mexifunk
Termsit Siriphanich (Thailand) | Facebook
Model: Piyawan Chitsamran
Makeup: Ralph People | Hair: Cher Rie
Kim JungGi (Korea) | GITS Timelapse Drawing
JP Valderrama aka Fresh Doodle (Philippines/US)
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SillyJellie aka Ellie Yong (Malaysia)
● Get this GITS Print @ InkInk Collectibles (Esty)
Kilian Eng aka DW Design (Sweden)
Which artworks are your favorite?
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Share with them Fans & Friends