Summary of The Most Profound Moment in the History of Animated Film

00:00:00 - 00:15:00

In this video, two animated filmmakers discuss the most profound moment in the history of animated film. According to the filmmakers, the moment is when the characters in their film, Ghost in the Shell, confront the possibility that their reality is not as real as they thought it was. They believe that while this film may be preparation for the future, the moment presented in their film measures up to the level of deep philosophical insight presented by the characters' interactions with Kim.

• 00:00:00 In the video, the host discusses the profound moments in the history of animated film. He specifically looks at the Japanese anime franchise, Ghost in the Shell, and its meditations on the nature of human consciousness. He challenges those who hold prejudice against animation to watch the franchise and then proclaim it to be just a cartoon.
• 00:05:00 In "Ghost in the Shell," the question of who is the "I" that thinks is challenged. This is seen in scenes involving the boat ride with Matoko and Batoto and the garbage man. The most profound moment in the history of animated film may be when Motoko's consciousness merges with that of the puppet master.
• 00:10:00 In Ghost in the Shell 2, an army general and a hacker come across a human-sized, digitally augmented marionette. The marionette seems lifeless, but the hacker convinces the general that it's not so lifeless, and he goes to turn the chair over. When he does, the marionette's mind comes into the virtual world in the net only when necessary, and it condemns humanity's inherent imperfection. The general and the hacker then question kim about his reasons for living in a motionless marionette, and he responds by condemning humanity's ignorance and irrationality. He figures that the only way to transcend these imperfections is to either become a god or go in the opposite direction, becoming a doll by separating the mind from the body. The scene of the general and the hacker entering the mansion and confronting kim begins to loop, and the same thing happens three times. The characters and the audience get a hint that what they are perceiving isn't real, but they don't know what it is. Eventually, it is revealed that kim was hacking into the minds of the general and the hacker and was causing this loop in reality to happen. The general and the hacker are left with an important question: at what point did reality
• 00:15:00 In this video, two animated filmmakers discuss the most profound moment in the history of animated film. According to the filmmakers, the moment is when the characters in their film, Ghost in the Shell, confront the possibility that their reality is not as real as they thought it was. They believe that the first film, which features a ghost, is better and more important to the medium, but they believe that the moment presented in their film measures up to the level of deep philosophical insight presented by the characters' interactions with Kim. While this film may be preparation for the future, the filmmakers encourage viewers to decide for themselves which route they will take in terms of becoming more like gods or dolls.