Narrative Review of "Ghost in the Shell"

Now that I have watched Ghost in the Shell, I might have some understanding to the message, or at least what I understood from the movie. In my perspective, the theme of the movie was gender identity. It shows how the division of gender is greatly thinned when it comes to the “cyborg” in the movie.

The cyborg, Motoko Kusanagi, has the body and features of a female but due to her body being completely cybernetic, she is capable of martial feats and great agility that surpasses what her two male partners are capable of. This shows a gender reversal, meaning a “female” having a superior degree of power than the males. The “qualities” of the usually female, such as being neater, being more emotional or domestic, does not seem to relate to Kusanagi. It is not really known if the stereotypical characteristics of a female do not apply to her because she is a cyborg with only a virtual construct of memories, being just a program or that is just not her personality.

Perhaps it is how others treat Kusanagi that makes her human. For example, when she takes off her diving suit on the boat, her partner looks away, avoiding eye contact with her body, even though it is merely a “shell”.  Does gender really makes a difference to what makes one human?

Fox REALLY like shows by Seth McFarlene

I always look froward to watch the trio of McFarlene's animated shows (Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleavland Show) on Fox every Sunday. My personal favorite is Family Guy due to its fair amount of unpredictable humor. However, it is quite surprising that these takes up most of Fox's Sunday Primetime line-up.

I don't really see how Fox is paying so much attention to these shows. The shows are good but it is hardly worth dedicating an hour and a half for them alone. Even The Simpsons aren't treated as much ever since Family Guy was uncanceled. Even the new show Bob's Burgers seems to be getting little marketing.

My guess is that Family Guy or any of Seth McFarlene's shows, became too valuable for Fox to belittle after their return that they made sure to not let any other show upstage it. So they purposely try to lessen any publicity of any new animated show that comes up in Fox until they eventually be canceled due to poor ratings....but that would be just be dumb conspiracy talk.

Thoughts on Netflix

When I have heard of Netflix, I was really skeptical of its service. Before, I never did any mail in service, fearing they might be prone to scams. But out of curiosity, I tried it out on a free trial basis, to see if it was as good as people are saying it is. I could never have been more happy for Netflix.
Not only does Netflix gives you your requested movies in a quick manner, but you can also watch movies and shows on your computer or other electronic devices. It was really enjoyable to watch my favorite show in my laptop and continue where I left off on my PS3.
I usually put a hold on the membership when I am short on money and continue when I do so it doesn't have to be a commitment. The only downsides is that these mail in services like Netflix (and another similar one called Gamefly, but for video games) are the cause of old fashioned rental services like Blockbuster to slowly close down, even the one that is right in my neighborhood. I feel a bit guilty that I am abandoning "my old friend" to a more convenient way to rent movies.....
Well I just make myself sad now :( ....

No More Shows About Children Card Games? (You win A cookie if you get the Joke)

It seems that people in the United States might soon not be able to watch their favorite show about a certain trading card game. Most of you might have grown up with the kids series Yu-Gi-Oh, an shonen anime that is based on the popular real life trading card game. Since it came to western shores, it has always been dubbed by the New-York based company, 4-Kids Entertainment, but it seem that could no longer be the case.


The original creators (TV Tokyo and Nihon Ad Systems) of the anime has sued 4-Kids, as they claimed that 4-Kids have been making secret agreements with TV networks and distributing companies and been paying TV Tokyo and NAS fewer shares than they should. Worse of, the two companies have terminated their licensing deal with 4-Kids.


Currently, 4-Kids have filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, meaning they are in a "Stay of Execution" and are still doing their work, so there is no way of knowing if 4-Kids is still dubbing Yu-Gi-Oh or they will soon lose the license completely and soon enough be actually bankrupted.

On one hand, I am excited of this news, since now 4-Kids won't soil the anime with their bowdlerizing and ridiculous lines. On the other hand, the voice actors might be out of a job and their is no telling which company will want to dub it now.

My Thoughts on Awards Shows

I am not so keen on awards shows. The only ones that I have watched for a while now, about since I was about 13, was the Kid's Choice Awards, only because I enjoy their nods to animated shows and the trailers to upcoming movies. But even that awards show seem worn down (won't stop me from watching it next year).
I just don't know how they decides the winners of each award category. And if there is a voting system for it, I wonder if those votes really do count.
But before I turn this into an argument on the democratic system, I just think that people put a bit too much recognition these awards show. The ones that wins the awards are shown as the best of that category and I think that is to biased. People should have their own opinion on who is their "best actor" or "best movie" and not let a 90 minute show do that for us.
I do not hate awards shows. I just think that they shouldn't be over-dramatized is all. Perhaps I might take a small look at the Comedy Awards on Comedy Central. (like they need a awards show just for comedians)

My Opinion to Video Game Music and Story

I am one of the few people that appreciates the story of a video games as well as the gameplay and music. The stories of video games makes me feel like I am playing an interactive novel. And depending on the story, the music that accompanies with the scene can make all the difference. For example, In Kingdom Hearts 2, The track, Darkness of the Unknown plays during the final boss battles. The tune presents a deep dynamically epic feeling to the battles that Sora and Riku go through. It makes the battle worthwhile from start to finish.

Inception Lost to "The Social Network"?

How could a "Micheal Cera" wannabe movie like The Social Network lose to a blockbuster movie like Inception in Best Music Score in the Academy Awards?! Don't get me wrong. To me, Inception was a mind screw for me, but the music was so great that deep and emotional couldn't describe it. It's seems that some committee members of the Academy Awards needs to get their ears checked if they think the "music" of the origin movie about Facebook has better music that this: (click video below)

Mass Production of "Mediocre" Trading Cards

As some popular franchises, like Star Wars and Mario Bros, become more popular, they soon release merchandise for said franchise. One of them could most possibly be trading cards. The thing is that these "trading cards" are far too useless other than being for decoration. I have no clue why they bother to release these cards if it will not clearly sell. Personally, I will stile with Pokemon and Yugioh cards at the least.

Pokemon Black and White too dark for kids?

First of all, I want to say I can't wait for Pokemon Black and White, which is coming next month. I am a big fan of Pokemon since the first games. From what I can tell, the fifth generation of Pokemon will be a bit more darker than the other past games, and I might have found one evidence to confirm that fact.

A special area will be exclusive to each version of the game. For Pokemon Black, an area will be available called Black City and for the White Version, White Forest. The Black City will represent the advances of technology while the White Forest will represent the purity of nature. It seems that one theme of the fifth generation of Pokemon will be a figurative battle between nature and technology. But in a more dingy perspective, it could be a secret debate of religion and atheism.

I might be just throwing darts in the wind, but if this "battle" is the intention purpose of the game, then I fear for the kids playing the games when it comes out March 6th

Thoughts about Movie Rebots

Whenever I hear about the release of a movie remake or a movie reboot of a franchise, I tend to have mixed feelings of the fact. One movie reboot that I know that worked was The Dark Knight. It make the world of Batman more dark than the previous movie and especially the 4 Batman movies from the 90's. Another movie reboot that was not as successful was 2010 version of Clash of Titans. The movie focuses only on the CGI rather than the story which makes for a sub-par plot.

My guess is that movie reboots comes the older the original source material is, but I think there are some movies that just needs to be left alone.

Video Game Music as a Genre

Video game music has always been known as childish or minor. Most people, gamers or otherwise, have noted music in video games as secondary to gameplay and story. However, ask anyone what their favorite video game music they can remember and the answer would be either Super Mario Bros Overworld Theme or the Title Theme to Megaman 2. Despite people only paying attention to the games, they remember the music that goes with those gaming moments. But the question is if video game itself can be a sustainable music genre.

Video games, in themselves, are very significant to today’s culture. Video games provide entertainment to young and old, from family friendly games to role-playing games. Music from video games however is a different story. While it is praised by some gamers, it is not something that most people would listen to unless it had the respective game accompanying it. The only known ways for people to even hear video game music is by finding the music rips from YouTube or the soundtrack of the game. Since people can easily get rips from the internet, it is easily assessable for free, and which is why game companies usually don’t bother with releasing soundtracks, unless it is a big title game.

Video game music are not only limited to just the music from video games, but also remixes of said music and even other music inspired by video game music. To give an example, Video Games Live is a concert series which have a live orchestra performing segments of video game music. This series is created and produced by Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, both of whom are veteran video game composers. Another example is a chiptune punk band called Anamanaguchi. They use unusual synthesizers for their music; the synthesizers being a hacked Game Boy and a NES. Even though their music is usually punk, it is obvious that their music is inspired from retro video games. Ironically enough, they recently did music for a downloadable game, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

Research questions that would be asked about the subject would include how is video game music a surviving genre, how has it developed in its own culture, and how it has connected to other types of music and culture.