Cyberpunk Cinema: Akira og Ghost in the Shell (1988, 1995)

Japanese Cyberpunk imagines technologically advanced yet dystopic cities, bathed in neon lights and holographical imagery, but reeking of exhaust fumes, corruption, and anti-government sentiments. The cyber-industrial landscape teems with overpopulation and criminal activity, and the ever-present threat of bodily mutilation, a grotesque metamorphosis between flesh and metal, looms in the periphery, promising post-human nightmares.

This evening of Cyberpunk Cinema features two of the most influential Japanese Cyberpunk anime films to date: Akira and Ghost in the Shell. They laid the foundation for the sci-fi subgenre as we know it today, and has inspired countless works of fiction, film, and art. While our current time is fueled by anxieties related to technological advancements, the climate crisis, (nuclear) war, and oppression, can there be any comfort in re-entering these futuristically, dystopic worlds? After all, Akira and Ghost in the Shell have both imagined our time, 2019 and 2029, as the perfect setting for their dystopias. Have they predicted correctly?

Welcome to Cyberpunk Cinema!

Akira starts at 18:00 Get tickets here.

Ghost in the Shell starts at 20:45 Get tickets here.

Akira (1988) In 2019, 30 years after an apocalyptic World War III, a secret military project endangers the new capitol Neo-Tokyo when the government kidnaps the young biker Tetsuo after a horrific accident. After being subjected to inhumane experimentations, Tetsuo is granted powerful psychic abilities that gradually overwhelm him, and his friend Kaneda and the biker gang are the only ones standing in the way of the destruction of Neo-Tokyo.

Akira is often credited with popularizing anime and manga for global audiences. Through themes of social unrest, mutilation, and technological advancement, this cyber-noir anime masterfully captures Japan’s anxieties of hyper-modernization and nuclear war in its dystopic depiction of a near-future Tokyo. Fueled by overtones of Cronenberg-esque body horror and the corrupted fusion of body and machine, Akira takes its rightful place as one of the most influential and grotesque anime films to date.

 Experience the cult classic that paved the way for Japanese cyberpunk.

2t 4m Japansk tale, engelsk tekst

Ghost in the Shell (1995) In 2029, the barriers between biology and technology have been breached. Artificial intelligence permeates everyday life and humans have installed implants in their heads which grants them access to the internet and other networks - a major technological advancement that leaves humans vulnerable to brain-hacking. When the mysterious hacker ‘The Puppet Master’ begins interfering in politics, Major Motoko and her team of cybernetically enhanced cops must find and stop the dangerous and enigmatic threat.

Ghost in the Shell is a philosophical journey through a bleak, techno-capitalist city that ponders questions related to identity, technology, and the ethics of AI. What does it mean to be human in a technologically advanced world where the biological boundaries of humanity are transgressed, and the brain has been augmented? Are we still human? Unsurprisingly, the film was a key inspiration for the Wachowski sisters’ The Matrix.

 Ghost in the Shell makes you question what is real and what is virtual – and whether it matters at all?

1t 23m Japansk tale, engelsk tekst

Billetter kjøper du på TicketCo:

Akira

Ghost in the Shell

Medlemsbillett: 50 kr

Medlemskap inkl. billett: 100 kr

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