This post is the third in a three part autoethnography series about my experiences viewing the Japanese anime film, Ghost in the Shell. You can read my first post about my viewing experience here and my second post which discusses my research and analysis of my viewing experience here.

Major Motoko Kusanagi – Image Source

Throughout this autoenthographic research process, what started as confusion at the representation of the female protagonist in Ghost in the Shell, developed into a deeper discussion of what a ‘cyborg’ in anime supposedly represents.  That is a figure that embodies the capacity of information technologies to ‘erase gender and racial boundaries and the structures of oppression’ (Silvio, 1999:54), in contrast to the representation that is arguably being depicted in Ghost in the Shell, i.e. reinforcing gender polarities. This topic has such a large scope that I could continuing my research by conducting more…