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Presentation PA #77STAND ALONE COMPLEX. "Is Cyber Terrorism The Crime Of The Future?" In this issue, we present to you one of the best TV anime shows we have seen so far: Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex. In the 1990's, the Ghost In The Shell theatrical movie created a sensation in the entertainment industry, not only in Japan, but also in North America, influencing young movie directors such as the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix). Many years later, we are fortunate to see this TV series treating the future use of cyber crimes with such depth. I can imagine that the creators of this show had to work out every elaborate detail of the cyber crimes extremely carefully so that they make sense to the viewers. And I am sure that the creators were under great pressure to come up with such a show for their audience. You will not be disappointed! Every attempt you'll make to solve the crimes will certainly prove to be pleasantly erroneous, thus giving you a very satisfying show that will keep you on the edge of your seat. In this show, "The Laughing Man" is a mysterious and legendary cyber-terrorist set against the large conglomerates. What is his ultimate goal? In reality, as we are going through the war against terrorism, what are we doing about cyberspace terrorism? In Stand Alone Complex, the crime techniques of "The Laughing Man" are so complex and ask for such skills that he draws out admirers who become copycats of him! In ancient times, through the course of human evolution, man developed his capacity for violence because violence was useful for survival. Aggressive men controlled the territory, women, food and other resources necessary for survival. Then, when science and technology took over and people were pretty much taken care of (i.e. basic needs for every day survival, such as food, clothing, shelter), the nature of violence and crime changed! We all know that frustration often leads to aggression and crime, but what is the motive of cyber terrorists such as "The Laughing Man"? The heroine of the show, Major Motoko Kusanagi, wears extremely skimpy clothing (as a public police woman?!) to get viewers' attention, but she IS very competent for her post as a crime fighter. "The Laughing Man" becomes Major Kusanagi's greatest and most mysterious enemy. What kind of weird criminal is this person? Just like the GITS movie with the "Puppet Master", "The Laughing Man's" presence really adds to the story. This enemy literally steals the information contained in the senses of perception through the NET (i.e. the electronic brain) and the virtual world computers. As we live in a more and more complicated computer world, the stresses of our lives can also influence our psychological functioning. The frequency of stressful life events is associated with feelings of depression, paranoia, aggression, anxiety, distress and tension and all those can lead to crime. Each episode of Stand Alone Complex shows the characters' psychological state and we can see how crimes are committed. The emotions of those characters, such as anger, jealousy and fear lead to psychological harm to others. We see many social misfits in this show and they tend to be less well-equipped to cope with stress and reality, in part because that are truly lacking in social support. The theme of this show, Stand Alone Complex, is that we, literally, must "stand alone in this very complex cyber world". And yet, how can we cope with all the loneliness and lack of human warmth? Are we really heading for this cold cyber-space world? Major Kusanagi seems to be enjoying the moment when the crime is solved and shows pride and even a bit of sympathy. Emotions can be distressing, as well as gratifying in our lives, but those emotions are the essential part of being "human". Like it or not, technology will keep on going and it will be more and more developed and we will have to deal with new types of crimes. Are we equipped to handle them? Miyako Matsuda * * *Unfortunately, the printer we started to work with in order to have a nice glossy paper doesn't seem reliable (on the five issues they printed, three had major glitches). So we will have to go back with the old printer (and the old paper) for a while. Don't worry, we will nevertheless continue to improve the magazine and eventually find a reliable printer that can offer us glossy paper at a reasonable price. That will certainly not affect the quality of the contents, as we will continue to do our best to give you the most useful information, making of Protoculture Addicts your best guide to anime culture! In this issue you will find spotlights on the Ghost In The Shell TV Series Stand Alone Complex and Zetsuai (a popular shoujo OVA from 1996) as well as our usual collection of "Anime Stories", introducing anime like Alien 9, Aquarian Age, Kaze no Yojimbo, King Of Bandit Jing, Siamese Cats, and Witch Hunter Robin!! It also includes "Anime World" articles (interview with a Amy Howard-Wilson, The Modern Japanese Music Database Part 21 on Mai Kuraki, convention & festival reports: more Montreal World Film Festival movie reviews (Lily Festival, Oriume), Sugoicon, C-kon, Ohayocon, Ushicon, Tekkoshocon), the reviews of lots of recent anime & manga-related products (45 DVDs, 2 CDs, 26 manga, 1 book, 3 model kits, 2 live-action movies, etc.) and the latest news. Enjoy! As usual, we would like to hear your comments, read your letters and see your fan arts. Send them either to comments@protoculture.qc.ca or P.O. Box 1433, Station B, Montreal, Qc, H3B 3L2 Canada. Next Issue: a spotlight on Zeta Gundam (to be released by Bandai next year) and more "Anime Stories" on Heatguy J, Kiddy Grade, Macross Zero, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Spiral, Twelve Kingdoms, Wolf's Rain, etc.!! Don't miss it! Check the Upcoming Issues section for details! Claude J. Pelletier |