Joseph Campbell’s Oriental mythology in Ghost in the Shell (1995) and Occidental mythology in Ghost in the Shell (2017)

Abstract

Abstract Adaptation studies in media have been carried out for decades since the 1950s. When media is adapted between different forms, the narrative inherently changes; even more so when they cross a cultural divide between Japan and the United States. That is precisely the topic of discussion between the anime Ghost in the Shell (1995) and its live action film adaptation Ghost in the Shell (2017). With narrative being a key focus for comparison in this article, Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey is applied. Taken from his seminal work Hero with a Thousand Faces, the theory of the Hero’s Journey has been the go-to reference for monomyth studies for decades which identifies the parallelism and common themes in diverse stories, from classic myths embedded in ancient cultures to film and other contemporary media based on popular culture. Yet, most studies stop there, and do not consider bringing in Campbell’s other works—namely his follow-up collection of books The Masks of God which delves deeper into the mythologies of various regions. His books, Oriental Mythology and Occidental Mythology, zeroes in on the myths in the East and West, which would aid in conducting comparisons between materials originating from the two opposite regions, further supplementing its usefulness in adaptation studies concerning Japanese anime and their corresponding Hollywood adaptations. This article covers the changes in narrative themes corresponding to Campbell’s Oriental and Occidental mythology between the anime Ghost in the Shell (1995) and its live action film adaptation Ghost in the Shell (2017).