GHOST IN THE SHELL, DIR. RUPERT SANDERS (2017)
Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Hong Kong Cultural Centre portrayed as Section 9 Headquarters in the movie. Scene from Ghost in the Shell, 2017, directed by Rupert Sanders.
Directed by Rupert Sanders, Ghost in the shell is a 2017 film set in the year 2029, where humans are able to be augmented with cybernetic improvements, such as vision, strength, and intelligence. The main character, Killian, acts as a Major in Section 9, a counter-terrorism bureau fighting against cyberterrorist attacks. In the movie, Killian looks for a hacker who has been hacking other entities and enters the different minds of AIs to trace the hacker and also know more about her past that she has forgotten. The movie was filmed in New Zealand, with some scenes shot in Hong Kong. The movie is a live-action remake of an anime with the same setting which has gotten motives from Hong Kong. In the movie, a lot of iconic Hong Kong buildings can be found with a few modifications. Out of all of the buildings, the building that I will focus on is the Section 9 headquarters, where daily operations for fighting against cyberterrorist attacks occur.
The building used as the headquarters in the movie is none other than the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. The building in the movie is slightly modified and has a modern look but the overall façade is similar to that in real life. The building material looks like pure cement in the movie whereas the actual building has more of a brick-like exterior. The building exterior in the movie is completely sealed off with a few windows seen. In the movie, there are parking areas for cars and a big helicopter pad in the middle near the headquarters. The iconic clock tower has also been removed to help fit in with the image of a cybercity. In the actual place, there are trees and a fountain making it a place for citizens to take a break and rest, and the clock tower is still conserved.
I believe that the directors decided to use the Cultural Centre because it is a very big structure located near the sea, which makes it an optimal place and building for a bureau like Section 9 to be located. The big structure can symbolize the power they have as they are a bureau somewhat related to the government and the location being near the sea makes it easy for them to dispatch their agents when they have a case to solve. As to why they kept a similar façade as to the actual Cultural Centre maybe because the experiments they conduct are confidential and the blocked exterior walls with minimal windows reflect the confidentiality the bureau has.
Hong Kong Cultural Centre in real life looks smaller and has a brighter façade than in the movie.
A wide open area in front of the Cultural Centre has been replaced with parking spaces and a helicopter pad.
The iconic Clock Tower has been removed in the movie to create a cybercity atmosphere.
– Choi Yoon Je (3035793498)
You have noticed the huge differences between the site represented in the film and that in real life. Apart from explaining the choice of the site, you might as well want to discuss the erasure of certain buildings/ landscapes and the use of effects in the sci-fi film. How did the film give an altered reading/ representation of Tsim Sha Tsui? As the site as been discussed in Abbas’ text, talking about the disappearance in the conservation of the Clock Tower (which is also disappeared in Ghost in the Shell (2017)), I would suggest you do a closer comparison between the text and the film to better understand how the movie offers another layer of meaning to disappearance.