Hi as you can see my avatar is from Ghost in the Shell. To me the film is about being human and achieving an authentic self. But of course I was wondering if you thought it was about anything else or perhaps it could as well be you disagree with me on what its theme may be. Also I set this up as a general discussion about the film too.
Great film(s) if you haven’t got them, get the manga series - Gigs 1 and 2, and the second film “innocence”. The last film, “stand alone complex”, is ok, but not as good as the two prior - just my opinion.
If you want the philosophic side of the deal - just bang “brain in a jar” into either wiki or google, and read whatever comes out.
Innocence is a beautiful film though I have to say I don’t think I understand it as well as the prequel though I may be wrong about understanding the prequel, could have got its theme wrong that is just as well.
I’d say the sequel is about Innocence as the film suggests. The film seems very interested to me about us finding a way to be content with our function and that what it says innocence is. But what a beautiful film it is. There truly are some magnificent shots.
My favourite bit in innocence is probably the long shot of the parade with the accompanying music - I’ll see if I can find it on youtube.
Most people don’t seem to like the style of Innocence as a visual piece. They find it to dark, morbid and depressing. I don’t think the literary side of this contributed to that way of seeing it anyway. The festival is actually quite a break from the darker visuals aspects of the film.
Notice throughout the film deep thick colors are used. While in the festival the colors are more thin. I thick he applies the colors thickly to convey there is much to spare. That there is something left to spare thats not happening. This makes us feel something is missing. Perhaps the thing that is missing for most people in the film is their humanity. Which seems to be what the film is about.
I’ve actually changed my opinion on it since I thought about it last night. Humanity is something we need to feel we have over others because that’s what allows for a feeling of innocence of feeling you can be perceived as achieving your goals more then others. That your not just a doll.
Why do we want to feel we can achieve our goals more then others. Because people are always going against or goals so if we cant achieve them over others we cant achieve them at all. Why would it be we want to feel we can achieve our goals because only then are we free. Freedom is often conveyed in the film through use of birds I guess. So I think the film is probably how we can feel freedom. 
Actually Tab I was curious if you knew about any other Mamoru Oshii films as Ghost in The Shell and how violent they are. As I’m a bit sensitive to violence. Usually I skip the violent bits in GIS and GIS Innocence.
Although if you were to recommend to me if I got say a live action and it was explicitly violent I think it would have to be one I’d be just too sensitive too.
But I think I could just skip the violent bits in he’s anime films. Though If you think any of he’s live actions aren’t too gruesemely violent that is I’d be certainly happy if you recommend it to me as a such.
Rather if you think any of he’s anime films would be at it’s better then I’d be just as happy if you recommend any to me. Though I most perfectly graciously understand if you don’t know any of he’s other films as such. If anyone else as well just as too as such knows any Mamoru Oshii films I’d be happy to have it known as so.
Hey LT,
My Japanese animation collection is fairly limited, (not counting the Ghost in the shell stuff):
Appleseed. (Very good, violence: not a huge amount, and not perverse).
Deathnote - complete series boxset. (Great, probably the best anime I have. Violence: low, sporadic, but fairly graphic sometimes).
Ergo Proxy - complete boxset. (Pretentious bollocks. Violence: again, sporadic but sometimes graphic).
Cowboy Bebop the movie - Excellent, lots of violence, but not very gory. Gunshots and hand-to-hand.
Stuff I’ve watched online:
Pretty much the entire Cowboy Bebop series. Hit and miss, some great, some so-so. Not much character development. Violence frequent, sometimes bloody.
Gantz. I like Gantz, it’s a bit of an aquired taste, the violence is way OTT, and extremely gory. The sex is explicit, and stupid, bordering on the perverse, and totally gratuitous. The storyline is gappy, silly, and repetitive. It’s execution however, and the imagination involved is good. The ending is terrible, because the series and the comicbook were being written at the same time, and the series out-paced the comicbook writers to the point where the series writers had to make up the last few episodes themselves, and they really, really blew it.
Probably you should stay away from Gantz.
Elfen Lied. Total bollocks again. A thin plot hung around plenty of naked and semi-naked teenagers. I watched about five episodes before I began to believe life was to short to fill it with crap like this.
And that’s it.
I think deathnote is a great anime. Actually had myself watch it many, many times!
Thank you anyway for the advise. I think perhaps I’ll buy one of those other animes. 
I used to think the knife fight in the water, if you remember that, was kind of sureal. But I really like the theme of the movie which I think is to be reborn and perhaps also it’s all about a little more.