From Japan to the US--Virtual Reality

It's odd but some of the most famous blockbuster movies dealing with virtual reality can easily claim ancestry with Japan. Take the Matrix for example (and ignore the sequels as we should): 

Remember that? The movie that ushered in the new millennium with the bold assertion that the world we're living in is not real, but an elaborate program we're all hooked into by plugs in our bodies in a post apocalyptic world of human vs machines. Groundbreaking effects and surrealistic elements. Now its predecessor may easily be seen as Ghost in the Shell, an anime classic cyber police thriller where human/cyborg relations have progressed to such a state that many people have augmented their bodies with cybernetic attachments.

The main character has an entirely cybernetic body except for her spine and brain. Living in such a state of course brings up confusion and frustration about being human in an artificial body. The Wachowskis borrowed much from Ghost in the Shell in its thematic and cinematic elements:

A lesser known Japan/US conversion is Paprika and Inception. Paprika is 2006 anime movie about a doctor who utilizes a machine to enter the dreams of her patients to work our their inner dilemmas. The surrealism of this movie is astounding, and I'd recommend it to anyone. Know your history, People!