Can humans dominate nature? Once nature is moved, people are not quite sure what will happen next whether there would be an epic battle wages between the encroaching civilization of man and gods of the forest just like what happens in the film of Hayao Miyazaki or not. It is possible that there could be a war which will threatens to unbalance the forces of nature. In the film Princess Mononoke, The idea of man vs. nature is presented; the animals are anthropomorphized to represent nature while the humans hints man’s ability to either destroy or protect nature, and through these characters, the film sends the message that nature should be protected at all cost.
Princess Mononoke is an anime film directed by Hayao Miyazaki. This plot follows the daily adventure of Prince Ashitaka. A prince from an extinct village and clan of people, who was attacked a demonic and possessed boar. This boar infects Ashitaka with the deadly curse as he kills the boar for trying to save his village. The people from the same village find a huge metal from the dead, demonic boar. In order for him to stop himself from getting killed due, he is then forced to cut his hair, a ritual for their culture, and leave his village to go find a cure, and find out what caused the boar to act like a demon. Along the way, Ashitaka finds out that his arm does not only makes him weak, but it also gives him some kind of superpowers. As he goes on his journey, he meets Jiko, a monk who helps him and gives him a shelter for a night to stay. Ashitaka tries to ask for direction from Jiko after letting him know his purpose on this journey. The next day, Ashitaka leaves and keeps going. But later on, Jiko is actually working for a woman called Lady Eboshi. This woman is the ...
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In society today, we are conditioned to believe certain sets of ideals. We use these ideals to interact and get along with the other people we surround ourselves with. These ideals are often the societal norms that form common ground amongst individuals. However, living life based off these basic and unchanging beliefs is not beneficial to humanity, nor does it make life any easier to live. In fact, holding on to the most accepted beliefs holds back society as a whole. Judith Halberstam, in her essay “Animating Revolt and Revolting Animation” challenges these societal norms through the analysis of animated movies and, in doing so, carves a path for a new way of thinking.
Princess Mononoke is the tale of a young prince, Ashitaka, who battles a demon bore, only to become possessed with its evil spirit. Ashitaka then travels to Irontown, seeking to find the reason for the bore’s anger and thus, a cure for himself. When he arrives, he finds that the citizens of the town, under the rule of Lady Eboshi, have been mining iron from nearby mountains and, in turn, disturbing the animal Gods of the forest. The animals and the humans have been in a constant battle over who has the right to the land and both have been lead to believe that the other species is purely evil. Ashitaka believes that the humans and the animals can get along peacefully through compromise and finds himself in the middle of their conflict. From each side’s perspective, the other seems inherently evil, but from Ashitaka’s perspective, and the perspective of the audience, neither side is truly corrupt and they are both just feeding off of each other’s anger. Although the animals seem evil and barbaric to the humans, they are just being protective over their land and are acting off of their fear of the humans. On the other hand, the humans are seen as evil by the animals because of their selfish use of resources, but they are just trying to financially support their community. For example, Lady Eboshi, the leader of Irontown, is seen as evil for orchestrating this exploitation of resources from the animals, but the humans see her as a compassionate, God-like figure. She does many positive and kind things for the human community, such as taking in women from the streets and brothels and giving them a place to live and work. Even though she is, in essence, destroying the animal’s habitats, she is saving the lives of many humans while doing it. The animal characters are also portrayed as compassionate in many respects. For example, when the leader of the wolves finds an abandoned baby, she takes her in and raises her as if she were her own daughter.
Hiroshi Inagaki’s 1954 film Samurai 1: Musashi Miyamoto and Kenji Misumi’s 1972 film Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance are both characterized by fluid panoramic shots that show men that are at once dwarfed by their surroundings yet simultaneously in control, showcased in breathtaking sword-fighting scenes where they seem to defy the laws of gravity. Samurai films, “much like the American Western,” feature “tales of loyalty, revenge, romance, fighting prowess, and the decline of a traditional way of life” (“Samurai Cinema”). Both of these films display all of these themes, but where they depart is that the protagonist of Samurai 1: Musashi Miyamoto begins as a wayward member of society and eventually earns honor and respect, while the protagonist of Lone Wolf and Cub steps completely outside the bounds of social acceptability.
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In multiple instances throughout the film, female characters violate gender norms by acting as both warriors and leaders because they are adapting typically masculine traits. In the film, women are the majority of the labor force at iron town. The men are merely there to do the labor that needs the most physical power. “Americans oversimplify Japanese women as demure, submissive, and oppressed” (Kyu Hyun, 2002, 38). This quote shows that the stereotype of women in Japanese culture had been just like the western perspective where they were below men. This quote also shows that Princess Mononoke reverses the gender role from being submissive to being above men. Another quote that supports that women were not submissive says that “the young unmarried women in Japan have become a powerful group, demographically and economically” (Kyu Hyun, 2002, 39). The women who were in the upper class society of Japan had time on their hands and we know this because they had time to write literature. “Most of the canonical work from this period was produced by women of the upper social class” (Varner, 2005,
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This paper will explore what it is about anime that makes it so appealing to even a Western audience, creating an international fan base. Although manga can be traced to American origins, the comics that the Americans brought over have been intensely modified to create essentially a new form of media. Manga and anime have become a significant component of Japanese culture, and often times they integrate Japanese culture and society. Yet, regardless of its Japanese origin, anime is still viewed on the other side of the planet. The question then becomes what is it that makes it so appealing to a foreign audience? This paper will rely heavily on Susan Napier’s book, From Impressionism to Anime: Japan as Fantasy and Fan Cult in the Mind of the
A lot of Miyazaki 's films involve the interaction between man and nature. Miyazaki takes great value in the protection of the environment and the compassion he shows for it can be seen in several films he has created. One example of this would be his film Ponyo. The story is about a young girl named Ponyo who lives in the ocean with her father, but she wants to be free from the restriction of her father and see what life is like on the surface world. Ponyo escapes from her father and her sisters and leaves to the surface world to explore. Her father is a wizard that is deeply concerned for Ponyo and her sisters because of the imbalance between the sea and the surface world. The humans and their actions have polluted to ocean which has caused
children, considering the success of the much-in-demand anime series "Pokémon". Anime art is known for it's characters' big round eyes, abnormal shaped hair, and it's unique exaggeration of physical reality. Since anime is basically movies translated into animation, it contains as many subgenres as there are actual genres. However, the majority of anime contains some type of action or martial arts, so I chose to discuss the action/horror subgenre and will be using Yoshiaki Kawajiri's Ninja Scroll to aid in
Denison. B. (2002, January 1). A Basic Overview of Japanese Culture . . Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://www.mizukan.org/articles/culture.htm
In almost all cases, the environment does triumph over man in some way or another. “To Build a Fire,” by Jack London is a prime example of this happening to a large extent. A man and his dog are lost in the wilderness at sub-zero temperatures, and he is not only involved in an environmental conflict, but a struggle to live. Eventually the man dies of hypothermia. Again, this is another instance that illustrates the power that nature has over us.
The power of nature is all around us and can be found almost anywhere. One is able to study nature through experiencing it firsthand, looking at a picture, watching a movie, or even reading a familiar children’s story. I believe that by learning more about nature we can grow closer to God. Emerson states, “Nature is so pervaded in human life, that there is something of humanity in all, and in every particular” (Emerson 508). Like Emerson, I believe that humanity and nature were created by God and we can learn more about the Spirit of God by studying nature. I also see that nature has the power to influence our emotions and actions. I see evidence of this through various landscapes such as the desert, the beach, the mountains and the jungle. I thought about the vastness of the desert during a recent trip to the desert with my class. I think about nature and my love for it when I am scanning through my photo album and see pictures that capture me enjoying the mountains of Utah. When I watched the movie The Beach I was struck out how nature, specifically the beautiful beaches of Thailand, influenced the actions of every character in the movie. Of course it is hard to read a legendary story such as “Jungle Book” and not see what a powerful effect nature and its’ animals can have over humans.