Princess Mononoke Critical Criticism

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Critical Analysis of Princess Mononoke

Analysis of Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke from Feminist, Marxist and Psychoanalytical point of views.
Princess Mononoke is set during a medieval period in Japan, where there are kingdoms and villages who worshiped nature. It was an era where there were still great forests and high mountains, largely untouched by humans where the ancient gods still roamed these places. It traces Japan’s transition from the middle ages to modernity and it gives us a grey view of conflict between man and nature, where man is struggling desperately to survive in a world made more hostile by conflicts among them.
The film follows the journey of a Prince, Ashitaka, who was cursed by an animal god turned demon, whom he had slayed. The curse had made him inhumanly strong which would eventually consume and destroy him. This forces him to travel to the land of the demon’s origin to search for answers and for a possible cure. During his journey he discovers the Irontown, the ironworks Lady Eboshi runs and the wolf-girl, San, who carries a hatred for humans because of their destructive behavior.
1 FEMINIST
Miyazaki is well known creating well-developed characters and Princess Mononoke is a good example showing these qualities along with a strong message on environmentalism and an underlying theme of feminism.
There are many strong women characters present in Princess Mononoke which exhibit themes of freedom and spirit.
Although there are many strong women characters in the film, we will consider the major two primary characters – the Wolf Princess and Lady Eboshi for analysis.
San, the Wolf Princess, is a human girl who was raised by wolf gods in the great forest. She hates humans, especially Lady Eboshi and the ...

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...rship http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/4.2/Swanson.html 4. Film Theory and Approaches to Criticism or What did that movie mean? http://www.und.edu/instruct/cjacobs/FilmTheory&Analysis.htm 5. Marxist Film Theory http://www.nettonet.org/Nettonet/Film%20Program/theory/marx-theory.htm 6. Psychoanalytic Film Theory http://www.nettonet.org/Nettonet/Film%20Program/theory/psycho_theory.htm 7. Psychoanalysis, Cinema and the Mirror http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Independent-Film-Road-Movies/Psychoanalysis-CINEMA-AND-THE-MIRROR.html 8. Princess Mononoke reviewed http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/princess-mononoke-1999 9. Avatar vs Mononoke: Alejandra mancilla compares two films views on ecology http://philosophynow.org/issues/85/Avatar_vs_Mononoke 10. Princess Mononoke, Hero’s Journey
https://wiki.rit.edu/display/05052130220101/Princess+Mononoke+Hero+Journey

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