Veith Spirited Away

Spirited Away is a visually beautiful, extremely engaging movie. The plot is so so crazy, and its perfect Japanaese oddities are what make it so AWESOME, and appealing especially to teenage girls like myself.   It is clear, by the time Hayao Miyazaki made this movie, he had enough respect and artistic liberty to create anything he anted. No longer was he really trying to make an impression by raising awareness to the public of environmental destruction, as in Princess Mononoke or Nausicaa.

And although Miyazaki did make sure there were underlying elements that were a commentary on how Japanese traditions are deteriorating and Japanese children may be becoming lazy under influence of the west, what really makes the film so good is the beautiful spiritual and fantastical aspects. And, of course, there was Chihiro's spunk and strength that allowed for young girls to look up to her. But what I'd really like to discuss is those fantastical things, and I'm just going to go ahead and relate to them on a personal level.

I've been feeling really lonely lately. This always happens around winter, and I've just been feeling like escaping from reality a lot due to certain events. I've been making art, focusing on trying to create things that represent other universes, space oddities, and just funky stuff as a means to feel better. And, cheesy as it is, Spirited Away just inspires me so much. I cannot stress enough how intrigued I am by Japanese culture, how much the aesthetics of all their cute stuff in modern culture, as well as their traditional art, really appeals to me. And all of the characters in Spirited Away are so COOL. They are as beautiful as they are strange. I really look up to Miyazaki and whatever team of artists created the spiritual world and the creatures in Spirited Away. Because when I watch the movie, I really feel like I've been spirited away, in some gorgeous Japanese world where everything is harmonious and okay.

And now on a side/end note, I'm just going to stress how much I like Japan and how much I've learned in this Japanese Anime course. Although I could learn much more about how Japanese society works, I feel I have enough of an understanding to know that Japan is a pretty harmonious place. I've been think a lot about what Professor McCay said about how in Japan individualism isn't really stressed. And that's so cool, duty is so important to them. Japan's got a crazy awesome thing going on, and some really awesome movies come out of there. I LOVE JAPAN! It's been a really awesome calss :)

Veith Nausicaa

Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke are pretty similar in a lot of ways. Since they were both made by Miyazaki they look alike, and have the same theme of man vs. nature.

An interesting thing that I noticed about both movies is the size of the animals that inhabit the forests. In both Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa, the forest animals are HUGE. Insects in reality seem like specks to humans, but in Nausicaa they are 1000 times bigger than the people. I think the exaggerated size of the creatures is intended to be symbolic of their significance, because they are more important in the cycle of nature than humans are. Like we discussed in class, the earth doesn't need humans. So perhaps Miyazaki was making this point clear by having the animals in the films be so much larger/ greater than humans.

Anyway, i'm a tad confused by the overarching messages in each of the movies. I'd say that there is a constant struggle for humans to adapt to nature and, well, tame it. Because there's definitely a human need for nature, it's just so confusing as to how we're really supposed to treat it. I'd like to compare two scenes: the first, from Princess Mononoke where Eboshi gives Akitasha a tour of Iron Town, and second, the scene in Nausicaa where Lord Yupa discovers Nausicaa's lab of non-toxic plants. Each system (Iron Town and Nausicaa's lab, I mean) has a purpose for benefitting humans, and in both scenes someone is being enlightened on how another human or system of humans is utilizing nature for the benefit of mankind. Nausicaa searches for a pant to cure her father, and Eboshi uses the forest to build weapons and run her city. I don't really know what I'm getting at here. I guess I'm saying that these scenes are representative of the different ways that humans use nature, and that humans will never stop having the need to use it, even if that means destroying it. But then again, is the relationship between nature and humans cyclical? Even though natural disasters happen, and we're polluting the air all the time and all that jazz, everything seems to resolve itself enough for us to get by. And as he world goes on, technology advances, and maybe humans won't need nature anymore. Maybe that's why everything happens, because as we established before, nature doesn't need humans, and maybe we just need to leave the earth eventually.

I've confused everyone, haven't I? I don't know what I'm talking about

Veith Ah! My Goddess

Alright, I must say I am getting sick of all the super-technology mecha ridiculousness. That's not to say I didn't enjoy Ah! My Goddess. I really liked it! Woohoo for the power of love! And I loved to see the Japanese spin on Norse deities' costume. I'm just tired of getting overly confused by the outrageous complications that dominate anime movies.

Okay, let me try to remember some of the things I read from the chapter about outrageous women. I must admit I can't currently find my copy of Samurai from Outer Space, but I did read the chapter a while ago. I do say that it helped me better understand the role of women in Japanese culture, and in anime. Firstly: the equality of men to women. In Japan, there has never been anything similar to women suffrage in America. In fact, I recall reading something about famous empresses, and tendency for Japanese people to believe that women of power held some sort of mysticism. So there, that explains the reason the makers behind Ah! My Goddess made the decision for women/ goddesses of mystical power (Urd Skuld and Belldandy) to roam the earth.

And i remember reading something about mother figures, and how they are not often present in anime movies. They tend to hamper the spirit of young, beautiful, imtelligent, powerful young girls like Belldandy. In American cinema, mother figures are predominantly nurturing and sweet. But Japanese mothers have the connotation of being the ultimate controllers of family matters, always making sure their children adhere to rigid education systems and helping out the family, etc. That is why there could not be a mother to Belledandy and Skuld; she would have overpowered their greatest qualities too much.

Back to the equality of Japanese men and women thing. In Japan, it is not as much of a problem if a couple are equal in strength. Though American women have certainly moved forward with their rights and dominance in the worl force, a typical American couple still has the connotation of consisting of a cheerleader-type plus a football player-type. This isn't so in Japan, since males and females have shared a lot of equality in Japanese history. Samurai from Outer Space brings up Keichi and Belldandy's relationship. The beauty of it is their mutual respect for each other, and Keichi does not care that Belldandy is so powerful and taller than him and yadda yadda. They are simply perfect for each other! :)

Keiichi and Belldandy <3

Veith Princess Mononoke

PRINCESS MONONOKE IS AN AWESOME MOVIE! It is visually stunning, and I especially liked the adorable nature of Ashitaka's pet Yakul, as well as those little kodama tree spirits. 

Since it is a movie having to do very much with humans and their interactions with nature, I was reminded of my high school Environmental Science class. In that class we had a discussion on two essays written by environmental experts, one which states that, no matter what, no matter how serious global warming gets, or how may natural and human-induced disasters occur in hte world, the world always adapts. No disasters ruin the world, and we are eternally in a cycle of destructing, fixing, and improving the world. The other essay very much attacked humans for ignorance of how to treatt he world, and the world will be destructed sooner than it should because of our mistreatment.

We were told to choose a side, and I really had trouble deciding then, but now I think I agree with the guy who says we’re destructing the world too fast. We humans forget that we are too a part of nature. The importance of nature is shown in Princess Mononoke by the fact that animals are beautiful, mystical, humongous, godly creatures that run a lush forest.

But then again, Iron Town’s conflict with nature makes the point that perhaps humans cannot live in a world without destructing nature a little, and treating animals poorly. Conflict between man and nature has gone on since the dawn of time, and no one seems to be backing down, even though America has “gone green” or whatever. Each year we knock out a huge number of trees.

Princess Mononoke is symbolic of human conflict with the natural world, especially in the sense that it won’t ever stop. In the battle between the humans and the forest, no one really wins. Here I am going to quote Wikipedia, because I like the way they put it: “There can be no clear victory, and the hope is that the relationship between humans and nature can be cyclical.” I guess we won’t know if this relationship is cyclical, or if humans are destroying the world too quickly, until the world ends.

Veith Grave of the Fireflies

I like to use the term depressingly uplifting to describe a lot of things, for example, Arcade Fire's music. As artsy and lame as it is, the term suits Grave of the Fireflies well. The horrors of war, specifically the undeserved death of a small child, are what this movie (film/ movie? I'm still unsure of the difference.) is all about. Which is depressing. But, the compassion between child siblings for each other during such harsh times is what makes Grave of the Fireflies so special. Setsuko and Saita are just too damn cute.

The extremity of child starvation and survival in such a brutal situation as the aftermath of a bombing shows Japan’s grievance over World War II. In fact, there is a term for this. I can’t remember what exactly it is called and the article in which I read about it is now missing from Blackboard, but it’s something like this: Japan feels so victimized and misunderstood, especially in terms of warfare. Its islands being isolated and ridden with monsoons and tsunamis, it is completely different from anywhere else. Through films like Grave of the Fireflies and The Harp of Burma, profound and beautiful times of terror, like young sibling survival and grave-making for a innumerable Japanese war casualties, this feeling of victimization and misunderstanding is depicted.

This type of spirituality, this beautiful sorrowful feeling that Japan has, is so irrelevant to everyone else. It should not be ignored. From what I gather, Japanese people are polite. They work hard and seem to live by a code of ethics completely absent from America. As a country, they certainly are misunderstood, (and definitely weird) but Japan seems so exquisite to me! Just look at the beauty of Setsuko and Seita’s care for each other. They are perfect children. And just consider how lovely it is that one single man committed his life to rightfully bury Japanese soldiers in Burma. It sucks that we had to have conflict with Japan in World War II. Now, I think it’s important to recognize the elegance in Japanese culture, which can be better understood through their wartime films. 

Veith Harp of Burma

http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC111011-0000173/Japan-to-offer-free-flights-to-10,000-tourists-next-year

Veith Ghost in the Shell

It seems like Japanese anime films are often based around a philosophical obsession with souls, the sense of self, the meaning of life, and how the internet affects these things. At least, that's the implication I got from Perfect Blue, Akira, and Ghost in the Shell. Each of these films relate to one another because each focuses on a main character in confusion of why he or she is alive and what he or she is meant to do.

Each character's identity is somehow affected by technology. Mima is confused about her own actions and personality because of what someone else says about her on the internet. Tetsuo is overcome by the power of government control of technology, and ends up morphing into a giant, pulsating, baby-shaped pile of enlarged veins and intestines. And, quite honestly, I'm still confused buy Ghost in the Shell, but Major Motoko is not really a human. Her actions are completely computer-operated, because really she is a computer.

Well. What does all this mean? Tbh, I don't know, nor do I care, really. I enjoy the films because they are action-filled and look cool. I hate philosophy and I don't like to think about who I am or what I'm living for. However, my boyfriend likes philosophy for whatever reason and his analysis of Ghost in the Shell is interesting. I'm going to attempt to paraphrase it. Generally stating, the human race believes in a greater being or power or whatever. We humans are eternally trying to know what this greater being maybe, so we are forever trying to advance our society. This is how technology came to be. I suppose that Akira and Ghost in the Shell sort of exemplify the extremes of what may happen if the human race ever understands such a great power through means of technology. That is why they are so frickin' confusing! Perfect Blue is more about a female individual's struggle, and I can relate to it better.

Directly after I saw Perfect Blue, something strange happened to me. I got stuck on an elevator alone for about an hour. During that time, I contemplated my existence. I was alone with my thoughts and I began to question my personality, my relationships with others, and why I was alive; why the elevator chose me to trap. In other words, I felt crazy. WHO AM I? EXCUSE ME, WHO ARE YOU?

hehe