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

Veith Vampire Hunter D

How exciting it is to be able to write about vampires at Halloween time! As a very superstitious person who believes in ghosts and all that jazz, I have always been intrigued by, as well as afraid of, vampires. In fact, when I was little, I refused to sit in the backseat of my mom's van at night because I was afraid there were vampires in the trunk. I've long overcome this fear, but I still like to think about how vampires might be real. Yay supernatural beings!

I've read the first two Twilight books and seen all the movies. But I think that Twilight is stupid and cheesy as hell, and I'm embarrassed that I enjoy the movies. I also think that Edward Cullen is ugly. However, I LOVE this vampire trend. It's so cool that pop culture these days is filled with vampire movies and television shows. True Blood is where it's at. Vampires in Louisiana! Though I've only seen some of the first season, I think it's a great show. What a crazy idea; vampires living in harmony with regular humans, in addition to synthetic human blood for vampires, in addition to vampire blood being an insane hallucinogenic drug for humans. Vampire Bill is so sexy too. I wish I had more to say about True Blood, but I just haven't seen enough episodes.

More vampires in Louisiana: Interview with the Vampire! Vampires in New Orleans! What an awesome movie. I have not read anything by Anne Rice, but I do know I want to visit the orphanage-turned Anne Rice doll collection storage-turned apartment complex on St. Charles. It's gotta be haunted. Anyway, Interview with the Vampire is so awesome. Th best part is when Brad Pitt turns Kirsten Dunst, who had been living in squalor with her diseased dead mother, into a vampire. Then her hair curls and she looks like a doll. So humans become more beautiful when they are turned to vampires. That's so cool! Agh I want to be a vampire.

It's interesting how every writer adds a different characteristic to vampires. I've found a Wikipedia page that compares characteristics of vampires in different cultures and works of fiction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vampire_traits_in_folklore_and_fiction

I think that if vampires are real, they are nothing like Edward Cullen or Bill. They've got to be reclusive, tortured, beautiful beings. Whenever I pass the Ann Rice orphanage, I think that there must be a man living in one of those apartments, but he's not really a man. He's a vampire.

Veith Perfect Blue

Female body image in the world of entertainment is sickening. Both in Perfect Blue and Black Swan the central characters feel the pressure to be perfect; to have a career that is centralized on pleasing everyone that watches them. In the process they are abused.

Nina and Mima. Ha! Look at how similar their names are. Ironic, since the way in which they live, forever struggling to please an audience, are parallel. And they've each got a psychotic (or near-psychotic, in the case of Nina's mother) woman seeking control over their careers. Let's examine Mima. The young, innocent pop star wants to change her image. She wants to be taken seriously; to become an actress in dramas. Simple enough, right? Most famous people like a change of pace at least once in a while. But Mima isn't lucky enough to have an easy career transformation. Since she is so sickeningly admired by boys and men who watch her without any expression in their eyes, and since she is unknowingly the embodiment of Rumi's hopes and dreams, she cannot go and act on TV as she pleases. She ends up being disrespected by men and actually raped during the filming of the rape scene. That was the hardest scene to watch for me.

But anyway, then things get really tricky. With the murders, the crazy fish face-looking guy, insane Rumi, and Me-mania, everything in her world is misconstrued. She literally loses herself and her identity while she’s just trying her damnedest to be a well-loved actress. And that’s the price of fame for Mima, unfortunately.

As for Nina, she’s unlucky enough to have a mother trying to live her unattained dreams through her daughter. She feels the pressure to be beautiful and perfect more than anything, because that is what ballet requires. Her whole world and her identity is distorted like Mima’s, because she cannot take the competition, the pressure from her instructor and from her mother, and the need to be perfect. It probably doesn’t help that she’s lightheaded from bulimia either. In the end she dies I think, I’m not sure really since everything in the film is so symbolic. But it’s because she’s finally done what she has lived her life for; she dances perfectly in her show. But what good was that? Did she do it for herself or for everyone else?

I’ve only discussed and compared the misfortune of two girls in this blog. I haven’t examined the need for help for these types of females. There are too many ballerinas, actresses, and normal girls too, who succumb to everything from anorexia to sexual abuse from men. It is saddening the way body image can take over a girl’s life completely.