Personally, I hadn't seen Princess Mononoke for a few years before we watched it in class together. And I must say that I forgot THAT IT IS A FREAKING AMAZING FILM! Wow. I really like it.
So, now you get to say what you like about it. Please answer two of the following questions or respond to something someone else wrote:
- What is the theme of the film? Explain.
- How did what we learned about Japanese culture help you appreciate the film more?
- How did the film help you understand Japanese culture better?
- What did you like most about the film? What did you like least about the film? Explain.
Ashton Bowers:
ReplyDeleteThe theme to this film i think would be to appriciate the forest, because it shows how they are kind of at war with the forest gods and how they are destroying it. and the movie also showed how the forest was a good thing. not to mention if you kill a forest god he becomes a demon that kills everything to get his head back.
i think this is the best anime movie ive seen in this class, i really liked this movie and how long it was, i also liked the characters and that it showed the hatred between humans and the forest.
Your post got me thinking about how when we kill nature, it actually hurts us just like how when they tried to kill the gods (kami), it hurt them.
DeleteThat reminds me of Ferngully. In Ferngully, if a tree is cut or burned and you touch its wound, you feel pain as well.
DeleteAlan Carrasco
ReplyDeleteThe theme of this film is that think be fort= you do. What i really like about this film is the story line it was cool seeing how everything was connected to everything that happened though out the film. What i really didn't like why did they let MissLady live after all that she did.
One could make the argument that even though Milady hurt the forest, she also gave jobs to the prostitutes and to the sick people and that because of this, she deserved to live. How would you respond?
DeleteGive me one more paragraph to get full points.
I believe the theme of this film is to respect your gods and nature around you. Because thats basically all this movie was about. There were the humans that were totally just jackin up the forrest and the gods trying to set it right, getting fed up with the humans ignorance. Like after they take the Deer Gods head and the Night Walker just goes ape sh!t... Seriously, thats back up enough for this theme.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this film because it was anime and i got to stare at pretty colors.. Haha just kidding. I really liked the thought that was put into the the film. Like how the main dude was like the only human that respected the forrest and the gods anymore. That made the feeling different, it was no longer a story about war between forrest and humans. It was a battle against good and bad.
I find your comment about the pretty colors insightful. When we were watching this film, I was thinking about how there are many parts of it which are actually kind of slow just like High and Low was slow but that people like Mononoke more. I was thinking about what this might be. I think it is because Mononoke is more "colorful". I mean "colorful" not just in terms of literal colors but also in terms of flashy visuals, weird fantasy elements, violence, etc. Do you agree?
DeleteTommy Kiter
ReplyDeletei really enjoyed this movie but it took "Forever" to end it took like five or i think six class periods wow it was long.
The theme of this film to me is to think about stuff before you do something your gonna regret dont think out of your butt haha.
I also want to add more i think you should respect what you have, in return something great could happen. Obviously the characters in this film didn't understand and died because of it.
I dont really know how it helped me better understand the japenese culture but i can respect their film making because whoa it is alot more different than the united states film making.
I didn't liked how the girl san thinks she is a wolf it made me laugh because obviously she isnt haha. what i did like was huw ashtika curse went away after he returned the head back to the dear god and how the dear god let grass, flowers bloom etc.
In what specific ways do you feel the Japanese filmmaking is different than that of the United States?
DeleteTo live in harmony. I think that's the theme of this film. Three different parties cannot live in harmony. Nature can't live in harmony with the West Ironworkers, and the West can't live in harmony with the East. Not until a baboon-antelope Spirit god of everything practically destroys the world, and they all end up saving each other. But hey, we all lose our head sometimes. It's understandable. I mean, did Al Gore direct this? This film takes a very pro-environmental stand, not that there's anything wrong with that. But Madame Eboshi does go through a pretty quick character arc. One second, she's miraculously shooting off the head of the most powerful spirit god ever, and then next time you see her, she's like "Let's build a good people village!" But at least they all learn to live in peace. Except that all the boars are dead... Yeah...
ReplyDeleteI feel like I understand a bit more about Japan. I think Mr. Miyazaki was trying to make a statement about America and Japan. The Eastern tribe (Eastern Hemisphere, Japan) is the nature respecting tribe. And very traditional Japanese. They are wise and cautious. And happy. But the West (Western Hemisphere, America) is very industrial. Greedy for more. No regard for nature or tradition in the slightest. Obsessed with new technology and expansion... Sound familiar? The Japanese have always been very respectful of nature, and tradition. They gots a pretty rich history.
Good observation about Madame Eboshi's character arc.
DeleteThat's deep stuff and an unconventional observation about the story symbolizing the East / West divide.
Nice pun! "We all lose our head sometimes." because the Deer God got his head shot off. hahahahahahahahahaha. Good one. :)
DeleteI also like what you said about Al Gore.
So if we didn't explain that a Komi is more like a highly respected sprit instead of a God or unicorn this movie would have been so confusing. Having a better understanding of the Japanesse "God" helped this film translate so much more.
ReplyDeleteSomethings I really appreciated about this film was that the story line had no "good" guys or no "bad" guys. There were only people's stories. The Milady wasn't a bad guy. She just was building a life for herself and the people she hires. And I loved that the film tells that the women she hires were from brothels and she also hired extremely sick people and still looked at them as if they were human beings.
But what was the best part of this movie is that Ashitaka and San don't end up together! I'm all for happy endings where the male and female go off into the sunset and get married. But this was SUCH a relief from that. I get so sick of the same story every time. They realized they couldn't be together so they weren't. It made me so happy.
This film made me understand respect on a whole new level of awesome. This was one of the best films I have ever seen. And my children will grow up with this and any other animated films I can find like this. And hopefully this won't give them too many nightmares.
And thus Alyssa's kids grew up watching arrows decapitate people. LOL.
DeleteI really appreciate your comments. I'd love it if you expanded these thoughts into a film essay and turned it in.
Tayia Groesbeck-
ReplyDeleteI don't know why but this film reminded me of Jesus,how lots of people thought the deer god was bad when he really wasn't and people killed him because they believed he was evil for having the power he had and in the end they realize they made a mistake.
I think the theme off this film is you shouldn't judge someone or just believe you know what kind of person they are. The humans thought the deer god was bad when he really wasn't all he wanted was to help people and stop the trees from being cut down. I liked the quote that was said "The deer god is life itself."
That's an interesting comparison to Jesus. The deer god ever resurrects like Jesus!
DeleteI like the quote about the deer god being life itself too. This metaphorical statement strikes something emotional and powerful deep down inside me.
-Randi Michelle :)
ReplyDeleteI think the theme of this movie is to respect and appreciate nature and it's Gods while they're still here. Eventually, especially with all the iron works, the forest will be gone and no one will be able to bask in it's glory. Lady Eboshi definitely took this for granted, and pretty much only cared about her own greed in ruling the world. I could understand why Princess Mononoke wanted to kill her so bad, I didn't like her at all, especially because of what she did to the Deer God. She basically just killed him for nothing, because though he "died," her iron work town was destroyed, her arm got cut off, etc. And in the end, he just got his head back anyway, so it didn't even matter. There just really wasn't a point to what she did.
I really really liked this movie, and I figured I would since it was made by Hayao Miyazaki. I love the story line and the moral it teaches, and I love how each character is neither good nor evil. I like how Hayao Miyazaki realizes that people have a light and a dark side, no matter what kind of person they are. I really liked the creativity in the spirits, and I really liked the little Kodama and the meaning behind them. A few things I didn't like, was that whole business I mentioned earlier about Lady Eboshi's doing, and I'm not really sure if I liked the fact that Ashitaka and San didn't end up together. I mean, he saved her life multiple times through out the movie, and she STILL hold a grudge on him for something that wasn't even his fault. I also didn't understand why Ashitaka didn't go back to his home town and stayed at the iron works instead, didn't that old lady say in the beginning that once the curse was lifted he shall return? That's just kind of weird that he just up and left like that like no problem. But other than that, this movie was AMAZING and is definitely now in my top 10.
Coolio.
DeleteTravis porter
ReplyDeletethe japanese culture exprest it amazingly i liked how there was no good or bad there were just sides which people beleved in it was cool not seeing a soper hero saving people i liked most was the grafics and i liked lest was i had to read the sub titels
Coolio.
DeleteThat is one mad run-on sentence. Punctuate?
DeleteI think the theme to this is don't mess with territories that aren't yours, and to have more respect for people. Oh! and don't be greedy! I really enjoyed this movie, I felt like Lady Eboshi was selfish and thought she was bigger and tougher than everyone else. And I was glad to see Askitaka stood up for what he believed in and fought back, and fought for Princess Monoke. It was very sweet! This film helped me learn more about why the Japanese called the other beings "Gods". They aren't gods like we persue them to be. They're looked up to, but they aren't as superior as the Gods were used to.
ReplyDeleteI loved the thought and idea behind this movie. I thought it was well expressed. Definately one of my favorite Animes. Although I wish some things would have ended up happening instead, like for instance, why didn't Askitaka end up with the Wolf lady?? He did everything in his power to save her and he saved her from Lady Eboshi, even though she didn't want him to. She kept holding back, you could totally tell he wanted to be with her, and that she was special to him, but she just kept holding back. I thought it would have been cute if they ended up together, because ya know, movies are ALWAYS supposed to have a happy ending. /endsarcasm
It's interesting how the way that the Japanese gods represent nature but are not immortal makes it so that the people have to work to keep the gods alive just like we have to work to keep nature healthy and strong.
DeleteI kind of suspect that Ashitaka will end up with San eventually, just not yet. They said that they plan on visiting each other. The argument can be made that it is nice to not have everything wrap up perfectly just yet because life never works that way. As we move from one chapter of life to the next, there are always loose strings.
Bambie, I love you. You're so funny. Your, "I thought it would have been cute if they ended up together, because ya know, movies are ALWAYS supposed to have a happy ending. /endsarcasm" thing made me laugh. :)
DeleteGraded.
ReplyDelete