My thoughts with watching Princess Mononok was how unique the aniamtions style were that compare to a western animated film. Personally, I’ve never been into foreign animated films but I really had an enjoyable experience watching Princess Mononok. Moreover, I really like how the film never had a dull moment and was still able to convey the message through the story. Throughout the film Princess Mononok emphasized the importance of man’s lust for destruction. Something I noted as I began watching Princess Mononoke was the different types of metaphor that the film implemented.
For instance, the scene where the human tribes were cutting down the trees and destroying the forest, weakening the spirit of nature, thus highlighting the negative influence of the destructive nature of man.
I believe the film is still relevant today in terms of environmentalism due to the fact that it’s no secret, that our environment has been seeing many of the negative effects of global warming. Our planet has suffered due to human greed and power that has blinded us as a society from protecting our environment. As stated by ‘Why Princess Mononoke is More Relevant 20 Years Late’ “Industrialization is not inherently evil. Industry has presented society with an array of invaluable jobs, protections, innovations and opportunities. Instead, it’s how we as a society utilize our industrial means to advance our civilization where issues of toxic human ego arise: pollution, war, deforestation, species extinction, climate change” (Russell, p 12, 2017). I think this quote signifies why the film Princess Mononoke is still relevant today, due to industrialization that human have obsessed over. We as people seem to always want to advance into the future. As a result this has caused in humans making a non eco-friendly environment when we should really build a better one, one in harmony with nature.
I do think watching anime to learn about environmental degradation is as or more effective than watching a live-action documentary on a certain topic.
I think it all comes down to preference and if whether or not the individual can appeal to the film. Additionally, to me the most significant contrast between anime and live action film is how creative anime films can be in terms of conveying a message to the audience without having any boundaries. Furthermore, anime film writers have the freedom of adding emphasis to certain scenes the movie though facial expressions and body m]language which I think is a huge advantage.
Resources
A Miramax Films release ; Tokuma Shoten Nippon Television Network ; Dentsu & Studio Ghibli present a Studio Ghibli production ; a Hayao Miyazaki film ; produced by Toshio Suzuki ; directed by Hayao Miyazaki. (2000). Princess Mononoke. Burbank, CA :Miramax Home Entertainment : Distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment,
Russell, E. (2017, July 12). Why Princess Mononoke is even more relevant 20 years later. Retrieved February 15, 2019, from http://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/36735/1/why-princess-mononoke-is-even-more-relevant-20-years-later
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