Max Damerell: Princess Mononoke (Anime Film) - Looking at Napier and Cavallaro (2006) discuss how anime is culturally “located” – in the East or West, or somewhere else?

“A number of Japanese commentators have chosen to describe anime with the word “mukokuseki” meaning “stateless” or essentially without a national identity. Anime is indeed “exotic” to the West in that it is made in Japan, but the world of anime itself occupies its own space that is not necessarily coincident with that of Japan” (Napier, 2005).

To answer the question above I am going to take Napier’s point of view, that anime has it’s own place, has it’s own setting and exists in a fluid and mostly unspecified timeframe. The characters are not held to conventional roles, nor do they have a strongly Western or Eastern appearance. The setting of ‘Princess Mononoke’, a film by Hayao Miyazaki, is deep forests with dark valleys inhabited by a variety of animals and birds. The backdrop could be Asia or Europe; with some imagination it could even be a New Zealand landscape.

Culturally, anime films present a Japanese way of life, but there is a conceptual mix of magic and political struggle, and the traditional battle between good and evil that is present in fairy tales and folk tales from around the world. ‘Princess Mononoke’s’ storyline has a young Emishi warrior caught between forest gods, and humans who want to consume and benefit and take, without considering the impact on the environment. There are curses to be overcome and supernatural forces at play. These are culturally universal themes: protecting the innocent, protecting the environment.

“The social, psychological, political and economic preoccupations addressed by Miyazaki’s films hold cross – cultural and even universal relevance” (Cavallaro, 2006). The Emishi warrior/prince of the ‘Princess Mononoke’ story discovers the fortress-like Irontown where prostitutes and lepers make weapons used to defend against forest gods. The gods are ferocious in their battle to protect their resources. The social systems, and cultural references shown, cut across both Eastern and Western culture. We see industrialization, and the exploitation of minorities. The issues of sexuality and disability are dealt with, as are gender roles. The characters are not bound by conventional behaviors and while there is hatred and corruption there is a sense of liberation too. Miyazaki said of his film: “People lived, loved, hated, worked and then died. Life was not full of ambiguities” (Miyazaki, 2014).

Anime has found its place in the twenty-first century by allowing cross-cultural references. It has arisen out of the social upheaval after two world wars.  Anime action is typically historical action-fantasy, where sadness and anger are overcome through bravery and a sense of respect for elders and ancestors. In ‘Princess Mononoke’, the land and her protective spirits are at first oppressed and then released. Miyazaki conveyed “the bondage of a curse in order to shown the joy of liberation” (Miyazaki, 2014). They are themes, which cross cultural boundaries and show that anime exists, and is culturally located, in an intriguing and ambivalent place in the imagination of the viewer. Take the scene, which is most consistently used to illustrate ‘Princess Mononoke’. A very young woman, holding a knife, stares out at the viewer. Her face and clothing are bloodstained, and her eyes challenge us to come closer. It is a threatening and savage image and entirely misleading. The young woman is San; she has just tried to save the wolf god’s life by sucking a bullet out of his body. There is no stereotypical ethnic/gender behavior here. She is feminine, fearless and strong. Ashitaka, the Emishi prince is brave yet damaged and sensitive. He knows how to love and what to fight for.  These characters are neither from the East nor the West. They stand between humans and gods in a place no one cultural group can claim.

            “  … this means that we have a choice as to how we approach and consume the story… presenting highly detailed tapestries of images wherein the prioritizing of certain elements over others does not preclude the viewers’ freedom to … process the visuals on that basis” (Cavallaro, 2006).

References:

•       Cavallaro, D. (2006). Introduction. In The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki (pp.5-13). London: McFarland & Company.
•        Miyazaki, H. (Director). (1997). Princess Mononoke [DVD]. New Zealand: Madman Entertainment.
•        Miyazaki, H., Nieda, T., Downer, R., & Mamatas, N. (2014). The Art of Princess Mononoke. San Francisco, CA: Viz Media.
•       Napier, S. (2005). Why anime? In Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle (pp.3-14). Hampshire: Palgrave/Macmillan.