Hayao Miyazaki
“I want to create films through which children can see and experience something new. I want to make that one unforgettable film in everyone’s childhood, something they can enjoy for at least thirty years.” (Fujimoto)
TIME names Hayao Miyazaki “the world’s most revered director of animated features” (Corliss). The New York Times says “Miyazaki is regarded as one of the greatest creators of animated films, and his work certainly stands as some of the best the genre has to offer”, and names him “the world’s greatest living animated-filmmaker” (“Hayao Miyazaki – Biography”; Scott). Axiom Magazine describes Miyazaki as a “living legend” (Miller). With over fifty years of animation experience, Miyazaki has worked hard to achieve his dream of creating long-lasting and unforgettable films. He started off this long career in 1963 working as nothing more than an in-between artist at Toei Animation, and gradually set himself apart and eventually landed employment as the chief animator for Hols: Prince of the Sun in 1968. This set into motion his friendship with Isao Takahata, who would continue working with Miyazaki and eventually found Studio Ghibli alongside him. After several years of co-direction and first roles as a solo director, Miyazaki worked on Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the project that gave him the ability to finally form Studio Ghibli with Takahata (Miller).
Almost all of Miyazaki’s films have a child, usually a girl, as the main character. “I find girls more grounded in reality and confident in themselves. It’s quite difficult to make films about boys. That’s because stories about an eight-year-old boy, for example, inevitably become tragic,” said Miyazaki on the subject (Fujimoto). This recurring child-...
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Scott, A. O. "Where the Wild Things Are: The Miyazaki Menagerie." The New York
Times. n.p., 12 June 2005. Web. 14 May 2014. .
Ponyo. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Toho (Japan) and Walt Disney Pictures (international),
2008. DVD.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Toei Company (Japan) and
Walt Disney Pictures (international), 1984. DVD.
Princess Mononoke. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Toho (Japan), Miramax Films (international), and Madman Entertainment (Australia), 1997. DVD.
Dargis, Manohla. "Forces of Nature, Including Children." The New York Times. n.p., 13
Aug. 2009. Web. 16 May 2014. .
Spirited Away. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Toho (Japan), Walt Disney Pictures (international), and Madman Entertainment (Australia), 2001. DVD.
Works Cited
Media is a powerful agent in entertaining children. It also influences and teaches the youth of society the suitable and appropriate gender roles that they inevitably try to make sense of. The power of media is very influential especially in the minds of the youth. Disney movies target the youth and plant certain ideas and concepts about social culture into the vulnerable minds of children. Media uses gender to its advantage, just like Disney productions. Humorous caricatures reveal some harsh realities about the portrayal of Disney Princesses in many movies made by the Walt Disney Company. Disney mixes innocence with the ultimate form of fantasy to capture an audience. Predominantly, Disney helps highlight the gender roles by showing the audience simply what they want to see. In the attempt to stick to the norm and portray stereotypical female characters, Disney created Princesses. Presented as damsels in distress and inferior beings to men, Disney Princesses give children an inaccurate portrayal of gender roles at a young age. Through Disney’s social success and intriguing films, such as The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast, Disney Princess movies portray stereotypical representation of gender roles through the denigration of the female image, targeting and ruining the perception of youth today.
New and exciting technologies have always played a huge role in the culture of American people. When the motion picture came out it was no surprise that both consumers and producers were more than happy to get in on the action. Back in the 1920’s film was still pretty new and was only in black and white with no sound, but the films were always accompanied by orchestral pieces to help set the mood. The art of movie-making has come a long way since then with the addition of not only color and audio, but new techniques and new ideas. Both The Kid and Iron Jawed Angels are very popular films about the early 1900’s. Although they share some common thoughts, but because they were made in two completely different time periods their focuses are far off from one another and their ideas contrast for the most part.
Motion Pictures have always had a strong influence in today’s culture, but maybe none as prevalent as Star Wars. Originating with Episode 4 A New Hope, the series boomed from 1977 to 2005 with yet another addition coming in 2015. The strongest of the series was the original trilogy episodes 4, 5, and 6, all generally released in the 1980s. As one of the strongest film francaises still today, it’s impact within the 1980s was only the tip of the iceberg. Children and adults alike still anticipate the new edition of this seemingly endless journey. If any singular film series still holds prevalence in its future decades it is Star Wars: Original Trilogy.
In 1983, a record company recommended Hisaishi to Hayao Miyazaki as a possible candidate to create the Image Album for Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, which, at the time, was being made into a movie. (Team Ghiblink, Nausicaa.net) Hisaishi’s soundtrack for Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was a balance between electronic and classical music, a blending of new compositions along with covers of Handel and Brahms's music. (Dasnoy & Tsong, 2013) Miyazaki, inevitably, was highly impressed with Hisaishi’s Image Album and frequently listened to it during the production of the film. The soundtrack for the film was slated to be composed by its producer, Isao Takahata. However, after Miyazaki’s strong recommendation f...
... time retain one outstanding quality---they are empowering, first in how much power they give to the youth of that time. These are films for them and about them. They reflect their everyday experiences or those they long to have, with the best films knowing exactly what their young audiences want to see on screen and never judging them for it because the mistakes, struggles, and imperfections of young adulthood are timeless too. Second, coming-of-age films also give so much back to young audiences and empower them. These films’ characters have taught audiences what to do, how to feel, and essentially given them the tools by which to navigate the transition from childhood to adulthood and how to make it as painless as possible. As ‘coming-of-age’ changes or stays the same in meaning over time, youth culture, as a genre and subject, will remain a necessity in film.
His work in modern media was revolutionary. Moreover, he broadened communication and made it easier to learn about new cultures. Disney’s movies play a vital role in children’s development and their productivity when they enter the “real world”.
Studies have proved that the world of film has a various capacity in persuading and changing the perspectives of a viewer. A film functions as an interaction.... ... middle of paper ... ... The massive influence of Walt Disney films tends to mold the minds of female children.
Stanley, Robert H. The Movie Idiom: Film as a Popular Art Form. Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc. 2011. Print
The Lego Movie (Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, USA, 2014) is more than a children’s animated film, it is a film about ideology. It is a film that questions the condition of our existence and the idea that reality is a structured fiction. The Lego Movie’s protagonist must confront his own reality and reshape his existence. The audience is not excluded from participating; The Lego Movie confronts the viewer on their own contribution to societal ideals. The Lego Movie makes us question if we can break free from normative expectations and strive for an authentic and creative life.
Stanley Kubrick is a name that has remained relevant throughout the years. Movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and many others have made an impact on how films are made, but more importantly, the thematic elements of Kubrick’s films is what translated so well to the screen. Kubrick developed stylistic innovations in his films such as one-point perspective, realistic lighting, and distinctive dialogue. All of these stylistic strategies served to amplify the common themes found in his films that dealt with enduring issues like war, which Kubrick argued is part of human nature. Not only was Kubrick a film director who made an impact on filmmaking history, but his innovative ideas have also made an impact on society
While Miyazaki’s films may be set in completely unique worlds, the audience is still able to relate to these films due to the themes of the stories that resonate with them. Therefore, it is without a doubt that Miyazaki’s films will continue to inspire generations to
Walt Disney himself once said that he does “[...] not make films primarily for children [...].” Therefore, his ...
Miyazaki is well known creating well-developed characters and Princess Mononoke is a good example showing these qualities along with a strong message on environmentalism and an underlying theme of feminism.
“Entertainment has to come hand in hand with a little bit of medicine, some people go to the movies to be reminded that everything’s okay. I don’t make those kinds of movies. That, to me, is a lie. Everything’s not okay.” - David Fincher. David Fincher is the director that I am choosing to homage for a number of reasons. I personally find his movies to be some of the deepest, most well made, and beautiful films in recent memory. However it is Fincher’s take on story telling and filmmaking in general that causes me to admire his films so much. This quote exemplifies that, and is something that I whole-heartedly agree with. I am and have always been extremely opinionated and open about my views on the world and I believe that artists have a responsibility to do what they can with their art to help improve the culture that they are helping to create. In this paper I will try to outline exactly how Fincher creates the masterpieces that he does and what I can take from that and apply to my films.
Movies take us inside the skin of people quite different from ourselves and to places different from our routine surroundings. As humans, we always seek enlargement of our being and wanted to be more than ourselves. Each one of us, by nature, sees the world with a perspective and selectivity different from others. But, we want to see the world through other’s eyes; imagine with other’s imaginations; feel with other’s hearts, at a same time as with our own. Movies offer us a window onto the wider world, broadening our perspective and opening our eyes to new wonders.