A Reminder of Lore: A Comparison of Spirited Away and Song of the Sea
Mythology and folk tales have a longstanding history of representing a culture’s values and traditions. As the world advances often times these stories are lost in the next generations but efforts are being made to combat that, often times bringing key elements into visual media. Two such films to do so are Spirited Away (2001) and Song of the Sea (2014). Although separated by over ten years and from two different countries both have remarkable similarities not only because of the emphasis on native folklore but also in the characters and the message they deliver.
In both Spirited Away and Song of the Sea, mythology from the countries of origin, Japan and Ireland respectfully,
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They are both ten years old which means their schemes and the way they handle situations are similar even despite the differences of gender, social background, and the unique situation they’re in. Both must embark through challenges to help family who are changed into animals. When we are first introduced to Chihiro she’s in the back a car, moping about moving. The first scene where we see ten year old Ben it’s quickly established his negative connotations towards Saoirse, most likely because he blames her for the loss of their mother. Unlike Chihiro though, there is a physical target for Ben’s ire, his sister, and this lends to Ben coming off as bossier than Chihiro since she doesn’t have authority over anyone. However it is shown early on in both films that Ben and Chihiro have moments of kindness. Chihiro’s represented by the bouquet of flowers from her friend(s), and Ben’s is in the form of the sheepdog Cú. The fact that they are both young enough to believe and accept what they see at face value, yet old enough make deductions about others’ motivations and handle the responsibility of their actions is a vital part of their maturation (Odell & Blanc …show more content…
Kamikakushi literally means: hidden by kami, which are Japanese spirits or deities that are believed to inhabit everything (Reider 8). In the past sudden disappearances were often attributed to spirits taking the person away to the spirit world (Reider 9). And such happens to Chihiro where she discovers numerous, memorable characters that populate it. The bathhouse wear Chihiro must find work if she wants to stay and save her parents is run by Yubaba, who seems to be similar to a yamauba, a Japanese mountain witch (Reider 11). Even to those unfamiliar with Japanese folklore her image does harken a stereotypical witch, what with her crooked nose, gravelly voice and magical
The structure of stories, on which Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and Booker’s Seven Basic Plots elaborated, is actually only a portion of the field of study it is under. Comparative mythology not only studies the structure of hero stories, but also origins, themes, and characteristics of myths from various religions and cultures. They study the language, psychology, history, and anthropology in order to identify a common theme or beginning point. Even without delving into religion, many common elements have come to light. For instance, many cultures have tales of people with strange supernatural abilities, others speak of similar creatures that reside in water, air or land, while still others extol the importance of talisman and religious symbols. Despite cultures existing on different ends of the earth and having little contact for much of their existence, they share these common
On October 14th, 2016 in class we watched “Two Spirits” by Lydia Nibley. Basically the film explored the cultural context behind a tragic and senseless murder of the main character. Fred was part of an honored “Navajo” youth who was killed at the age of sixteen by a man who bragged to his friends that he was nothing but a “fag”. While walking home from a carnival he was chased by one of his friends. Once his friend caught up to Fred, he pulled him down from a mountain and smashed his head with a heavy rock. Fred laid there for five days straight where two young boys found his body lying there. He was labeled as a “two-spirit” who was possessed of balancing masculine and feminine traits. In the film, there are two parts that are put together effortlessly like the people it discusses. Most of the documentary focuses on Fred’s murder, but the real issues in the film were those of the lesbian, gay, and transgender community and how its members were viewed in a
Jacquelyin Kilpatrick , Celluloid Indians. Native Americans and Film. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1999
Gone with the Wind is a classic fictional love story that depicts life in the old south before, during and after the Civil war. The book was originally written in 1936 by Margret Mitchell, the movie adaptation was released in 1939, directed by Victor Fleming, and staring Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh. Ms. Mitchell grew up listening to Civil war stories from confederate veterans. It was reported that they told her everything; everything that is, except that they had lost the war, she found that out when she was 10 years old. Though the book was written 71 years after the Civil War ended, Ms. Mitchell did her research and appears to have drawn inspiration from those childhood stories that she was told. This is apparent in the detailed description of the clothing, houses, and everyday discussions and interactions of the characters throughout the book. Though not all historically correct most of what is in the book is accurate. During the time the movie was released, “damn” was considered to be vulgar and controversial and they used the term “darkies” to describe the slaves.
The movie Doubt is set in a private Catholic School in 1960s. Sister Aloysius is the principal of the school, and Father Flynn is the clergyman in the church. While the movie deals with some moral dilemmas such as doubt versus certainty, rigidity versus openness and so on, the central theme of the story pivots on accusation on Father Flynn of child molestation. The story has a hanging ending where Father Flynn is proven neither guilty nor proven innocent. Based on the contents of the movie and my own analysis, I believe that certainty plays a bigger role in accusations and I believe that Father Flynn had been falsely blamed and I am also against the rigidity of the society.
“Good Night, and Good Luck” is a 2005 American drama film about how United States (US) was plagued by the threat of communism, creating a tense atmosphere within US in the early 1950s. Fear of communism was inevitable and Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin exploited those fears. CBS reporter Edward R. Murrow and his producer Fred W. Friendly challenged McCarthy and aimed to expose him of his agendas. Although their actions brought about many consequences, the two men persevered in their stance and eventually brought down McCarthy successfully.
Being one of the world’s most popular art forms, it was inevitable that these archetypes would find their way into film as well. In this essay I will argue that the films Pulp Fiction, Taxi Driver, Watership Down, and Trainspotting are all versions of The Hero’s Journey, consequently demonstrating just how prevalent these archetypes have become in modern cinema. And that mythology and storytelling are important parts of each culture because they prevent the darkness in our hearts from spreading.
When the word “fairytale” is mentioned, nearly everyone thinks of light-hearted stories with friendly characters and happy endings. However, these are not the ideas that classic fairytales originally sparked. In fact, numerous modern Disney movies were based off stories that were not so sugar coated. In the 19th century, the Brothers Grimm were responsible for multiple of these popular children’s tales. The Disney remakes of classic fairytales such as Cinderella, Tangled, and Snow White exclude the dark, twisted themes that are significant in the Brothers Grimm fairytales, because society tendencies continue to evolve toward sheltering and overprotecting young children.
Throughout literature, there is a prevalent model found in various narratives that ensures its success. This archetype, called the “journey of the hero,” discovered by Joseph Campbell, serves as a guideline of three stages for authors to manipulate to their own desire. The departure, the initiation, and the return essentially create the same storyline, yet these formats can be molded into unique and refreshing works of art. Aspects of the “journey of the hero” in the movie Shrek 2 are highlighted as the main hero, Shrek, and his wife Princess Fiona depart from their accustomed residence, the swamp, rediscover the meaning of true love through peril, and return with Shrek being able to balance his identity between an ogre and royalty.
One notable difference between William Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Julie Taymor’s film version of the play is the altered scenes that made quite a difference between the play and the movie version. This difference has the effects of creating a different point of view by altering the scenes affected the movie and how Taymor felt was necessary by either by keeping or deleting certain parts from the play. I use “Altered Scene” in the way of how Julia Taymor recreates her own point of view for the movie and the direction she took in order to make the audience can relate to the modern day film. I am analyzing the way that the altered scenes changes to make a strong impression on the audiences different from the play. This paper will demonstrate
Fairy tales portray wonderful, elaborate, and colorful worlds as well as chilling, frightening, dark worlds in which ugly beasts are transformed into princes and evil persons are turned to stones and good persons back to flesh (Guroian). Fairytales have long been a part of our world and have taken several forms ranging from simple bedtime stories to intricate plays, musicals, and movies. However, these seemingly simple stories are about much more than pixie dust and poisoned apples. One could compare fairytales to the new Chef Boyardee; Chef Boyardee hides vegetables in its ravioli while fairytales hide society’s morals and many life lessons in these outwardly simple children stories. Because of this fairytales have long been instruments used to instruct children on the morals of their culture. They use stories to teach children that the rude and cruel do not succeed in life in the long run. They teach children that they should strive to be kind, caring, and giving like the longsuffering protagonists of the fairytale stories. Also, they teach that good does ultimately defeat evil. Fairy tales are not just simple bedtime stories; they have long been introducing cultural moral values into young children.
Fairy tales are one of the longest lasting forms of literature. Though now they bring to mind classic movies engendered by Disney, many of these stories were first passed on in an oral manner, meant to convey a message, moral, or lesson. Alison Lurie’s “What Fairy Tales Tell Us” covers a broad range of classic tales, discussing how under the guise of an entertaining story comes life lessons we would all do well to follow. To begin this paper, some of the tales Lurie examines in her article will be looked at and critically examined beyond what she discusses. This will then move the text towards its remaining sections, which will take Lurie’s ideas and have them applied to folk and fairy tales that have not yet been contemplated; for the purpose
By the late 1900s, approximately five billion human beings occupied planet Earth. Whether they crawled on top of comfortable carpets or scurried across dark alleys, five billion people carried the ability to not only walk on the earth, but also to shape it, to mold it with their footsteps. Among this era's sculptors that molded the ground below them with their various talents was Walt Disney, a man who grew up to become a film producer, a screenwriter, a director, an animator, an entrepreneur, an international icon and a philanthropist. With his imagination, ambition, and a little help from a special mouse, Disney transformed both the entertainment industry and international culture itself. He pioneered full-color animated cartoons, created "the happiest place on Earth", and introduced the world to inspiring family movies that to this day encourage both children and adults alike to pursue their dreams and chase happiness. However, while Disney's movies all end with a "happily ever after", the actual tales the movies are based on are far from happy; they are rather morbid, realistic and poignant. The Little Mermaid, Disney's movie about a young princess lusting after a prince, serves as an example of a story in which Disney strayed far from the actual tale. The basis of Disney's feel-good, family movie is Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, which shocks readers with the death of the mermaid's beloved prince, the mermaid's awareness of her physical pain, and the loss of her innocence. Analyzed through a psychoanalytical lens, both Walt Disney's and Hans Christian Andersen's A Little Mermaid displays female subjectivity in favor of a dominant patriarchal world.
Why do folk’s tales exist? To preach a moral to people? Or is it to simply entertain? Like the Disney animated classic Sleeping beauty and its predecessors did. This story of the sleeping beauty horrified children throughout the ages yet as time went by it became more sanitized and cleaned up. But ironically the more it became kid friendly the more popular it became. As society changed the morals and ideals that the folk tales were trying to explain changed as well, as a result the story changed. What changed the story but kept true to its lore at the same time can be attributed to combination of social, economic and historical factors.
When you where a kid did your parents ever tell you stories about your culture or about your family’s values? Chances are they where telling you a folk tale. Folk tales are stories passed down usually by word of mouth but often they are written down. Folk tales teach a valuable life lesson while entertaining the reader or in some cases the listener. This essay will give examples of three folk tales and go into depth on how they teach lessons and still remain entertaining for children and even adults.