Weeks 5 and 6
Princess Mononoke
1) What is the ‘shojo’ and how does it often function in anime?
2) According to Lent (2000) what place does animation occupy in Asian societies? How different is this across Asia (i.e. comparing Japan and China)?
3)Is anime a high or low cultural genre/media, according to Napier (2005)? What are some of its subgenres?
4)Does Anime confront social issues? Gender roles in Princess Mononoke.
Does Anime confront social issues? Gender roles in Princess Mononoke.
ReplyDeleteAnime confronts social issues in a special way that other film genres find harder to tackle. Using Studio Ghibli films as an example of Anime, one of the reasons why they are able to confront social issues is because they do not have any obligations to cater to western ideologies such as the idea of a prince and princess love story (which forms the basis of many western Disney animated films). Therefore, Anime is able to be more concerned with issues bigger than the central characters. Also, the genre of Anime itself, much like fantasy is able to talk about social issues in a more subtle way because of the animation's distance from reality. (i.e the abstraction/ creation of animals and humans and creatures while keeping it low fantasy and relatable).
An example of the social issues that Anime confronts in gender roles. This can be seen in films like Spirited Away (2001) and Princess Mononoke (1997).
In Spirited Away, female roles are given importance, but the stereotype of their gender is not imperative to the story. For example, Sen and Haku develop a relationship however it is not the central theme to the film. Yubaba is another central female character. She is a mother figure but again, her gender does not define her character in the film. She is also a business woman and a powerful witch. The 'working class' are also equally men and female, both hard working and similar in terms of animated style.
In Princess Mononoke there is also a 'working class' made of men and women. The women are noticeably more feminine/ typical 'Shojo' characters but there is some backstory given about the women being rescued from brothels to work hard in Irontown. They are also presented as independent when Lady Eboshi equips them with arms and trusts them to defend Irontown alone. These kinds of necessary details of minor characters I think is something subtle that other western animated films choose to leave out in their films to 'protect' their audience. What separates Anime is that it consciously chooses to root the character's identities in a reality that is true to Japanese history and culture and gives which gives a foreign audience the opportunity to learn and relate.
Lady Eboshi is another strong mother figure that is very similar to Yubaba in Spirited Away in that her maternal side is important, but is as equally important as her strategic and powerful side.
Something I also noticed in this film is that in terms of illustration, San and Ashitaka resemble each other. Though San is quite small, their body types are actually very similar. Ashitaka is also small and they are both strong and lean. Their facial features are also very similar. Neither are very distinctive of their respective genders which I believe in intentional. This way, there is no real power struggle that depends on their gender and the plot is able to develop away from their relationship while still confronting the issue of gender roles.
In both examples Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, there is no need for a balance in male and female characters, in fact there are more central female characters than there are male. The important thing to notice about this I think is that it subtly confronts gender roles because as an audience we realize this detail is not as important as the other social issues Anime films try to tackle for example man's relationships with nature and greed
In your introduction you say that anime doesn't have an obligation to cater to western ideaologies. that's true but they have their own cultural, specifically Japanese, context which are expected to reflect. what are those expectations?
ReplyDeletegood close analysis of the film, but you appear have skimped on your reading.
The term shoujo most prevalently refers to the sub-genre of anime which style is particularly aimed at young female readers. Being an often light-hearted genre, the predominant themes of shoujo are that of romance and self-development, catering to the ideologies of young females. The main heroine within shoujo are often in conflict with some aspect of themselves be that of shyness, having an inferiority complex, or achieving a dream which are often issues that many young females face themselves in adolescence. Notable traits of the shoujo character are naivety, good-naturedness, and a deep loyalty to their friends. Ultimately, the shoujo character has outstanding qualities that are heightened as to provide a framework for similar issues faced by the young female audience. “On the whole, the worlds depicted by shoujo stories are serenely dreamy and bathed in an atmosphere of magic and wonder” (Cavalloro, 2006).
ReplyDeleteThis in itself however can cause some social issues in the way of popular fiction having a substantial influence on the moulding minds of the adolescent female. As Cavalloro (2006) claims, “no imaginary domain ultimately promises unconditional escape from moral and social obligations.” Through Miyazaki’s significant influence and reinvention of the anime genre it can be said that he succeeds in both confronting social issues of gender stereotype whilst also retaining the accessibility of the shoujo character.
As Cavalloro (2006) states, “Miyazaki’s young females are unquestionably shoujo in terms of their age and general appearance. However, where the average shoujo is portrayed as a passive being suspended in something of a timeless dreamland, Miyazaki’s heroines are active, independent, courageous and inquisitive.” This can be shown through his plethora of heroines and their actions; “Sheeta’s refusal to yield the magical crystal to the evil Muska… Kiki’s brave venture into a new life in an unfamiliar city… [and] Chihiro’s willing submission to numerous challenges and humiliation for her parents’ sake” (Cavalloro, 2006). As Napier (2005) discusses, Miyazaki’s heroines show the more complex face of the feminine through defamiliarising the two important myths of the feminine as long-suffering and supportive, therein undermining the plethora of female stereotypes. As Cavalloro concurs, the depiction of his female characters discourages the spectator from automatically aligning the figures with stereotypical products of Japanimation.
Taking San from Princess Mononoke (1997) as an example of “youth wearing shoujo masks” (Cavalloro, 2006), the entire course of her actions remain ambivalent of the shoujo character. San’s iconic mask devoid her of her shoujo characteristics and enables “redefinition of feminine physiognomies” but does not entirely denounce her ultimately intentionally accessible shoujo characterisation. She is deeply loyal to her wolf clan yet disregards the good intentions of Lady Eboshi’s conquest. She is wild and free yet nurturing to Ashitaka, a member of the human race which she so detests. Although romance is not absent from her storyline and she still reacts to the notion of it, it is not a centralised theme. This therefore allows Miyazaki to present darker themes of war and conflict and focus on other social issues surrounding gender such as the idea of “the loss of a Japan that existed before a patriarchal system… [which] at the same time… offers an alternative, heterogeneous, and female-centred vision of Japanese identity for the future” (Napier, 2005).
Thoughtful answer. You show a good grasp of the issues and the commentaries. Would you agree with Napier that the shoujo characters like San display an 'innocent eroticism'?
DeleteThrough including the ambiguous and dichotomous shoujo character, Miyazaki is commenting on the function of this characterisation. By redefining its framework, both the typically young female audience is steered from the stereotypical female obligation portrayed in the quintessential shoujo genre, but also avoids the representation of such characters as “play toys for Lolita complex guys” (Cavalloro, 2006). Overall, as Cavalloro (2006) states, “Miyazaki’s films simultaneously deal in imaginative ways with gender and sexual relations, depicting intriguingly ambivalent characters that frequently transcend stereotypical notions of femininity and masculinity”.
ReplyDeleteReferences
DeleteCavallaro, D. (2006). Introduction. In The Anime Art of
Hayao Miyazaki (pp.5-13). London: McFarland &
Company.
Napier, S. (2005). Anime and Local/Global Identity. In
Anime: from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle (pp.15-34).
Hampshire: Palgrave/Macmillan.
In Japanese, ‘shojo’ is used to refer to a young woman or girl. However, when used to describe manga and anime, it encompasses the entirety of that primary female character. Often times these films tend to focus in on the romantic relationships surrounding the young woman/girl (Thorn, 2001). Many of these manga and anime works of art were influenced by American romantic comedies and therefore, there was an increase of romance. These anime ‘shojo’ films usually had a main female character who was going through some type of adventure or exploration, then was found in a dangerous situation (Lecture Notes). Given that these female characters were portrayed as young teens, who were fragile, there was generally a male figure who was presented to save the day, and of course win the girl over with his act of courage. Although this new form of combining both social norms and anime techniques shines a new type of spotlight on females, it still somewhat lacks true woman empowerment.
ReplyDeleteSome shows that still fall under the shojo category, but present new forms, consist of Sailor Moon and Princess Mononoke. Seeing that we learned about Princess Mononoke, I want to talk about how it, in a way, deconstructed gender roles. Generally, the first thing one thinks of when you hearing ‘Princess’, is a girl in distress who needs saving, but has characteristics that make her the ‘ideal’ woman (i.e pretty, fit, happy, gullible). San, the heroine of the story, is classified as brave, strong, and in the film wears fur and not pretty, puffy, dresses like that of “ideal” princesses. She emcompasses a leader seeing that she rules nature and has a pack of wolves who follow her. The characteristics that she holds in this film are often characterized as masculine or solely made for men. In this way, the film itself goes again normal gender roles. However, that is not the only area in which gender roles are contradicted. Lady Eboshi also carries many characteristics that many would consider masculine. Seen as an industrial leader, Lady Eboshi brings together lepers and helps them, even if it means using them to complete her army (Lecture Notes). While she is seen as the antagonist, she supports other women, those who are sick and others turn away, and stands up for what she believes in. She even brings together women of the community to discuss issues, which is something uncommon in anime films (usually it’s men coming together). With that being said, I would consider her as a villain with heroine like qualities.
Both Lady Eboshi and Princess Mononoke represent independence, assertiveness and even dominance. They both stand up to men and overall are complex characters. They go against the typical gender roles (especially within the Studio Ghibili films) when it comes to the man saving the girl at the end of the day, because in this particular film, that doesn’t happen. Overall, Princess Mononoke should be considered a film that rules out many gender rules and gives women the spotlight and empowerment that many other films had stripped away.
((Further comments expanding on social issues + shoujo ))..
ReplyDeleteMiyazaki's signature style of anime takes the concept of 'shoujo' and re-constructs to create something like a self made weapon that backfires on tradition to confront social issues.
Cavallaro (2006) states that "adult Japanese males actually constitute a significant portion of the shoujo audience and readership" and I don’t doubt that this is true for Western males also (think of Lolita or Mathilda from Leon: The Professional (1994)). The 'shoujo' character is undoubtedly a colloquial term to fetishize females that are in the early stages of puberty (12-13). Often this results in female leads that look like "fusions of Baywatch extras, Barbie dolls and Care Bears" (Brophy, 1995, p . 30). They are a construct of films that are unquestionably popular and attractive; and Hayao Miyazaki does not deny this. The lead characters in his films in appearance, including San from Princess Mononoke "broadly conform to anime conventions (wide eyes, lipless mouths, stylized features which appear Caucasian to Western viewers.)" (Cavallaro, 2006) However they also lack "overt stylization of much anime". (Cavallaro, 2006) and rather than conforming to the typical behaviors that come along with 'shoujo' females (i.e passivity, exaggerated eroticism, kawaii attitude), Miyazaki's females, like in the case of San are actually more active, independent, courageous and inquisitive (Cavallaro, 2006). This directly confronts not only the issues of the "shoujo" concept In Japanese tradition (i.e comparing traditional Japanese concepts of women with newer concepts and behaviors of women) but also from a Western viewership, characters like San paired with Ashitaka confront the issues regarding 'what is masculinity' and 'what is femininity', seeing both protagonists as equal and sharing similar qualities; which is quite different to Western films that have a great influence on the social issues of gender roles such as romantic comedies and early Walt Disney films who put males and females in a 'clearly labelled' box so to speak.