Thursday, March 18, 2010
Princess Mononoke
So many parallels to Nausicaa! I think it would be interesting to see these back to back...Miyazaki took his story and themes of Nausicaa and morphed it into a new version with more depth and richness. The opening scene of the demonized boar reminded be so much of the opening scene of Nausicaa, but with more violence and a less simplistic conclusion. Where in Nausicaa, the ohmu is enraged and is simply calmed by Nausicaa's words and sound maker, Ashitaka's life is pitted against the boar and he must take its life to stop the onslaught. We are never worried of Nausicaa's possible death or injury while Ashitaka is injured severely and told that he will die because of it. The same basic structure of Nature versus humanities mistakes ie technology and natural destruction are seen in both films. Again, Princess Mononoke's version is far less black and white and played out with a much more extremist point of view. The clash between Eboshi's group and Mononoke's tribe is similar to the Tolmekians and the Pejites. The tolmekians were militaristic, had little empathy and shown as faceless warroirs. The ironworkers however are shown as realistic people with faces and families. Eboshi herself is shown to be compassionate towards her own people. Princess Mononoke although on the side of Nature is shown as a blood thirsty warrior, just as eager to kill humanity as Eboshi is to destroy the forest. The character of Nausicaa has been split between Ahsitaka, San and the deer god.All three possess uniqueness that heightens the films differences yet Nausicaa's attributes can be seen in all three. Ashitaka is compassionate for both nature and humanity, San is deeply connected with nature and adept at fighting, and the deer god is a savior and all knowing creature.
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This is a really interesting comparison between Nausicaa and Mononoke. I agree that though the two films cover similar themes, Mononoke is the superior movie. I think that while Nausicaa presents a very clear fable about the importance of nature, Mononoke raises more troubling, and more interesting questions about humanity's relationship to nature. In this film, Miyazaki asks how, and whether man and the wild can co-exist.
ReplyDeleteThe point you made about Nausicaa being divided into Ashitaka, San, and the Deer God is really interesting. Like Ashitaka, Nausicaa attempts to--and is able to--unite nature and human beings. Like San, she is a warrior princess who leads others forward with compassion. Finally, like the Deer God, Nausicaa is the messiah figure who dies and lives again; the Deer God, while he 'dies' in the end, was in charge of giving and taking lives from those under him.
ReplyDeleteDo you mean to say that Princess Mononoke is made with less of an extremist point of view than Nausicaa, since you mention that it is less black and white.
ReplyDeleteBut I agree also that Nausicaa is further divided in Mononoke. There is no longer the flawless hero that embodies everything good, like Nausicaa was. Everyone in Mononoke, I think, has both good and bad qualities. Thus, the importance to coexist is shown to be more important than ever, whereas the humans in Nausicaa are shown to have few redeeming qualities.