Week 6

The underlying theamatics of Princess Monokoke are the role of the women in society and also their shaping of destiny. The battle that humans wage on nature due to their desire for power and their greed is also a very prominent theme in the film.

According to Napier (2005), the film 'defamiliarises' it's historical setting by first of all being a movie of a war against nature which is waged by the Lady Eboshi and her army which consists of women and lepers. As Napier (2005) states 'The film demailiarises two important icons of Japanese culture, the myth of the feminine as long-suffering and supportive and the myth of the Japanese as living in harmony with nature.' In the film not only are the women independant but also fierce in battle. As shown by the character of San who alone comes into the village of Tartara to fight with Lady Eboshi, we can see her courage and determination in trying to protect her people and her forest.

The historical setting of the film is also 'defamiliarised' as Lady Eboshi's army uses guns and not swords. The main protaganists in the film are women and what makes the film more interesting is the male character of Ashitaka who is torn between the two women trying to do what's right not only for the forest but also the people of the Tartara.

With reference to Cavallaro (2006) their are many things that make the film Princess Monokoke' to be generally accepted as a great work of Anime. As Cavallaro (2006) states 'One of the principal reasons behind the films tremendous popularity in it's homeland is undoubtedly Japan's fascination with legend, mythology and folklore, and its population's ongoing devotion to the earliest collection of traditional tales'. In my opinion the films popularity in the west could also be a curiosity to Japan's mythology and folklore but also due the themes in the film which can be considered universal.

The film caters to both children and adults due to it's use of 'shoujo' and also the issues of politics and culture which are inherent in the film. Miyazaki's characters are also extremely well developed, in particular in the case of San. As a viewer there is a sense of feeling sorry for her as she has grown up essentially an orphan, but also a sort of horror in how she has embraced living like a wolf. Lady Eboshi is also well developed as not only a fierce warrior but a business woman. "Lady Eboshi is a primary example of a very strong and complex character in this story". Although her main motivation in waging war is greed, her army and village workers consists of women whom she saved from the brothels, and lepers who had been rejected by society.

Miyazaki's use of animation is also very powerful as I don't believe the the killing of the forest god could have been as graphic if done in a live action movie. As Cavallaro asserts 'Monokoke serves as a powerful - and, in its category, quite unique - reminder of the powers inherent in animation, which no other form of cinema may mimic, let alone equal'.