The Film All Kids Must Watch.
Princess Mononoke. The fairytale of a boy who sets off west to find out the answers to a curse inflicted on him by a demon is both beautiful and insightful and in this age of heightened tensions between ourselves and nature, extremely poignant.
Ashitaka symbolises everything we believe humanity should be brave, selfless and benvelonent to all, while his nemesis turned love interest Sun, demonstrates our depiction of nature: fierce, beautiful and unpredictable. The battle between humanity and nature is personified through Ashitaka and Sun’s personal struggle which reaches dark and destructive heights. In ways it mirrors modern mans dismissive approach when dealing with nature, however the culmination of their relationship shows the compromise that can be made. “I will rejoin the humans at Irontown and help them rebuild while you return to the forest. I’ll visit you from time to time”. Even though a tale it shows the simple way humanity has lived in tandem with nature and how now it should strive to do so, with the film leaving us on the cusp of everlasting peace and prosperity, it provides a backdrop for the beautifully simple world that can be.
Rejection of anger allows Ashitaka to transcend the conflict and combine the two sides. How many times do we see the repetition of resource conflict? The ability to portray metaphors is incredibly powerful and something this film creates with a simple, calming presence; something unique to older world Asiatic cultures.
Power and greed, presented to us through the monks quest and the Lady Aboshi’s industrial expansion play out the destructive nature humanity has on this planet. By cutting of the head of the forest spirit, the severance to the mystical world is complete. How true this is of our time when nature is counted as an economic asset to be drained rather the providing mother so many past cultures have depicted. Instead of being taught of the importance of these areas of theworld we are shown are they are subservient to the needs of domination that we are all supposed to feel inherently, which they tell us and ironically so as ‘a law of nature’. Princess Mononoke is a masterpiece in that it teaches us the ultimate truth, we are the children of nature and should treat it with the respect it deserves.
It is laughable to think of the self righteousness of attempting to live your live in this way, through some morally transparent Homeric fashion. However, I feel it is just one simple way we can instill brave and lasting characteristics in children, compared to to the attention snapping and shallow media that permeates our culture today