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.
4. Does Anime confront social issues? Gender roles in Princess Mononoke
ReplyDeletePrincess Mononoke displaces society’s gender binary attitudes toward women, which often attribute qualities such as being supportive or submissive to their partners or superiors. Princess Mononoke challenges these ideologies toward Asian women by contrasting the qualities of the females in the film in relation to societal attitudes.
According to Olowu (2013) Anime reflects Japanese society’s beliefs toward females within their community, and unlike Western comics and cartoons which are produced as child entertainment pieces, Japanese Anime is created with the idea of a national audience. Olowu (2013) also critiques Japan’s national attitude toward the scenes depicted in much mainstream anime content particularly the depictions of comedic sexual harassment, damsels in distress and revealing costumes of female characters. Princess Mononoke addresses these gender issues and inequality by clearly deviating from the original identifying element of the particular portrayal of women in popular anime.
Miyazaki challenges and confronts’s society’s attitudes of binary gender through the fluidity ‘male’ and ‘female’ elements (Judah, 2014). For example, Ashitaka’s decision to leave the village is initiated by a wise-woman who tells him that he will die unless he himself finds a cure for the wound inflicted by the boar. Ashitaka willingly accepts his fate from the woman, as he accepts her words come from a position of power and spiritual authority. Although Ashitaka is a prince and the advisor is a woman he accepts her wisdom and follows her directions without question. Ashitaka’s respectful response further depicts the gender deviations from traditional anime, whereby female characters are depicted as having little to wisdom.
Miyazaki raises questions regarding the assumptions of categorical differences between men and women in terms of behavior. Qualities which were exclusive for the depiction of male characters is transferred into the characters such as Lady Eboshi and San, and these qualities are opening embraced by their associates. As San was raised in the forest, she failed to experience cultural practices which construct strict ideas on masculinity and femininity, this allows her to develop her persona naturally. Ashitake does not criticise her behavior is being aggressive, unattractive or ‘unfeminine’ and continues to accept the behaviors of San and Lady Eboshi.
References:
Judah, T. (2014, July 1). Princess Mononoke. Screen Education, pp. 52-61.
Olowu, K. (2013, August 10). Deconstructed Gender Norms in Princess. Digital Commons at IMSA, pp. 30-35.
Fantastic answer, Neda, clear introduction and well organised with a good use of primary and secondary sources.
Deletea conclusion would lift this a bit
you may list Mononoke as a source
Great points Neda!
DeleteI agree that Princess Mononoke is a deviation from the stereotypical portrayal of female characters that anime is notorious for. Olowu (2013) expresses that anime tends to portray females as sweet and naïve, awaiting a brave hero to save them in times of danger. Napier (2001) observes that Miyazaki’s anime productions tend to undermine conventional gender coding.
The female protagonists in Princess Mononoke portray masculine traits of leadership and strength. Apart from the wisewoman, whose leadership qualities and influence have been discussed, Lady Eboshi, the ruler of Iron Town, also challenges traditional gender roles. In addition to leading the town, she also contributed to industrialisation, creating jobs for society’s outcasts, including lepers and prostitutes (Miyazaki, 1997). She is domineering, capable, intelligent, independent, and has no qualms firing a gun. These traits oppose the submissive and passive stereotype of women. Strikingly, men and women appear to have swopped roles in Iron Town, where women worked and fought, and men were under Lady Eboshi’s command.
References:
Miyazaki, H. (Director). (1997). Princess Mononoke [Motion picture]. Japan: Studio Ghibli
Napier, S. J. (2001). Confronting master narratives: History as vision in Miyazaki Hayao's cinema of de-assurance. positions: east asia cultures critique, 9(2), 467-493.
Olowu, K. (2013, August 10). Deconstructed Gender Norms in Princess. Digital Commons at IMSA, pp. 30-35.
3. Is Anime a high or low cultural genre/media? According to Napier (2005). What are some of its sub-genres?
ReplyDeleteAccording to Napier (2005), the discussion of whether Anime is high or low culture should consider the medium within the context of traditional and contemporary Japan as well as its influences in popular culture outside of the Japan, such as the United States. Anime is high culture in the sense it addresses issues in complex ways through the use canons within the medium itself. Napier (2005) suggests the complexity of the discussion is due to the medium’s ability to entertain audiences on a basic level, whilst evoking viewers on contemporary issues similar to the traditional approach used by older art forms. Due to Anime’s extensive audience reach, it has the ability to inform significantly wider audiences on societal issues than traditional (and often less accessible) forms of art and communication.
Nevertheless, Anime is seen as an inferior or low culture production piece by conservative Japanese communities, whilst it remains a cultural staple for younger audiences in Japan (Napier, 2005). For example, key features in Anime such as metamorphosis often represents society’s growing obsession with fluctuating ideologies bridging gaps between actual self and ideal self. Princess Mononoke provides commentary on society’s obsession with ‘progress’ depicted through Lady Eboshi who’s fueled by revenge to kill the forest god to destroy those inhibiting her society’s progress. However, this interpretation fails to reach the conservative members of traditional high culture who view the animations as mere entertainment as opposed to a form of commentary on contemporary issues (Napier, 2005).
However, Chambers (2012) suggests although several high culture aspects of anime fail to be acknowledged by conservative high culture members – particularly in Japan – the medium still yields ‘soft power’ internationally in terms of economic and cultural advancements for Japan. Many Japanese ideals remain preserved in American versions of Anime, resulting in audiences understanding and practising various mannerisms, etiquette and social ideals within their community. Furthermore, it allows Japan to create Anime featured merchandise such as clothing, accessories, and technologies which are actively purchased by the international anime participant, resulting in economic growth and exposure for Japan.
References:
Chambers, S. (2012). Anime: From Cult Following to Pop Culture Phenomenon. The Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications , 3 (2), 94-101.
Napier, S. (2005). Why Anime? In Anime: From Akira to Howl's Moving Castle. Hampshire: Palgrave/MacMillan
again a very nice answer and organisation of ideas.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete1) What is the ‘shojo’ and how does it often function in anime?
ReplyDeleteShojo, a Japanese word for “girls”, functions in anime as “a genre aimed at a teenage female audience, which deals with romantic topics and whose characters have “oversized glassy eyes” and “soft and infantilised features” (Tsai, 2015; Valero-Porras & Cassany, 2015, p. 14). Johnson-Woods (2010) express that shojo is a gendered genre, governed by conventions that are understood by both its producers and consumers, and can be distinguished by its narrative themes, aesthetic style, and techniques of representation. According to Toku (2007), the division between boys’ (shonen) and girls’ (shojo) themes is one of the major characteristics of anime and manga. Distinctively, “shonen” typically involves men becoming heroes, by protecting the women, family, country, or the earth from enemies (Toku, 2017). “Shojo” on the other hand reflects girls’ desires and expectations around love and happiness (Toku, 2017). In other words, shonen is filled with more action, while shojo is driven by human relations (Johnson-Woods, 2010). According to Toku (2017), shojo started to flourish in Japan after World War II, and has evolved over the last sixty years, corresponding to the evolution of Japanese females’ social roles. Till date, this theme is omnipresent; prominent titles include Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura (Thorn, 2001).
With reference to Napier (2001), Japanese film producer and animator, Miyazaki, played a crucial role in the construction of shojo. Notably, he defies the stereotypical images of the shojo – as weak, submissive, passive, and supportive – and creates a feisty female character in Princess Mononoke, San, who has violent tendencies and masculine characteristics. In contrast, the male lead, Ashikata, is a young hero who displays feminine sweetness, compassion, and warmth –contradicting the stereotypical shonen. Crusading against environmental destruction, San is a hero with strong determination and energy. The audience is first introduced to San with her face smeared in blood. Through her constant aggression towards human civilisation, and Lady Eboshi, the head of Irontown, whom she considers the evil villain, audience may perceived her as wild and fearsome. Notably, there is an absence of kawaii (cute) traits in the female characters of Princess Mononoke.
References:
Johnson-Woods, T. (Ed.). (2010). Manga: An anthology of global and cultural perspectives. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
Napier, S. J. (2001). Confronting master narratives: History as vision in Miyazaki Hayao's cinema of de-assurance. positions: east asia cultures critique, 9(2), 467-493.
Thorn, M. (2001). Shojo manga--Something for girls. Japan Quarterly, 48(3), 43.
Toku, M. (2007). Shojo Manga! Girls’ Comics! A Mirror of Girls’ Dreams. Mechademia, 2(1), 19-32. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41503727
Tsai, Y. S. (2015). Looking through the enemy's eyes: point-of-view editing and character identification in manga Naruto. In 3rd Global Conference of The Graphic Novel. Retrieved from http://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/files/29322599/Looking_through_the_enemy_s_eyes.pdf
Valero-Porras, M. J., & Cassany, D. (2015). Multimodality and language learning in a scanlation community. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 212, 9-15.
great answer, Melissa, a clear conclusion that summarizes what you have said would would make this a fantastic answer
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice!
DeleteTo conclude, shojo is a prominent feature in anime that centres on feminine characteristics, often drawing on girls’ desire and expectations around love and happiness. Considered a breakthrough, Miyazaki re-constructs shojo and opposes its stereotypical portrayal, creating female characters with masculine traits –evident in Princess Mononoke.
According to Lent (2000) what place does animation occupy in Asian societies? How different is this across Asia (i.e. comparing Japan and China)?
ReplyDeleteAnime- short for animation was discovered in China in 1923 after the Wan Brothers had been watching American cartoon shows and became inspired. The first animation in China was born in 1926, named ‘Uproar in an Art Studio’, which compared to many of the following animations was very much an American influenced and inspired creative piece. Later, anime became based heavily on their own culture with little American influence, as they believed it to be important to have aspects of Asian culture in their Anime, as to not ignore their culture (Lent, 2000).
In Asian societies Anime became an important media outlet and even used as propaganda. To influence people of various political opinions by the government, most commonly in China and Vietnam (Lent, 2000). Many cartoons in America are simply made for entertainment purposes, with the occasional life lesson intertwined amongst the story line, this however is extremely different with regards to Anime. Anime on the other hand, was used as an educational outlet, to stress morals or even to engrain in viewed minds, enemies of the country. For example, The Gang of Four, One Night in an Art Gallery created in 1978, was a Vietnamese Anime that focused on enemies of the state and even had various war related propaganda in it.
It can be confidently said that Anime is a popular and educational creative outlet in Asian cultures and societies, however it cannot be said that all of Asia was as welcoming or as supportive of Anime. Lent (2000) brings attention to that fact that Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines were not always overjoyed with the contents of the Anime being created. Much of the violence and sexual content was not welcomed in these countries and in some cases, such as Korea went as far as banning Chinese Anime for a period. Malaysia also began to favour the idea of creating their own local anime, rather than watching Chinese anime. In another case in the Philippines, teacher’s parents and religious leaders complained about the Japanese Robot Anime. One writer suggested that the anime was "intended to facilitate acceptance of Japanese war technology” (Lent, 2000). Princess Mononoke could perhaps be considered an example of this, due to the various themes present in this anime. Princess Mononoke has many themes that can be depicted as very violent and some countries may find these displays of violence not only disturbing but also unnecessary.
It can be concluded that Anime is not only a form of entertainment across Asia, but also an educational and even media platform. That seems to hold a more important place in Asian societies, compared to cartoons in Western societies. Anime is not always received with open arms across all of Asia and can be understood that some Asian countries are not as fond of Anime as others…
Miyazaki, H. (Director). (2006). Princess Mononoke. Tokyo: Studio Ghibli Productions.
Lent, J. A. (2000). Animation in Asia: appropriation, reinterpretation, and adoption or adaptation.
1) What is the ‘shojo’ and how does it often function in anime?
ReplyDeleteThe Shojo, also often written as Shoujo, is a type of ‘manga’ however the distinction between manga and anime must be clearly understood, Manga are Japanese comics which are generally printed in Black and White, manga are often used for the basis of anime, Anime is basically animation, but is Japanese animated cartoon videos, unlike manga which requires only one artist or author, anime takes a large production team often in an animation studio. Although the two ‘genres’ are related not every anime is from a manga story and not every manga is made into an anime.
The Shoujo targets a particular female age group, often younger to teenage girls, due to the target age group, the shoujo may include innocent girls’ stories, to stories which contain strong material which is advised for mature readers. During the late nineteenth century, shoujo was developed when manga was first being published in magazines, however there was no separation between manga for boys and girls. In 1902 a clear divide was established between the manga for different genders.
It is suggested that Shoujo Manga have become a representation of manga that are based upon romance with little to no adventure and do not contain any action. However, this is not the case, shoujo manga may contain a broad range of genres, and does not limit itself to be feminine, romantic or engaged in fantasy. Popular shoujo that contain the same amount of adventure and action as other genres include Nausicaa: Valley of the Winds (1984), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) and probably the most famous Princess Mononoke. The Shojo functions in Anime through the presentation of the characters and the adventurous journeys that the characters go on that reflect that of the Shojo.
References
What is the difference between anime and manga? (2013). Retrieved from https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/39283/what-is-the-difference-between-anime-and-manga
Wikipedia. (2017, October 29). Shōjo manga. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Djo_manga
Wikipedia. (2017, September 17). Shōjo. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Djo