Belinda Week 6

According to Napier (2005), how does this anime problematise traditional (or conservative) constructions of gender, class and race?

“Princess Mononoke problematizes archetypes and icons, ranging from the notion of the emperor’s untouchability to the traditional iconization of the feminine, to create a genuinely new version of Japan at the crossroads of history” (Napier, 2005. p.g 232). 

Napier (2005) identifies the destabilization effect of the conventional female characterization as one of many important aspects in the movie. There is a definite feel of ‘girl power’ in Princess Mononoke. San, the ever independently fierce girl (shojo) warrior; Moro the female wolf who raised San, and Lady Eboshi who throughout the movie seems fairly evil. Although the movie starts off with Ashitaka leaving his village in search of a cure to a curse set upon him by the wild boar, I feel his character is overshadowed, as well as Jigat the greedy little monk by the women.  All three female figures are set apart from the conventional stereotypical female of other anime, and Miyazakis previous female protagonists who show female gendered aspects like cuteness and sweet. The women are portrayed as the male counterparts to their female dispositions (Reid, 2009). Some examples from the SF genre are Sigourney Weavers role as Ellen Ripley in the Alien movies, and Milla Jovovichs Alice in Resident Evil.

San’s telepathic powers enables her to speak with Moro and other beasts, but she show’s little capacity to bond with the human (Napier, 2005). I think Miyazaki shows here that the boundaries between the species has null importance, but shines light on the significance of the solidarity between the two in terms of their affinity with nature and Sans dislike of Lady Eboshi. San is almost bestial in her mannerisms. For example, the image of San with a bloody mouth sucking the bullet from an injured Moro (Cavallaro, 2006) and her capacity to fight Lady Eboshi when she breaks into the fortress. She is relentless and ruthless. Moro is a ferocious fighter, and like San, is viciously intent on stopping Lady Eboshi from doing more harm to the forest.  San and Moro, although both masculine in nature, there are  sporadic moments where we see displays of female nurturing from both. 

Laby Eboshi is perhaps the more complex. The runs an iron mill, runs a walled fortress and apparently has enough balls to take on the forces of nature (killing the Night Walker), but she is far from evil, she has heart. Although she has the concerns of a military general when it comes to the manufacturing of weaponry, she is deeply compassionate towards the women workers, and the lepers that were outcast by society, who undoubtedly respect her. However she doesn’t show compassion for the forest or nature that she is intent on destroying. I think it's because she didn't understand their importance until the culmination of everything resulted in the death of the Night Walker (Shishigami), who ironically gives them a second chance when the lush greenery was restored to the land.

Overall, Princess Mononoke is a tale that goes against all the traditional norms of gender by instilling masculinity and fierceness into the female characters; class by integrating diseased stricken lepers into the same commune as the healthy and by focusing on the ‘lesser’ recognised people in a time when hierarchy was important. The Emperor was mentioned on occasion, but he wasn’t featured at all. By mixing the races, Miyazaki tells of a story of when humans lived as one with nature, before gods were replaced with money.

I really enjoyed the movie; it really brings home the situation we are in now in terms. But the scene I find most disturbing is the solitary Kodama that comes out of hiding at the end. It offers a small piece of hope that all is not lost.

References

Cavallaro, D. (2006). The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki. London: McFarland & Company.

Napier, S. (2005). Anime: from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Reid, A. R. (2009). Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy; Volume 1 and 2. Connecticut: Greenwood.