Princess Mononoke

Saturday, March 22, 2014
Secret War Journal[16 March 2014]

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, this film was first aired in 1997. Based in the setting of a fictitious world where gods take the form of animals and walk among Man. The film follows the story of a prince named Ashitaka. The story begun by showing us how Ashitaka received a curse from fending a demon off from his village. After the village's wise woman proposed that the cure may lie in the West where they came from exile, Ashitaka started his journey to the West.

The film focuses heavily on demonstrating the audience the environmental damage Man cause from urbanization. It make uses of several metaphor to showcase how the act of modernization causes deforestation and loss of habitat for the wildlife. It also explores how such actions could negatively impact us as humans.

The ironic nature of the film was, as I highlighted to my friends, was the environment damage involved in the production of the film. Do not quote me for this but think about it. An animated film requires a considerable amount of time spent on a computer. Usage of computers requires electricity and that indirectly leads to the pollution of our mother Earth.

Nevertheless, we should not ignore the message the film tries to bring across to us. I believe Miyazaki hoped that through this film, more people would be aware of the environmental damage. Deep symbolism is a very apt way to describe the film as a whole.

I would recommend this film to moviegoers who loves to dissect the movie to understand the message that it is trying to bring across. Though the film might be a little old, bear in mind that this was produced in 1997, it is a piece of art worthy of a classic. (In fact, I think it is a classic.) The drawings might look cartoony, but hey, that is precisely the point! It is definitely worth watching for the idea it is trying to reach out to the audience.

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