Nostalgi A Portrayal Of The Past

Memento is an odd but successful film, and it is also an outstanding and influential cultural work. As an unusual crime film, it uses unconventional non-linear narrative structure to tell a story that a man with a unique type of amnesia investigate his wife’s murder. However, if we watch carefully, we would find Memento involves the real social cultural background.

Miyazaki’s childhood was short as he was born January 5, 1941 during World War II, thus without exception, his films main characters are children, deal with growing up and often consist of one young female lead and one young male lead. This is evident in My Neighbor Totoro (1988) as the two main characters are young girls who, unlike adults, can see and befriend the spirits of the spirit world. In Spirited Away (2001), the leading character Chihiro is a young girl who must deal with growing up, similarly to Kiki in Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989). Princess Mononoke (1997) also features these stock characters in the form of young San, adopted daughter of the wolf goddess Moro and Prince Ashitaka, a young girl and boy. Hayao Miyazaki has expressed strong feelings about childhood, saying that it's a paradisiacal time when, "you're protected by your parents and unaware of the problems around you". Miyazaki’s upbringing during World War II would explain another unique mark of his films, that being his interest in flight.

When WWI broke out , president Wilson announced that America would remain neutral(Nash 496). Wilson repeated his slogan “ keep us out of the war” during his reelection campaign in 1916(Unveiling History Par 1). Many Americans agreed with this and they sought out to promote peace and help end the war. Unfortunately, others were ecstatic for the adventure and could hardly wait(Nash 496). Over time, Wilson came to believe that it was the duty of the U.S to intervene on the side of England and France. I believe that Wilson and the government tried extremely hard to promote participation for soldiers and make the war seem like a good thing.

Nostalgia lives in our veins, we breath and vision it all the time. Nostalgia was a disease throughout the early 1700’s, was coined with a mixture of Greek words of returning home and pain: Throughout the war, nostalgic were affecting the troops over the scale of homesick to perform their duties and the only option to recover the troop was by sending them back home. Now nostalgia has influenced modern day as generations expresses time back at their “good old days”, wishing that they could flashback. Nostalgic has even swayed the media perceptive as recreating their old films or shows in the new modern days to fill the gap of their childhood, and showing their children their favorite shows on television when they were a kid.

The director Miyazaki utilizes both physical and visual elements as represented by the characters, in order to communicate and individualize unique character traits and contrasting personalities. Miyazaki’s placing emphasis on character development is a significant aspect of not only the narrative, but also asserts how each gender is represented in a different way.

Once upon a time, didn’t happen the way everyone was told as a child. Though out time and cultures, the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales children have grown up with, have been changed to fit the needs of individual cultures and families. Their influence stretches over geographic and linguistic boundaries leaving a mark on cultures around the world. The tales of damsels such as Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White are ones that are known by every generation, in almost every cultures around the world. These stories that are told now are not the ones told long ago in their home country of Germany.

My first choice to write about is the S.C.A, the Society for Creative Anachronism. The SCA is basically an historically accurate medieval reenactment. As a member of the SCA, I was part of a fighting unit called “The Fray”. There were many requirements to join The Fray, including several challenges and ceremonies. The environment was unique and I learned a lot about myself and others. (http://www.sca.org/)

Princess Mononoke, released in 1997, was the highest grossing film in Japan until Titanic came out later that year. It was supposed to be Hayao Miyazaki’s last film before he went into retirement, again (spoiler alert, he came out of retirement), and is praised as one of his absolute masterpieces, right beside Spirited Away, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Today, I will be critiquing two articles that discuss aspects of Princess Mononoke’s themes and influences, one that relates Shintoism to Miyazaki’s narratives by Oscar Garza, and another that focuses on the icons found throughout his filmography by Mohammad Amzad Hossain and Wei-Hsin Fu.

The term ‘retro’ carries a pervasive, if somewhat imprecise meaning; gradually creeping into daily usage over the past thirty years with few attempts to define it: usually used to describe cultural predisposition and personal taste, carrying nostalgic associations. Scientific literature on nostalgia usually refer to nostalgia regarding the personal life. Smell, touch and music are strong evokers of nostalgia, with recollections of one’s past usually being important events, people one cares about and places where one many have spent time. Nostalgic preferences, the belief that the past was better than the present, has been linked to partisanship in memory. The definition of nostalgia has changed massively over time, as it was once being considered a medical condition similar to that of homesickness. However, nostalgia now is considered to be a maverick and

Just as farmers brand their livestock in order to claim them as their own, humans do the same when it comes to important events. There are certain moments in one's life when an incident is so powerful, emotionally or physically, that it leaves a mark on a person forever. The branded symbol that is left could be positive or negative, but there is no doubt that it has caused a wave of all-encompassing feeling. And although when looking back at the past the majority of our memories tend to be viewed with a black and white perception, it is these rare occurrences when a certain event can be so distinct that it is like experiencing it once more. This experience that was once felt with the body and

Long ago in an Old Italian Village there I was, in the forest being bet off by a rich wealthy carpenter who seemed to be playing or gambling against and old rather less fortunate carpenter. They both lost some and won some but the real prize was me= the much desired piece of wood. Eventually someone won, it was the old less fortunate carpenter, the wealthy carpenter could not believe his eyes so he threw the wood and stormed of yelling “GEPETTO”.

“Animation offers a medium of storytelling and visual entertainment which can bring pleasure and information to people of all ages everywhere in the world,” said Walt Disney of his beloved cartoons. While it is true that cartoons are an interesting medium of visual entertainment, their unique ability to convey information to people, adults and children alike, make the animated film medium one of the most far reaching means of propaganda. Today it is impossible to imagine American animated cinema without Disney and its cartoons. The American captivation with Disney has not changed much in the seventy years since World War II. In the early 1940s, two thirds of Americans went to the movies every week and these moviegoers were enamored

Nostalgia is a distorted lens in which we attempt to recall past events in an optimistic light despite the thoughts/feelings we may have felt at the time. Rewatching an anime after an extended period provides the viewer with the perception of experiencing a show as if it was their first time, providing useful insight into the human psyche. In this regard, we can compare the two experiences and determine the validity of one's nostalgia and whether or not it is warranted or a fabrication. Jyu Oh Sei: Planet of the Beast King attempts to produce shock and anguish by eliminating Thor and Rai’s parents within the first six minutes of episode one, and while no one envies the melancholic situation the boys now find themselves in, it is difficult

I remembered the first time I was introduced to one of Miyazaki’s most prominent animation film, Spirited Away (2001). The film absolutely captured the essence of what a fantasy world should be. I was mesmerized by the characters, the style, the animation movement and the whole entire world. It was as if the world probably existed somewhere, hidden from the reality we live in. I was hooked with Miyazaki’s work since then. The influences of Miyazaki’s work has driven me to follow my dream as an animator. I realized that the reason why I love most of Miyazaki’s work is because of his in-depth characters development. He managed to give life to the characters he created hence, making the viewer more connected with the story he directed. For my thesis, I will analyze how Miyazaki portrays female characters in his movies. The female character that I would analyze are from Miyazaki’s film entitled Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001) and Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986).

The Hakawati utilizes the intertextuality interlace stories which are popular in the real world such as Arab/Persian tale of “Qays and Layla.” This story is about a young man who loves a woman whose father prohibits their marriage. Unfortunately, this young woman is married to another man and dies far away from Qays. At this point, Qays roams the earth missing her as Majnun, the crazy one. Similarly in The Hakawati, Layl and Shams fall in love, but Layl and Shams are of the same sex (male). Layl disappears and Shams goes insane when he misses him and Shams is referred to in the novel as “Majnoun, the crazy one” (The Hakawati 479). Thus, the iconic images of Layl and Majnoun marks The Hakawati in its tendency to interlace with popular myths.