The Movie Princess Mononoke : A Japanese Word For A Spirit Or Monster?

Femininity is a concept whose attributes are contingent on the culture it is in—what one culture may consider typically feminine traits could largely vary from what another culture views as being feminine. While theater can sometimes subvert theses ideals and present women who function in ways that are not typically feminine, theater can often present idealistic representations of women who exemplify that culture’s ideals of femininity. Take, for example, the female characters in both Guan Hanqing’s Snow in Midsummer and Hroswit’s Martyrdom of the Holy Virgins. While both texts come from largely different cultural contexts—Snow in Midsummer was written in thirteenth century China for a general population whereas Martyrdom of the Holy Virgins was written in tenth century Germany as a closet drama—both texts have female protagonists whose rebellions exemplify feminine ideals of the respective cultures.

As little girls, women may imagine themselves as the princesses that they hear and see in movies and books. These princess often defeat the villain, meet the love of their life, the prince, and live “happily ever after”. Sadly, life is far from the things we see in these movies and books. The Princess bride, by William Goldman is a fantasy novel about a beauiful girl, named Buttercup, who is forced to marry the Prince Humperdinck after the love of her life, Westley dies. She is later kidnapped by three men, and two of those men, named Inigo and Fezzik, come together with the undead Westley to avenge an important death

From Disney’s feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, through to many of its princess movies, the female protagonist is reliant on a male counterpart as either their goal or last hope. For example, Ariel in The Little Mermaid sacrifices her voice for a far off prince and Aurora in Sleeping Beauty can only be awoken by a kiss from one. However, as public opinions in society changed, Disney also shifted it focus when it came to dealing with female leads. To do this, they scripted strong and independent women, who could rely on themselves, rather than on some glorified man. Although transcendentalism does not solely focus on females when it comes to its ideals, the practice of self-reliance by these modern Disney princesses is in direct

Susan Napier states that Princess Mononoke “problematizes archetypes and icons, ranging from notion of emperor’s untouchability to traditional iconization of the feminine” (Napier, 175). In other words, Princess Mononoke plays a gender-neutral role rather than the typical female role that is demonstrated in most anime female characters. There is a scene in the movie where the movie’s female protagonist, San, demonstrates “unfeminine” behavior by attacking and destroying humanity (45:46). The sexual politics of Princess Mononoke largely stem from the women of Iron Town - the wives, daughters, and prostitutes who serve as an equal part of Irontown's workforce right alongside the men. They work, fight, and die with the men, with no real distinction

Throughout the movie Princess Mononoke, Lady Eboshi is portrayed as a negative character. Although Lady Eboshi actions may come off as negative, I do believe throughout the movie she also has many positive characteristics. Lady Eboshi has two very different sides to her. On one hand she cares deeply about the people within her town and has made work for everyone who has been rejected by society and on the other hand cares very much so about her power and what she can do to get more. Although Lady Eboshi cares for everyone in her gated community she cares more about the woman than the men. Throughout the movie there are many examples of Eboshis feminist attitude but a clear one is the power and work she gives the women within her community.

In the animated film Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki conveys several themes and main ideas. The themes and main ideas he conveys in the movie are that hatred corrupts and causes people to make bad decisions, shown through the boars, that greed corrupts and ruins,shown through Lady Eboshi, and that nature can only exist with help from humans, shown through Ashitaka.

Disney princesses are fun for all ages, but their target audience is young children and “as children grow and develop, they can be easily influenced by what they see and hear”. Therefore, what they see and hear in Disney movies leaves an impression on them. The first princess, Snow White, was created in a time where each gender and race had a specific role in society. Recently, many believe that Disney has come a long way in regards to gender and race since Snow White, as several multi-cultural protagonists have been introduced subsequently, and gender roles do not appear to be as stereotypical as they once were. However, many of the apparent innocent messages about race and gender in these movies, can be exposed as otherwise. Despite

Women were loyal to their culture and focused on how they could best serve their nation. They lacked power and were forced to abide by their domestic role. It was difficult for women to achieve their goals as an individual before Kitchen. Men on the other hand had few domestic roles, which gave them more freedom. That said, the idea of gender in Yoshimoto’s writing in particular, follows no conventions that would be patriarchal in nature where gender roles were defined. In contrast, Yoshimoto’s novel she demonstrates how women and men had a difficult time relating to each other. Though the female protagonist, Mikage, we are able to see this modern persona of the Japanese female. This persona is an independent individual, in control of her own

Cassandra Stover explains in her Journal Damsels and Heroines: The Conundrum of the Post-Feminist Disney Princess, the dramatic shift with Disney princess at the peak of the late 1980s and early 1990s. She explains that the shift can derive from feminist movements and how the change can be directed to the third wave of feminism. She examines the original Disney princesses and decribes them to be more passively aggresive and unindependent, while the new princesses are more independent and brave. The author then explains if the shift from the old to new princesses are actually better, and not just different. Stover analysizes that Disney princesses evolve and are a part of the worlds change on feminism.

From the minute one is born the division between genders is placed. The phrases “act like a lady” or “be a man” become everyday practices and lifelong slogans. Fairy tales are always focused on women who play the beautiful damsel in distress persona and on men who play the handsome knight coming in to save them. Whether you are female or male, it is important to remember that these fixed characteristics placed on genders are never to be reinforced. In a world full of gender stereotypes, the Disney movie Mulan challenges the societal construct of masculinity and femininity by proving that gender roles are not fixed traits, but socially constructed views that can be changed.

What young girl does not dream of becoming a princess and living in a castle happily ever after? Virtually every young girl identifies with princesses and has watched at least one Disney Princess movie. From the first movies of Snow White and Cinderella, to the later movies of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, to the most current movie Moana, Disney Princess movies permeate not only the movie theaters, but also our culture. In fact, “becoming a princess is as easy as purchasing a tiara and hosting a princess-themed birthday party or buying a Halloween costume and playing pretend” (Garabedian, 2014, p. 23). Nonetheless, as declared by Princess Merida in the movie Brave, “there comes a day when I don’t have to be a princess. No rules, no expectations. A day where anything can happen. A day where I can change my fate” (Andrews & Chapman, 2012). In other words, does the life of a princess measure up to the expectations of little girls everywhere? The Disney Princess brand has grown incredibly popular, especially with young girls. In spite of this, the franchise has also become extremely controversial due to potential gender stereotypes in the films. “Gender is one of the most discussed topics in today’s society…[it] represents and also reproduces certain attributes, expectations and roles which are associated with male and female…influencing the views and opinions of future generations” (Maity, 2014, p. 31). Yet, is the Disney Princess brand harmful to young children due to gender stereotypes? Two essays that contemplate the Disney Princess brand and gender stereotypes with opposite viewpoints on this controversial issue are “Girls on Film: The Real Problem with the Disney Princess Brand” by writer Monika Bartyzel and “In Defense of Princess Culture” by writer and mother Crystal Liechty. However, Liechty’s essay “In Defense of Princess Culture,” is the most effective article in convincing the audience of her point of view due to the claim, support, warrant, language, and vocabulary employed.

The Japanese ethnic religion, Shinto heavily focuses on power manifested in natural things such as rivers, mountains, and forests. These beliefs are carried out to establish a connection between the present Japan and its ancient past. In the movie Princess Mononoke ,a depiction of man-made problems, such as deforestation, pollution, and global warming negatively impacting the environment. The Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki, encourages the audience to take a closer look at the impact of humanity's greed on the surrounding environment. The theme of Princess Mononoke reflects on consequences of environmental destruction and argues that humans should show more respect towards nature in order for us to solve the conflicts between human and nature.

In Sleeping Beauty, the Prince is portrayed a strong and courageous person, he can be seen as a great character because he overcomes many obstacles to be able to help the Princess survive. Although Sleeping Beauty is a fairy tale and is stereotypically more admired by girls, the masculine tale might be liked by the male population because they aspire to be the male hero. Maleficent shows the feminine tale and warns the girls that not men cannot be trusted in some cases, and that there is no need to have a man by your side. A woman can survive on their own using her own intelligence and courage to overcome any obstacle that she might face. For the female population, this change is very important because this “hero” story helps us relate to the character and our desire to do great and special acts (Seger 387). This film proved that a woman is capable of defeating evil, and brings a new perspective into Disney

Studio Ghibli is probably one of my most preferred animation studios out there. Their best movies typically contain powerful female lead characters, which is awesome since you don’t really see that in animation. It's difficult to find female characters who take the situation in their own hands without waiting for a prince charming to come save the day. Miyazaki, the lead animator is a genius for coming up with many creative storylines and significant illustrations.

Little girls everywhere spend their childhoods watching the princesses portrayed in Disney movies, dreaming about the day they too will meet their prince charming. They see how Sleeping Beauty is woken up by a prince, Cinderella marries a prince, Sleeping Beauty turns a beast into a prince, and countless other instances of a girl just like them meeting their perfect man. Disney is infamous for their outdated illustration of gender roles. Mulan is one of the first Disney princess movies in which, instead of waiting for her prince, the heroine actually saves the day, or in this case, China. Mulan makes a variety of statements about gender roles that can be examined through many