Princess Mononoke

After watching Princess Mononoke, I impressed by how much thought was put into this film. There is plenty of detail to discuss in terms of Miyazaki's recurring themes. One of the themes we see is anti-war. With technology(Lady Eboshi) clashing with San (nature), Ashitaka is situated in a position where he is caught in between the two. Rather than taking a side, he tries to compromise by suggesting that technology and nature live together. He believes that this war will inevitably solve nothing and only lead to more hatred. He is constantly reminded of this thanks to the curse mark on his arm. Another theme is the idea of good versus evil. In this film, it is very difficult to distinguish who is pure evil or pure good. When we are first introduced to Lady Eboshi, we assume that she is evil because of her negative effects on nature. However, at the same time we also learn more abut her and see good sides about her. The same thing goes for San as well.

Although this film does not have any themes of flight, it does have characters who can run fast and jump high. As I mention in Kiki's Delivery Service, the idea of not being able to fly might be a sign showing that we are connected to the earth. While it may not have been as strong or obvious in Kiki, this idea fits perfectly in Princess Mononoke because everyone (humans, gods, animals) are fighting for resources. They must learn to share and work together.

Something else I wanted to mention is the death of the Deer-God at the end of the scene. Going off of our discussion from last week, we talked about why he died after having his head returned. After watching the scene again, I started thinking about the possibility of the Deer-God committing suicide. With all the chaos that had taken place throughout the film, I felt that the Deer-God choose to kill himself in order force everyone to stop fighting. Without the Deer-God around others can no longer rely on his ability to bring life and death. Because of the Deer-God's death, everyone must come to the realization that life is precious and that we need to take better care of our world. Whether the Deer-God made the right decision or not, he does in fact forge a new path for the world.