Introduction
Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most famous filmmakers in Asian cinema. He is specialized in animated films. Hayao Miyazaki was born on January 5th, 1941 in Tokyo, Japan. He started his career in 1965 when he worked as an artist in the film, “Gulliver’s Travels Beyond the Moon”. He co-founded a production company called “Studio Ghibli” in 1985. He received many awards during his career including the “lifetime achievement award” at the “Venice Film Festival” in 2005. For many reasons, I’m influenced by Miyazaki’s personality and his works (“Miyazaki”, 2009).
How Does Hayao Miyazaki Influence Me?
I Watch His Movies When I Feel Down or Sad
When I have hard times, I love to watch one of his movies because of the optimistic feelings in them. In many of his films, there are no villains or evil characters at all. Some of those movies are “My Neighbor Totoro” in 1988 and “Kiki’s Delivery Service” in 1989. In some other films, he shows the good side of the characters that have an evil side. He doesn’t usually create films that have real evil characters. (“Miyazaki”, 2009).
Hayao Miyazaki always tries to create optimistic images in his films because “he prefers to show children a positive world view” (“Miyazaki”, 2009).
I See His Movies and Style of Animation as Art
I love the animation style of Hayao Miyazaki. I respect how he tries to keep using “traditional animation”. He first used computer technologies in his 1997 film, “Princess Mononoke”, but he hasn’t used them a lot after that. Even in his 2008 film, “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea”, he didn’t use computer technologies. Miyazaki says that “hand drawing on paper is the fundamental of animation” (“Miyazaki”, 2009).
I Admire How in Every Film He Has a Message Behind It
In his films, Hayao Miyazaki tries to present his own personal thoughts to the viewers. Some ideas are involved in more than one film. Hayao Miyazaki focuses on the following ideas in his films:
Good Is Stronger Than Evil
Hayao Miyazaki always tries to imagine a world full of good. Even characters that have an evil side can have a bigger good side. For example on his films that don’t contain villains, the 1989 film, “Kiki’s Delivery Service”. This film tells the story of “Kiki” who leaves her town “to begin life as a witch in a big city”. And for example on his films that contain a character that has an evil side and a good side, the 1997 film, “Princess Mononoke”. In this film, “Lady Eboshi” causes damages to the forest to get “industrial raw materials”. But the forest is where the animals live. At the same time, Lady Eboshi protects and shelters the despised people (“Miyazaki”, 2009).
The Importance of Protecting Environment
Miyazaki’s films usually “emphasize environmentalism”. For example, his 1988 film, “My Neighbor Totoro”. In this film, the big tree plays a big role in the story. “Magical creatures” live on that tree, and it is also worshipped (“Miyazaki”, 2009).
Peace
The image of war in Miyazaki’s films is always negative. His 2004 film, “Howl’s Moving Castle”, is an example of that. In this film, the main character, “Howl”, always shows his rejection of the war, but he fought against the “hack wizards” in order to cause a “positive impact” (“Miyazaki”, 2009).
I’m A Feminist and He Supports That Idea in Almost All of the Films He Makes
Hayao Miyazaki shows his feminism through his films. The President of Studio Ghibli, Toshio Suzuki, says that Miyazaki seems to show females as strong figures in his films. The heroes in his films “are often strong, independent girls or young women”. It is not common in Japan to present females in films or manga with such images (“Miyazaki”, 2009).
I’m Against Child Abusing, and He Always Cares about Childhood in His Films
Hayao Miyazaki always shows respect to children in his films. He portrays them as creatures with superpowers. For example, his 1988 film, “My Neighbor Totoro”. In this film, there is a little boy who becomes a friend of a “magic creature from the sea”. Another example is his 2008 film, “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea”. In this film, 2 little girls have a special ability to see the “spirit world”, but grown-ups don’t have this ability (“Miyazaki”, 2009).
Hayao Miyazaki has a deep respect for childhood because he sees childhood as a happy period of human’s life. He feels sorry for the children today because they are very connected to modern technologies. Through his films, he tries to make children understand the “external world” in a better way (“Miyazaki”, 2009).
I Want Freedom for All People, and He Has a Passion for Freedom in His Films
Flying is the most common theme in Miyazaki’s films. In his opinion, flying is “a form of liberation from gravity”. The ways of flying in his films are not exclusive to using flying devices (like planes). For example, his 1986 film “Laputa: Castle in the Sky”. In this film, Laputa is a city that flies in the air. In 2002, Hayao Miyazaki directed a film called “Imaginary Flying Machines”. This film was “completely devoted to the wonders of flight” (“Miyazaki”, 2009).
Conclusion
Throughout a career that has lasted for over 40 years, Hayao Miyazaki has created films that touched the feelings of millions around the world. Hayao Miyazaki has influenced me as a creative filmmaker and as a human who is committed to his morals. Through his films, he expresses his thoughts to share them with viewers.
References
Hayao Miyazaki. (2009). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web.