No school on Monday guys... that means no class :( But think about these questions, and then when you come back, we'll close up Nausicaa and be ready for Totoro!
.: Here are the discussion questions for this week. It's pretty much the ones that were on the board during the movie, and like we said last time, you don't have to answer them all, but think about them be prepared to talk a little about them.
1) Compare the femininity of Nausicaa and that of Princess Kushana. To what extent are they feminine, masculine, strong, frail, etc?
2) Why do you think Nausicaa needs to die? What is the implication of the sacrifice?
Or, think about the circular way that the story is told: starting with the beginning credits, with the post-apolcalyptic history, to the ancient tapestries, then fade to Nausicaa herself.
3) Do you think that she is "free" or "bound?" And what is the role of predestination and submission of will? Is there something greater that controls her, and why does she obey it? Contrast it to other people's approach. Why would Miyazaki make it this way?
Or, a personal question, if you want to answer it.
4) Do you think that Miyazaki is right in saying that part of Nausicaa's beauty lies in her being bound by her destiny? She almost can't escape it, and she's obligated to keep her oaths even when she doesn't want to. Is she obeying a greater power or her own convictions?
See you next Monday!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
24 comments:
3) I think Nausicaa is very bound to her destiny as the savior of the world and by her duties as princess. Throughout the film, much of Nausicaa's actions are out of her duty to something larger than herself. In the Valley of the Wind, she spends her time helping the villagers and repairing machinery, while in her free time, she searches for answers as to why the Sea of Decay exists. In a sense, she is controlled by a sense of duty to her people and the world she lives in, rather than to herself. She has little will in the sense that she does things out of ambition, greed or power, things towards her own end.
I think Miyazaki gave Nausicaa this approach to provide a personalization of ideals that he values - of selflessness, of sacrifice and of respect for nature. I think he did it in contrast to animated figures portrayed by Disney, who are driven by love usually. Rather, Miyazaki wanted to create an animated film that introduced the viewer to a feeling of responsibility and mediation between good and what is perceived as evil.
#4. I think there is a certain allure to someone bound by destiny. I don't feel that Nausicaa wants to abandon her's either. Not showing much hesitation in defending them against enemies, she clearly cared about the land and her people. I guess you could see it like Ryan does, but I'd like to think that she doesn't need greed power or ambition to have her do something "towards her own end". If she just happens to be the type of person that derives pride and peace from helping those she cares about, is that not enough?
But on the allure of being bound by destiny, I'm inclined to feel this is an alternate way of portraying a damsel in distress.. perhaps one you can't save. The beauty of someone's life being intertwined with the fate of the world is eerie yet undeniably entrancing and sad at the same time. Although in this case there is a happy ending, it could have easily ended in her death, which is one of the pinnacles of a romanticized ending; someone sacrifices their life for the good of many, so on and so forth. Maybe a little over done, but you have to admit that if you actually met someone that you knew would be destined to die for your and other's lives, wouldn't that be tragically beautiful? I don't really know how else to explain it..
4. I agree with Miyazaki that part of Nausicaa's beauty lies in her being bound to her destiny. Of course, that must have been Miyazaki's intention if that's what he believes, but at the same time everything is always left open to the audience's own interpretation, and attributing Nausicaa's beauty to her free will is just as plausible a perspective. In fact, I think that Nausicaa's beauty lies somewhere between these two extremes.
On the one hand, there is strong evidence that she was destined to sacrifice herself so that humans and nature could coexist in harmony. From the beginning, she treats the insects with love and respect while remaining faithful to the people of the Valley of the Wind, and even when she loses her temper after Princess Kushana's men kill her father, she immediately repents for the vengeance she has just exacted and resolves to make peace between humans and nature.
On the other hand, there is also no strong evidence that Nausicaa doesn't make a conscious decision whenever she chooses to be the peacekeeper between humans and nature. Through the exercise of her own free will, Nausicaa also fulfills her destiny of being the sacrificial offering to appease both humans and nature and help both realize that it is possible for them to coexist in harmony.
1) While both Nausicaa and Kushana are strong women, they embody different types of strength. Nausicaa's strength is that of relation: she is able to relate to others and in that way, create a different world. Her's is a strength to grow and create growth around her, and in controlling her situations by her own actions and person. Kushana embodies a destructive power--a domineering power, and more of a masculine role. At the same time, she also incorporates intellectual strength in strategy and in sourcing her own solutions.
2)Nausicaa needs to die in order to show the true power of trust and love in the nature that surrounds her. The implication is that when one surrenders to the bigger picture, more can be accomplished.
3)I still feel that Nausicaa is free--her character, rising to her situations and mixed with her own deep feelings--is able to fulfill what her world needs, and what her world has been waiting for... She falls into the prophecy not necessarily unwillingly, but unknowingly. No one is telling her what to do--and this is the beautiful way in which fate is portrayed throughout the film. Miyazaki is almost asking us to trust in ourselves, and the confidence of our beliefs--and fate will rise and meet it.
4) I can't see anything beautiful in being "bound by her destiny". The entire idea of my actions being pre-determined is repulsive to me. Chalk that one up to personal world view.
Personally, I don't see much that is beautiful about Nausicaa. That's not to say that she's ugly or what have you, but mainly to illustrate that I did not find her all that compelling of a character. Like many of the characters in the movie, she felt less like a person and more like a symbol. Part of the problem is that since I knew most of Miyazaki's views before watching this film, all I could see was his agenda flowing from the screen. Since it also happens that I disagree with him on more then one point when it comes to his personal views, I had a hard time enjoying the film.
I think both a greater power on her and her own convictions motivate her to do something for the world she lives. However, I think it is incorrect to say that she is obeying because she's actually fighting against the desteny which she cannot escape in the story.Then I think Miyazaki is right in saying that part of Nausicaa's beauty lies in her being bound by her destiny because people, well...at least I, feel beauty from the person who knows and admits own weakness but tries to overcome patiently even he/she is in either difficult situation or not. I feel that kind of beauty from Nausicaa too. She knows how she is weak but isn't resigned to the state and situation even she loses her life. That attitude let Miyazaki to say like that I think.
1) I think both Princess Kushana and Nausicaa are strong, willful, motivated women who definitely break the stereotype of your average feminine character. Nausicaa still does share some aspects of femininity in terms of her motherly instincts, such as when she tames the fox squirrel and the baby ohmu. On the other hand, Kushana has little femininity in terms of her need for power, control, and destructiveness. Although Nausicaa may seem weaker in contrast to Kushana’s domineering character, Nausicaa has no fears of what may happen to her while Kushana admits a few times of being afraid.
2) When you think of sacrifice, you think of giving up something so pure and perfect due to your own mistakes. Nausicaa was the perfect heroine: strong, just, caring, and willing to sacrifice herself. Humankind has been so sinful and selfish that Nausicaa was that one beacon of hope among everyone else that needed to be sacrificed. The implication of the sacrifice was that it ended all the suffering once and for all. Nausicaa was almost like humanity’s savior in a sense because her death prevented the all-powerful Ohmu, representing nature, from completely wiping out the humans.
3) I think Nausicaa is “bound” despite my disagreements with the idea of destiny. I think Miyazaki meant for Nausicaa to be shown as “pre-destined” to save humankind to exaggerate her purity, as if it was her life purpose to save the world from destruction. Although it seems like nothing is controlling, most of her actions (except for her violent fit of rage) seem so perfect and pure that there has to be some godly force controlling her will. In contrast, most of everyone acts out of their own interests and rather rashly. Nausicaa’s destiny almost puts a biblical spin on the story because it seemed she was meant to sacrifice herself to end all the chaos.
3
I'm not sure that Nausicaa was "bound" necessarily because even though the events she enacted seemed to be pre-destined by the tapestries, it doesn't hold that she had to be the person to fulfill the tapestries---someone else could have perhaps taken her place. What I think Miyazaki is getting at is not so much that Nausicaa was destined to bring unity between man and nature but rather that man and nature were destined to unite. In the movie the question of whether humans will die our or not and are humans meant to live on earth is raised. By having the events of the movie predestined Miyazaki seems to affirm the idea that humans are meant to be on the earth and that humanity's destiny is to share the earth with all its creatures.
Nausicaa had to die to save the nature. Throughout the movie Miyazaki Hayao was trying to send a message to the human beings; human beings are the one who’s destroying nature. Not only in Nausicaa but also in many of his animations has the same theme. Nausicaa was the one who can change the human nature, nature, and the world by sacrificing herself.
Nausicaa, as a female character, symbolizes ‘mother’ or ‘motherhood’. After the nature is destroyed by human beings, they are being ‘punished’ by the nature. As women are closer to the ‘nature’ than men, she is in a position which she has to change the world. She found the way to settle things by non-violent way rather than fighting, violent. At the end, she gave up to fight against Ohmus and sacrifice herself. Since the nature lost their own identity because of human’s evil actions, the human beings had to lose something else in order to have the world back. And in this case, it was Nausicaa that they had to lose.
I think that Miyazaki made Nausicaa very ideal. She's bound, yet at the same time she does what her heart tells her to do. She isn't exactly aware of her destiny. She doesn't know that she's gonna be the person who saves everyone. Nausicaa is kind of like the ideal 'pre-modern' hero, or rather heroine. Just like we talked about in class, the modern hero seems to be the one who rejects destiny, isn't really bound to anything, and creates his/her own destiny, whereas the pre-modern one is one who is loyal and duty-bound...etc. But I didn't really feel like she was bound since she did what she wanted to do mostly. But then in the manga, her entire race was genetically engineered, so that kinda threw me off. If she was made a certain way, why go against it if that's what makes her happy and she's only helping...
2) Why do you think Nausicaa needs to die? What is the implication of the sacrifice?:
Similar to others' opinions, I think by Nausicaa's death, Miyazaki tries to convey some message about the sacrificie of pure minority for majority. From the very first of the movie, what Nausicaa does is trying to get some pure pore or finding something good and fresh nature for human beings. Through the whole movie, Miyazaki emphasizes that Nausicaa is kind of important heroine for the Valley of the Wind. And, finally, at the end, Nausicaa sacrifices herself to save the Valley of the Wind, all ohmus, and all the other villagers. I think by her sacrifices, Nausicaa saves lots of things in the apocalyse, and by this, Miyazaki tries to show the pure, powerful, important heroine's(minority's) sacrifice for the bigger, larger ones(world).
I don't think that Miyazaki is right in saying that Nausicaa's beauty lies in her being bound by destiny because I think that the idea of being bound by destiny is constricting. There's no freedom. Nausicaa seems to be a very ambitious person that will do anything she can to attain her goals; thus, I think she is obeying her own convictions rather than some greater power.
Despite this, I am personally not found of her character. She seems to idealized and stereotypical, thus not being a very believable character that one can relate to.
I do not feel that the movie really deals with issues of free will and destiny or “free” and “bound” existence. I now understand that in the manga version there was a major emphasis on this idea. However, in the film version there is only two moments where “fate” is interjected—the introduction of the film and the ending when the old lady talks about a prophecy.
Since I do not agree that there is a “submission of will” in the film I would have to say that Nausicaa is free. She is her own person. Nausicaa has a connection to the natural world, not because of some pre-programmed nature, but it is simply her personality. The film shows this by the flashbacks to Nausicaa’s childhood when she attempted to protect the Om. Through the flashback, it can be inferred Nausicaa’s personality alone led to her strong character and determination.
4) (This is Hannah, btw!)
I think the allure that Nausicaa possesses as a woman bound by destiny is her strength to accept her fate fully, without hesitation. Even when that acceptance entitled her own sacrifice for her people, she still took it with open arms. I think that presents a certain beauty of confidence that many heroines lack, whether purposely or not. However, at the same time, it seems that because she is so bound by her destiny that she lacks a sense a free will. While she is a capable woman in almost all sense of the word, she is completely tied to her predetermined destiny, leaving out much room for things that do not comply with said destiny, which in my opinion, includes personal and emotional development. Nausicaa is a beautiful woman simply because of everything she did for others out of love. But that beauty is so untouchable because it is interwoven with fate, and because of that, it's almost...a bittersweet type of beauty.
1)Nausicaa and Kushana both are taking a role as female leaders of their societies. In this term, none of them are extremely feminine. However, the roles that they take in each society are very different.
Nausicaa, who rather considers the future of nature and her town, is a motherlike leader. Insead of expanding her authority, she focuses on caring Omus and children. Implenting her image as a motherlike symbol, Miyazaki insinuates that she is also the protector of nature. However, Kushana is more of a fahterlike symbol. She focuses on expanding her power. I am not saying that the fatherlike symbol is bad and not caring about other things but simply suggesting that Kushana is closer to an image of father than caring mother.
I never really thought that Nausicaa was bound by a destiny or that she was some how forced into her actions. To me, the film showed a strong and brave women facing the problems of her life. Her characteristics are so bold and strong that her decisions throughout the entire movie seem natural. She is creating her own path, and not simply following one laid out for her. Yes she has obligations and duties, but it seems that her choices transcend these "restrictions". She honestly loves the people of her village and would do anything for them. We see her scared and we see her in pain, yet she continues to proactively choose her re-/actions. She also consciously makes an effort to teach people lessons through her actions. Especially telling them how to respect nature and one another. I just feel that her own being (her character) is too strong to be held down by destiny. Placing this predestined role on her, to me, would take away some of the things that make Nausicaa so amazing. Saying that she was born to fulfill this destiny, takes away from her strong personality. It even takes away from her reason/motive and passion. If Nausicaa were to follow this path no matter what, she wouldn't have to have such a compassionate yet brazen spirit. She could be a total self-indulgent attention-grabbing princess that just must carry out the demands of her name/title or selfish wishes.
If she was bound by destiny, however, she still marks the path with her characteristics. Everything she does and anyone she touches reflects a bit of Nausicaa afterward.
3) I believe that in this film, Nausicaa is bound to her fate. As seen in the opening credits of the animation, we see how there is a set prophecy of a savior who will one day come and save the valley. From the beginning, Nausicaa doesn't think about anything else but to save her people. The film details her encounters and how she follows through with the prophecy at the end. Another detail that shows Nausicaa is bounded by fate is that she never questions her situation and why she has to help her people. She willingly follows through with whatever she needs to accomplish for the sake of her people. It's almost as if she is a robot, programmed to execute orders and commands at set times. That is why I believe Nausicaa is bounded by fate.
3)
It seems Nausicaä is bounded by fate, and that may be true. Nausicaä does possess that strange power of bonding with wild creatures as seen at the beginning of and throughout the movie. She's super talented at "reading" the wind. But, Nausicaä in no way thinks that there is something greater that controls her. I don't think people in the Valley expected that she would be the guy from the old legend, either. She's free - she just follows her heart and own instinct, which ends up saving the Valley. I think the reason why Miyazaki made it this way is somewhat related to how the protagonist is a female. If we had a male protagonist living his destiny, then we'd have a typical Hollywood-type heroic movie. By having a female protagonist, he was able to depict the character's inner-emotional conflict in deeper level.
From the early part of the movie, we know the guy from the legend is a male - the drawing on the tapestry was clearly a male. And it was 'unexpected' that the savior turned out to be a female at the end. Nausicaä not knowing her fate/destiny adds far more complexity to the character.
I believe that it was necessary for Nausicaa to die during the film. This shows how serious the repercussions are from violence, greed, and war. Without the ultimate sacrifice of Nausicaa's life, a life that was so pure and innocent, what would the lesson be for both the insects and the warring people. Because Nausicaa died, it gave the Ohm a reason to calm down, a chance to refocus on the situation and lose their angry swarming behavior. The warring people also saw that if a human was willing to give up her life to save these creatures, and how they resurrected her in the end, that maybe the insects were peaceful creatures that could coexist with human beings. In the end, Miyazaki decided to have Nausicaa be brought back to life, so her sacrifice doesn't completely dampen the happy end to the movie, bringing it full circle.
1. For Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, I never get the feeling that Nausicaa was overly feminine in her role. In Nausicaa’s world, I do not believe that there is sexism, as there is no mention of masculine or feminine qualities. However, the strongest support of masculinity is when the blind soothsayer tells about the hero in blue. The hero in blue is shown to be a male, even though there is no true mention of his true sex. Yet, no characters make a comment about the sex for the hero of in blue. It appears that the world of Nausicaa is neutral when it comes to gender roles.
Why is Nausicaa perceive as a feminist film? I believe that the notion of sexism in Nausicaa comes from the audience. Miyazaki stated that having a female holding a gun is more impactful to the audience, and I think he wanted to create an experience in which others can perceive this. With this film, I believe that Miyazaki wanted to destroy the audience’s perception that males are the only characters that are capable of action and conflict. The femininity aspect of Nausicaa comes from the audience pre-conceive concepts of what the portrayal of females should be in modern films. Again, to my understanding, there is no sexism in the world of Nausicaa.
That said, my feelings for both Nausicaa and Princess Kushana are as follow: they both are not the common portrayal of feminine frailty. Nausicaa and Princess Kushana are both capable women that are burden not by their sexuality, but by their limitations to influence, to convince, and to control other people, in particular other irrational humans. The difference is that one wants war while the other wants peace.
-Michael Iseri
3. I'm not sure if Nausicaa was necessarily 'bound' to her destiny. She has obligations and responsibilities that she must fulfill in order to save her people, and she does so in a way that makes sense to her. The outcome to her actions doesn't seem predetermined or inevitable to me--but that's probably because she doesn't fight her obligations/responsibilities. Sure, she might not like what she's doing sometimes, but she ultimately does what SHE feels is right. She's not aware of any guiding narrative to walk her through the conflict. If she's not aware of her destiny, she can't fight it. And if she doesn't try to fight it, how do we know that she is actually bound by it?
I think Nausicaa is obeying a greater power because of the fact that she is committed to these obligations, and submits her personal desires to something greater than herself. The very counter-cultural way of Nausicaa putting her personal interests aside showed me that she must be obeying a greater power.
Her beauty may be another thing that was purposely given to Nausicaa, and she looks at it in light of this greater cause. Nevertheless, her external is not what defines her. She is defined by her leadership, bravery, and strong will for her people. Her own convictions to work for her people is just a small role compared to working towards her destiny.
Nausicaä, it seems, accomplished the task at hand given the destiny communicated in the scrolls at the beginning of the film. I believe the concept of this destiny, however, has been overthought. It was never presented as a metaphorical checkbox that Nausicaä was required to address, and it was never presented as something that necessarily had to happen, simply as something that would. The people of the valley saw that the fulfillment of this destiny would be essential to the survival of their people, but more in the sense of prediction rather than fate. Nausicaä, it appears, was guided by a fate-like series of happenstances into fulfilling this prediction, but she rarely if ever bases her decisions on the need to realize this fate more than simply her inherent moral compass. The destiny was therefore likely, if a symbol of true fate, embedded much more significantly in the code of her intrinsic value set than in outside intervention in environmental occurrences permitting Nausicaä’s fulfillment of the prophecy. Nausicaä is free—free to the utmost of the concept to perform actions dictated by her very simple set of morals. Her actions, specifically critical to her completion of the prophecy, are tied to these morals, however, and thereby to the predestiny encoded in these moralistically recursive rules. It could be understood that there is a sort of higher power, then, guiding her decisions, but not in a sense greater than a power simply implanting a very strict and strong set of morals on which Nausicaä was to base her decisions.
Post a Comment