Rewatching "Princess Mononoke", I found that Hayao Miyazaki encountered a dilemma in this movie, that is, the conflict between mythical epic and industrial reality. There should be no expectation for the return of the natural spirit in the ancient times of self-sufficiency in farming and the harmony between man and nature. After all, we are living in an industrial age, an age in which we sacrifice nature in exchange for material convenience. All we can do is to The harm is minimized. Even so, various environmental crises are still urgent. This is the destiny, the inevitable trend of history, or the "original sin" in the Western context. I will not mention it here. Hayao Miyazaki can simplify this movie into a display of personal heroism. If the story only revolves around Asdakar to resolve the curse, save the forest, and eliminate the careerist, he can reduce it to an epic. Since there is already one The invincible young man, clearly opposed to us, and the vigorous natural vitality as the background (Hiaishi let the mighty soundtrack also be mentioned). But Miyazaki also has ambitions: environmental protection. With this ambition as the explicit purpose of the film, Asdaka can only find another way out for his frustrated heroism. Hayao Miyazaki knows that even as a successful environmentally conscious film, the actual social utility of "Princess Mononoke" can be, just like Asdaka, even if the hunters and mountain-based cottages are eliminated, will the forest be free forever? "Deforestation" (the word "mining" is used in human history). The film mentions the warrior class and the shogunate, and it is more obvious that the female chief said that their guns are better than the "Ming Dynasty". It is estimated that this story should be designed around the 18th century, and the history is gone by mining and building iron objects in exchange for food and money. Retrievably entered the period of capital accumulation. It was too naive to rely on a hero from an ancient village to prevent man and nature from harming each other. Hayao Miyazaki knew this very well, but he was reluctant to give up this. A brave and glamorous young man, and the movie needs a spiritual figure, so he continues to give Asdakar the opportunity to show superb shooting skills and riding skills, although we find that it is not Asdakar's personal ability that saves the forest in the end. , What did it save the forest? In the tense confrontation between historical reality and myth, what else can save the forest, reconcile the contradiction between man and nature without dropping the handle of idealization? Yes, it is "love". This is the way out for Asdakar by Hayao Miyazaki. "Love" is used by Hayao Miyazaki in almost all of his movies. "Love" is his personal belief. As he said when he talked about "Spirited Away", "Chihiro returned to the world not because she disappeared." It’s because of the power of evil.” Similarly, in “Princess Mononoke”, the “evil” human beings were not completely “destroyed”-the female chief wanted to thank Asdaka for his rescue, but did not say no. Open the mountain again (I don’t know if Miyazaki is conscious By the time he had used the courage and determination to design the female leader into the true "hero" of that era), the hunter leader, who was a greedy image, just squatted leisurely on the rock and smiled and said "give up and give up"— -Of course it cannot be eliminated, so "love" has no choice but to be used as a mitigator for various contradictions, and it can make the audience more flexible to accept. Therefore, in addition to the love for Asdakar and Princess Mononoke, the audience who enjoys the good story may be able to look forward to the temporary restraint of the occupation of nature by the careerists. This point is not new in the modern context. Some intellectuals in the West believe that only pan-religious love can alleviate the environmental and spiritual crisis of mankind. Do they understand that their useless search in this inevitable crisis is also Of course, I won't mention it here. Interestingly, at the end of the movie, Hayao Miyazaki cautiously let "love" not make the two of them transcend their identities. This is different from the love of Bailong and Chihiro, the love of the magician Hal, and the love of ordinary girls. The female Mononoke, will still draw a clear line from the "human" Asdaka, watching both the cottage and the forest. There is a river in hell, separated from life and death, while the river between the cottage and the forest in the movie is separated from fantasy and reality.
View more about Princess Mononoke reviews
