III. William Walton: <<Translation of Marina Tsvetaeva's "В Париже">>
IV. Carina Shalkivski: <<March 8th Women's Day Celebration in Ukraine>>
Where Japanese and Soviet Animation Meet: How Снежная Королева Influenced Studio Ghibli Films
Sammy Jennings
Growing up, nothing made me happier than going to the movies to see the newest Disney animation film. I remember one day when I was around seven years old, I went to the theater and saw a new kind of animated film. I knew it wasn’t Disney; this style seemed to be very different from the style I was used to, and I was sure I hadn’t ever seen anything like it. The movie was called Ponyo. The story is about a young boy in Japan, named Sōsuke, who catches a magical fish named Ponyo, who falls in love with him and turns herself into a little girl to stay with him. Ponyo’s father, king of the sea, misses her and floods the city in order to get her to come back. Sōsuke and Ponyo embark on an adventure to find his mother and save the city from Ponyo’s angry father and to keep Ponyo from turning back into a fish.
The unique storyline, foreign sounding names, and vibrant visuals created a completely new experience for me. Like many American children, I was always excited to watch more films produced by Studio Ghibli in Japan, and I still watch them as an adult. There’s nothing quite like an animated film from Studio Ghibli to remind me of this nostalgia.
Imagine my shock when I found out that some of my favorite animated films would have never existed if it weren’t for Soviet animation. This is because the man behind Studio Ghibli’s vivacious storytelling almost quit animation early in his career. This man is the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki credits his successful animation career to one Soviet-era film by Lev Atamanov, called, Снежная Королева, translated as The Snow Queen (1957). After seeing it at his first animation company, he wrote, “Had I not one day seen The Snow Queen during a film screening hosted by the company labor union, I honestly doubt that I would have continued working as an animator.” Miyazaki called the film his destiny, going on to become one of the most influential animators in Japan and the world.
What makes both the Soviet animation and Studio Ghibli style so special is the ability to convey mature themes through a child’s lens. One of these themes is existentialism, which may seem too heavy to American watchers, especially since we’re used to Disney’s lighter themes. Other examples of Soviet animation which portray existentialism are Hedgehog in the Fog (1975) and The Tree and the Cat (1983). Two other popular Studio Ghibli films by Miyazaki are My Neighbor Totoro (1988) and Spirited Away (2001). All of which discuss feelings of loneliness, grief, love, feeling lost, and the relationship between humans and nature. However, these concepts are not glamorized or sugarcoated in any of these animated films. In an interview, Miyazaki described his style and his talent of portraying reality through a truthful yet whimsical lens. He said, “Anime may depict fictional worlds, but I nonetheless believe that at its core it must have a certain realism.”
There are many concepts and characters throughout Miyazaki’s movies that could have been drawn from The Snow Queen. For example, the protagonist in this film is portrayed by a young girl named Gerda, who is courageous, kind, and determined in her quest to save her friend from the evil Snow Queen. Many of Miyazaki’s films have been known to feature a young girl with the same characteristics. Miyazaki even credited the scene where Gerda speaks to the river and employs it to help her. The connection to the natural world and the soul-searching quest that Gerda embarks upon can be shown in almost every Studio Ghibli film directed by Miyazaki.
Although these animated films are intended for children as the primary viewers, both The Snow Queen and Ponyo exhibit mystical and unearthly characteristics. The mix of nostalgia, curiosity, and gentleness portrays a unique sense of realism in a way that American animation isn’t usually able to attain. It feels more authentic, spiritual even; perhaps this is why late Soviet animation and Miyazaki’s films have captured so many children and adults throughout the world.
Sources:
Natalya Abramova. Классик по имени Лёля в стране Мультипликации. Pg. 18-19. https://www.labirint.ru/books/336143/
Hao. “Inspirational World Building: Creativity & Life Lessons from Hayao Miyazaki.” Balance The Grind, July 2, 2020. https://balancethegrind.co/lessons-learnt/creativity-life-lessons-from-hayao-miyazaki/.
“Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki Reveals His Inspiration,” June 9, 2022. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/studio-ghibli-hayao-miyazaki-inspiration/.
“The Soviet Cartoon That Saved Hayao Miyazaki’s Career.” Substack newsletter. Animation Obsessive (blog), August 2, 2021. https://animationobsessive.substack.com/p/hayao-miyazakis-favorite-film.
Over spring break, I had the urge to volunteer. I had not volunteered since before I graduated high school last year, so it was long overdue for me to dedicate some of my time to helping others. I knew that I wanted to tutor. I had tutored for a few years back in high school and middle school, but I abandoned tutoring when COVID hit. So, my goal was a tutoring opportunity. At first, I did not know whether to look for volunteer opportunities in Williamsburg or in Fairfax where I am originally from . If I volunteered in person in Fairfax I would not start until May. On the other hand if I volunteered in Williamsburg I would need a car, bus, Uber, etc. to get to an off campus volunteer location. I decided that it was best to volunteer in Williamsburg. In my search for an opportunity, I stumbled across GivePulse, William and Mary’s volunteering platform. Every month I’m reminded that being a college student is pretty awesome because services like GivePulse are designed to make your life as easy as possible. On a side note, student discounts are undoubtedly one of the best perks of being a college student. I digress. Anyways, after perusing through GivePulse, I found an opportunity that best fit my schedule and what I wanted to do: ENGin.
ENGin is a volunteer organization that connects Ukrainian students of English with English speakers for 60 or 30 minute virtual tutoring sessions. This was perfect, mainly because I found what I was looking for, but I could also write a Gazeta article about this! So I started my application to the program. The first two steps were pretty simple and standard, I filled out information about myself and submitted it to them. The next step was a quick interview. I decided to hold off on an interview until after I returned to Williamsburg, so on March 24th I logged onto my Zoom interview. My interviewer was a pleasant guy. He asked me basic questions like what my interests are, what my background is, if I’ve tutored before. However, the last question he asked me was a memorable one: If a student shares a very harsh opinion about the war or Russia how would you respond? Before that question, I had not really been thinking deeply about my responses, so I had to collect myself to answer this question meaningfully. I was honest and told him that I would try my best to understand where those feelings came from, and that I recognized those feelings as valid. I understand how trauma and stress can make people feel that way, and I’ll always be empathetic with those that have suffered at the hands of Russia. No matter how much I enjoy learning about Russia, I will always condemn their actions in Ukraine. That concluded the interview, and he said that he would get back to me soon.
15 minutes later, I signed a program agreement. After signing this program agreement, I had to complete a training and a quiz. Completing these two items took about an hour. So, after finishing all those steps I was finally assigned my English Speaking partner. I won’t give their actual name, so let’s call them Yuri. Yuri is around my age and is interested in STEM subjects, so I am looking forward to talking about science and technology with them during our first meeting this Friday. I am excited to start practicing English with them and glad that I am able to help out the people of Ukraine in any way I can. My hope is that I can continue to write Gazeta articles about our time together.
If you want to volunteer with ENGin visit their website at https://www.enginprogram.org/
Translation of Marina Tsvetaeva’s «В Париже»
William Walton
At the end of the fall semester, after finishing Professor Gorbunova-Ford’s Intro to Russian Literature course, each student received a Russian novel or compilation of poetry. In my case, I received a book of Marina Tsvetaeva’s works, which I enjoy flipping through and using to practice my literary comprehension. The other day, I opened a random page and read Tsvetaeva’s 1909 poem «В Париже» and was struck by the poem’s beautiful imagery of Belle Epoque France—a window into an optimistic time overshadowed in history by the ensuing tragedy of the First World War. I hope to share this compelling image that personally moved me with others familiar and unfamiliar with Tsvetaeva’s work.
«В Париже»
Дома до звезд, а небо ниже,
Земля в чаду ему близка.
В большом и радостном Париже
Все та же тайная тоска.
Шумны вечерние бульвары,
Последний луч зари угас.
Везде, везде всё пары, пары,
Дрожанье губ и дерзость глаз.
Я здесь одна. К стволу каштана
Прильнуть так сладко голове!
И в сердце плачет стих Ростана
Как там, в покинутой Москве.
Париж в ночи мне чужд и жалок,
Дороже сердцу прежний бред!
Иду домой, там грусть фиалок
И чей-то ласковый портрет.
Там чей-то взор печально-братский.
Там нежный профиль на стене.
Rostand и мученик Рейхштадтский
И Сара — все придут во сне!
В большом и радостном Париже
Мне снятся травы, облака,
И дальше смех, и тени ближе,
И боль как прежде глубока.
“In Paris”
Starlit houses, and sky below,
Earth dazed in the nearness.
The same secret longing though
In Paris, so vast and joyous.
The evening boulevards noisy,
The last ray of light dies,
Couples, paired round me,
Fierce lips, insolent eyes.
I’m alone. It’s sweet to rest
My head on a chestnut tree.
As in far Moscow, my breast
Throbs to Rostand’s poetry.
Paris at night, painful strangeness,
Dear the heart’s ancient folly!
I’m going back to violets, sadness,
A portrait of someone kind to me.
There that gaze, pensive, a brother,
There that mild profile, on the wall.
Rostand, L’Aiglon that martyr,
And Sarah – in dream I find them all!
In Paris, so vast and joyous,
I dream of clouds and grass,
Laughter, shadows, ominous,
And the pain that will not pass.
Citation:
Kline, A. S. (Trans.). (2010). Marina Tsvetaeva. Tsvetaeva, Marina (1892–1941) - Twenty-Four Poems. https://www.poetryintranslatio
March 8th Women’s Day Celebration in Ukraine
Carina Shalkivski
The 8th of March holds a big significance to Ukrainians as it marks National Women's Day, a day in which people honor the achievements, struggles, and contributions of women. This holiday celebrated by many post-Soviet countries has changed its meaning throughout the decades, from focusing on the importance of motherhood and upholding traditional women’s roles in society, to general celebrations of spring, beauty, and women’s femininity. For Ukraine, this holiday traces its origins back to the Soviet Union when the Bolsheviks came into power in the 1920s and turned to women during an economic crisis, in the hopes that women would take on the role of creating childcare institutions. As a sign of gratitude, the USSR granted March 8th a holiday day off for women. Since then, March 8th has become a recurring holiday in Ukraine marked by gift-giving and mass celebrations of women and girls of all ages.
Since the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has been pushing to disassociate itself from Soviet Era traditions and practices. More recently in 2023, the Verkhovna Rada submitted a draft law to restructure this holiday as “Ukrainian Woman’s Day” from March 8th to February 25th, a date selected after a very famous and important Ukrainian woman: Lesya Ukrainka. This law was ultimately shot down by Ukrainian society in a vote to preserve the holiday date, as many believed Ukrainian society transcended its USSR roots, now being internationally recognized. This year in 2024, roughly 65% of Ukrainians recognized and practiced this holiday. Regardless of the controversy surrounding this holiday’s origin or date, it is important to recognize the contributions that women make around the world as professionals and caregivers. Women’s rights and contributions, regardless of the day, should be recognized and celebrated as their work has advanced society in a way unforeseen over a century ago in most of the world.
Sources:
How many Ukrainians will celebrate March 8 in 2024: Survey results. Visit Ukraine - RULES OF SAFE VISIT TO UKRAINE. (n.d.). https://visitukraine.today/blog/3505/how-many-ukrainians-will-celebrate-march-8-in-2024-survey-results#:~:text=This%20year%2C%2065%25%20of%20Ukrainians,among%2060%20thousand%20messenger%20users.
International Women’s day 2024: The history of the holiday and its significance for Ukrainians. Visit Ukraine - RULES OF SAFE VISIT TO UKRAINE. (n.d.-b). https://visitukraine.today/blog/3510/international-womens-day-2024-the-history-of-the-holiday-and-its-significance-for-ukrainians#:~:text=In%20general%2C%20since%201920%2C%20March,how%20many%20women%20were%20employed.