Research Log #3

Proposing a Project

ALLEGORICAL CHARACTERIZATION, AI EVOLUTION,& NATURE'S DEVOLUTION: REIMAGINING PRINCESS MONONOKE'S MULTIFACETED WAR BETWEEN HUMANITY AND THE NATURAL WORLD

In doing a filmic analysis of Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke, I've attempted to incorporate the different aspects of my argument into the question while maintaining an attempt to interest my audience and not give away too much.

"Allegorical Characterization" represents the main topic of analysis that I will be targeting throughout the entirety of my paper. Initially I analyzed the symbolism behind the characters of the film, but after further analysis, I realized symbolism wasn't sufficient in capturing the deeper concepts, themes, and messages that the film's characters—such as Ashitaka, San, and Lady Eboshi—are intended to relay. Therefore, I searched for another form of figurative language that I thought would be able to capture the deeper topics: allegory!

"AI Evolution" and "Nature's Devolution" represent the main binary opposition that I will be exploring in context of the film. A reflection of the current state of humanity's footprint on nature, analysis of the characterization can be connected to today's technology of AI and its environmental impact.

Lastly, I described my paper as an analysis of a "multifaceted war" in order to be able to analyze the complexity of each character and how their actions are also multifaceted, their intentions of grey rational rather than clearly black and white.

An Introduction to Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke, a 1997 animated fantasy film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, presents themes of environmentalism, nonviolence, and confronts a past and future of unsustainability at the hands of human civilization and industrialism. As the health of the forest declines, Prince Ashitaka must journey to the west to find what ails the forest spirits. Along the way, Ashitaka encounters San, who fights for the survival of the forest alongside the wolf gods of the forest, and Lady Eboshi who fights for the survival of the Iron clan as they expand their territory into their forest. Conflicted by his loyalty to both humanity and the forest, Ashitaka struggles to ensure the survival of botht the people and the natural world. Although the film embodies the fantasy genre, Miyazaki's critique of the human impact on the natural world addresses a current real-life issue.

My Research Questions & Methods

In order to ensure my analytical argument is complex and arguable, there are several questions that I'm asking myself and several methods that I am applying in my analysis:

What historical and cultural context influenced Miyazaki's creation of Princess Mononoke and the aesthetics he incorporates within the film?

By researching potential historical influences, such as the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and World War II, and cultural influences, such as the Shinto religion and Japanese folklore/mythology, in order to cross-reference it with the historical and cultural values that are noticeably instilled into the film, this will give me an opportunity to explore what concepts Miyazaki intends to employ throughout the film and to what extent his culture has a hold over his filmmaking.

What personal values did Miyazaki fuse into the making of the film that influenced the characterization of Princess Mononoke's characters?

It is well-known by those who regularly enjoy that Miyazaki is deliberate with his every filmic choice, especially with how he chooses to portray different characters. With a tendency to picture women in positions of power and utilize themes of war and nature, Miyazaki has explicitly cited his personal experience in affecting how he chooses to portray certain characters such as his complex relationship with his mother which, over time, has altered how he chooses to build up female characters. In analysis of the personal experiences he has chosen to reveal to the public eye, there is much to be said and analyzed.

How does the use of allegory reveal the deeper messages of the film that have evolved over time?

In an attempt to revisit allegory, which was addressed in Fall Quarter of Humanities Core, and close out an original aspect in our understanding of world building, I wanted to address the allegories that the characters of the film potentially represent. In his deliberate characterization, Miyazaki enforces the audience to search for the deeper symbolism behind his characters, offering me the opportunity to look deeper into the plot and characterization for this paper. As I struggled with my understanding of allegory of fall quarter, I also hope to achieve a better understanding of how allegory can be utilized to create deeper moral implications in a film through its characters.

A Scholarly Conversation

In order to offer a unique perspective to my argument through use of secondary scholarly and non-scholarly sources, I selected sources that support both the context behind the film and my argument, and sources that offer personal perspectives from audiences of Princess Mononoke. As Princess Mononoke is a longtime celebrated film whose complexities and eye-catching aesthetics draw the attention of many scholars and fanatics, I had little difficulty in finding potential scholarly and non-scholarly sources to conversate with within my paper.

Susan Napier's "The Faces of Others: Boundary Crossing in Princess Mononoke"

Napier, a professor of international literature and cultural studies at Tufts University, analyzes the global audience's perception of Princess Mononoke's messages of environmentalism through her analysis of characterization.

Jen Hurler's "A Look at Environmentalism in Princess Mononoke and Wall-E"

Hurler, an animation producer, writer, and historian for Warner Bros, offers a personal perspective and expresses her understanding of the environmental themes of two of her favorite films: Princess Mononoke and Wall-E.

Oscar Garza's "Hayao Miyazaki and Shinto: A Spiritual Connection"

Garza, a TA of liberal arts at the University of Texas of El Paso, discusses how Hayao Miyazaki uses the values of the Shinto religion worships nature and its spirits to highlight themes of environmentalism throughout his many films.

In my scholarly conversation with these potential secondary sources, I hope to extend the ongoing discussion of how Princess Mononoke's message on humanity and the environment has had an impact on its audience and how that impact has evolved since the film's release in 1997.

My Interpretation

In Hayao Miyazaki's 1997 animated film Princess Mononoke, the deep symbolism behind characters such as Ashitaka, San, and Lady Eboshi make way for the allegorization of the human impact on our environments and the corresponding anger of nature. Driven by a deeper context that holds Miyazaki's cultural appreciation for nature through Japan's practice of Shintoist values, the film has long paved the way for environmental advocacy through film in which its messages have evolved to meet the increasing concern towards global environmental issues. Though scholars and fanatics of the film have long been interpreting the allegories the film's characters are intended to present and despite the film's old age, my conversation with the film aims to specifically intersect the characters with the impact of AI, as AI was a particular dislike of Miyazaki and is a popularized concern of modern technology due to its mass unsustainability that grows alongside its increase in use in everyday tasks and products.

Works Cited

Case, Spencer. Plato's Allegory of the Cave: the Journey Out of Ignorance. May 26, 2023. 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology, https://1000wordphilosophy.com/2023/05/26/allegory-of-the-cave/.

Garza, Oscar. "Miyazaki and Shinto: A Spiritual Connection." Film Matters, Volume 5, Issue 3, 1 Sept. 2014, p.19-26. intellect Discover, https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/fm.5.3.19_1.

Hurler, Jen. “A Look at Environmentalism in ‘Princess Mononoke’ and Wall-E.’” Animation Complex, 28 April 2020, https://www.animationcomplex.com/blog/environmentalism-in-princess-mononoke-and-wall-e.

Miyazaki, Hayao. Princess Mononoke: 5 Thoughts — SHIMAGUNI LANGUAGE SCHOOL. July 12, 1997. Shimaguni Language School, https://shimaguni.co.uk/blog/princess-mononoke-5-thoughts.

Napier, Susan. “The Faces of Others: Boundary Crossing in Princess Mononoke.” Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art, Yale University Press, 2018, pp. 176–94. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv5cg9q3.15.

removed_user. The Boar Tribe and Boar God That Leads Them in Princess Mononoke. December 11, 2012. MyAnimeList, https://myanimelist.net/featured/1144/The_Boar_Tribe_and_Boar_God_That_Leads_Them_in_Princess_Mononoke.

Tamagawa, Bushu. Thirty-Six Views of Mt. Fuji: Tama River in Musashi Province. 1760-1849. Scholten Japanese Art, https://www.scholten-japanese-art.com/printsH/3601.

Vargas, Vera. A Guide to Princess Mononoke's Main Characters. August 24, 2025. CBR, https://www.cbr.com/princess-mononoke-character-guide/.

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