Japanese Film

I also watched a Japanese film over the weekend...the name of it was "Kiki's Delivery Service."  It's by Hayao Miyazaki, who is famous for his other films like Howl's Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke.  (Kiki's delivery service was ok, but  I enjoyed Miyazaki's previous films more, because they weren't based in the time period in which I live.)  After our in-depth study of Japan I was really curious about Miyazaki.  I only knew that he had his own company, that was kind of like the PIXAR of Japan.

After reading a little about him on the internet I discovered that his career has a rich history in Japanese culture.  Miyazaki was born in 1941 so he is a post-war child of Japan.  The themes of his work often reflect that: good vs. evil, anti-technology, environmentalism.  His father also directed construction in an airplane factory which influenced Miyazaki at a young age.  His films often contain images of flying, especially humans.  Miyazaki himself said that flying was a way to forget about the harsh reality of gravity.

In college Miyazaki earned degrees in political science and animation - his studies had nothing to do with art, film, or animation.  I read that one of his literary influences was Lewis Carroll, which makes sense considering Miyazaki's outlandish stories.

I looked for pictures online that would represent some of Miyazaki's work.  If you are not familiar with it, I would highly recommend it.  It gives insight into the post-war generation of entertainment in Japan.