Princess Mononoke
in Ecofeminism
Through the lens of ecofeminism, this thesis tried to analyse the inter-relationships between human beings and the natural world.
Environmental issues are not new topics nowadays. The relationship between mankind and nature has always been an interesting topic for me.
Being a fan of Hayao Miyazaki, the worldwide renowned Japanese animated film director, I am enchanted by his abundant elements and beautiful hand drawings in the filem. His films are visually engaging and yet never solely serving the entertainment purposes, his film could also be viewed in a deeper way that usually lies on his unique perspective of reality. The most violent animated film among his masterpieces, Princess Mononoke has brought me a huge impact to reconsider how we should position ourselves in the relationship with nature.
This paper is conducted to investigate the kinds of domination in Princess Mononoke with an ecofeminist perspective. While the film is well known for its female dominant characters, in which female is usually the protagonist in most of Hayao Miyazaki’s films, it is interesting to further study their roles within. Through the lens of Ecofeminist, the film tends to reveal a patriarchal framework as the backbone of the story. There are different kinds of domination emerging between mankind, also mankind and nature. By studying the relationships in the film, one could be easier to understand that patriarchal society has somehow shaped our views/behaviours towards nature, it also has shown a subversion thinking is hidden in Princess Mononoke which is worth noting – the film has reflected the reality that we are facing nowadays.
PolyU Project Scholarship 2015/16
Nominated