10 Ways Hayao Miyazakis Movies Are Feminist Works Of Art

10 Ways Hayao Miyazaki’s Movies Are Feminist Works Of Art

Hayao Miyazaki has worked hard over the years to portray a balance of characters who are strong and have their own agency, regardless of gender.

You Are Reading :[thien_display_title]

Studio Ghibli films are notorious for their wholesome representation of women and children as well-rounded characters and admirable protagonists. Hayao Miyazaki, in particular, is notable for this fact, and he has provided a safe space for providing feminist stories that portray female characters as equal to males.

Not only does he create amazing worlds and stories that appeal to all sorts of people, but he also brings to life characters that happen to be girls or women as role models, heroes, and overall relatable people. His is the sort of representation that to this day many wish the film and animation industry could take on board, instead of what is often performative activism. Hayao is sincere about his characters as people and tells their stories as such.

10 His Movies Pass The Bechdel Test

For those unaware, the Bechdel Test is a measure of female representation in fiction. This test, created by cartoonist Alison Bechdel, has prompted the development of other tests as well, such as those that mark LGBTQ+ representation. Though the test isn’t necessarily the final deciding factor in whether or not a work “passes,” it’s incredibly useful as a reference to see how strong female representation is in a movie in contrast to the portrayal of males.

Though there are some works by Hayao that more heavily feature men in leading roles and may not pass the test (surprisingly, The Wind Rises is, unfortunately, one such film), the majority of his works represent important female characters and do pass the test.

9 His Movies Respectfully Represent Female Perspectives (Without Overstepping Boundaries)

Miyazaki portrays the girls and women in his films with a level of respect that is also commonly lent to male protagonists in media. He aims to portray people who are just regular people more often than not, often using actual real-life people as inspiration for his films and characters.

For example, Mei from My Neighbor Totoro was inspired by his niece, Mei, when she was a small child. He closely references people’s actual behaviors and experiences, which includes their perspectives. While Hayao doesn’t speak for or generalize the female experience, he does intentionally provide positive and independent aspects to his female characters as people with opinions, motivations, and lives, without just being defined as a woman.

8 Over Half Of His Films’ Protagonists Are Female

When many other male filmmakers and animators center their project around a female protagonist, a lot of them have the same reasons as to why – namely to discuss and explore womanhood. While this isn’t a bad thing, it’s also exceptionally common amongst female protagonists to have the same themes befallen upon them. Hayao isn’t one to focus on many of these themes and instead lets women be the heroes that men get to be all the time — not because they’re women, but because they’re the characters that inspire and motivate his works.

Quoting Miyazaki on why he features so many female protagonists, he states, “Many of my movies have strong female leads – brave, self-sufficient girls that don’t think twice about fighting for what they believe with all their heart. They’ll need a friend, or a supporter, but never a savior. Any woman is just as capable of being a hero as any man.”

7 Female Characters Aren’t Just Designed To Be “Desirable”

Hayao is a known critic of the anime industry, disliking the sheer amount of repetition and fan service when it comes to the portrayal of characters — namely female characters. He designs his characters quite differently, to be much more like normal, relatable women instead and they’re never sexualized, unlike what’s seen in a lot of anime.

Looking at characters such as Dola, Madame Sullivan, and, Nausicaä, they aren’t designed to look like societally “desirable” people. While they are beautiful in their own individual ways, they look unique and aren’t created to be eye candy. Their voices and personalities speak for themselves, rather than solely their physical appearances.

6 His Movies Show Women In A Variety Of Different Societal Roles

In a majority of Miyazaki’s films, even in movies where the protagonist or co-protagonist is male, the female characters have important roles to play. As a result, Hayao also chooses to create all different types of characters and usually humanizes all them of in some way or another, even if they are villains.

He has single mothers, warrior princesses, witches (both good and bad), caretakers, farmers, pirates, hatmakers, engineers, and so on and so forth. There’s no one type of person, thus he also decides that’s how he creates his characters, applying his philosophy that “we’re born with infinite possibilities.”

5 Women Make Change & Are The Heart Of All His Films

A large reason why Ghibli films are also so notorious and viewers keep them so close to their hearts is the fact that Hayao ensures a loving and emotional core to all of his films. Women just happen to be a part of that, if not the catalysts to why the films carry so much positivity with them.

Women in his films show security, safety, bravery, and love. In Porco Rosso, it was Fio who encouraged Marco to keep fighting and designed his plane with great care. In Spirited Away, it was Chihiro who helped amend the toxic environment at the bathhouse and free Haku. Even smaller or supporting female characters are shown as cultivating forces that forge not only kindness and positivity, but change, appreciation towards the environment, and progress.

4 How Sexism & Sexist Characters Are Addressed

Though most of his films don’t linger on heavier subject matters because they are meant to be enjoyed by children and emphasize action, fantasy, and heroism, Hayao still manages to find ways to counter sexism in ways that explain why someone may have those opinions, and how they are ultimately proven wrong.

This was covered a great deal in Porco Rosso, in which the titular character often underestimates, hits on, and berates Fio – a young, eager engineer who helps fix his plane. After being partnered with Fio to help him escape the Italian government, Porco finds himself head-to-head with another arrogantly sexist man in a bet to ensure Fio’s personal freedom. In having to confront someone who is similar in their treatment of women, Porco is forced to reflect on his own prejudices and overcomes them.

3 He Understands & Avoids The Male Gaze

Like how Hayao Miyazaki strays away from designing his characters as “desirable” and leans towards them being more akin to just people, Miyazaki also avoids making his films from the perspective of the male gaze while addressing it as well. Just like his female characters, his male characters are diversified in personality, which means not all of them are “gentlemen.”

Instead of relying on the male gaze as an innocent plot device, Hayao confronts this mechanic and its relative uselessness in real life, much like in Kiki’s Delivery Service, Castle In the Sky, and Porco Rosso. He shows that gawking at and the objectification of women realistically leads nowhere, nor should it.

2 Women Are Portrayed As Important Members Of The Family & Equals, Not Just Love Interests

The filmmaker made it a rule in his film and in exploring the relationships of his characters to not just see them as romantic interests, necessarily, but rather displaying what he believes is real chemistry.

“I’ve become skeptical of the unwritten rule,” says Miyazaki, “that just because a boy and girl appear in the same feature, a romance must ensue. Rather, I want to portray a slightly different relationship, one where the two mutually inspire each other to live – if I’m able to, then perhaps I’ll be closer to portraying a true expression of love.”

1 Represents Women With Great Emotional & Physical Strength

Miyazaki is a great believer in the balance of things, that there is both good and evil to be found in things. He often humanizes characters by explaining their weaknesses, their wants, and their intentions. Just as how women in superficial fictional narratives are disproportionately represented as either “impossible goddesses” or “weak, frail damsels that need to be saved,” Hayao shows the women — and all his characters, for that matter — as characters who have both strengths and weaknesses.

Unlike many Hollywood movies, he shows the women in his films as having personal strengths because that’s who they are, not what the movie or industry needs them to be.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/why-hayao-miyazaki-ghibli-movies-are-feminist/

• Animal Crossing Every New Bug Coming in January 2021

• 5 Similarities Between Foxs Quicksilver And The MCUs Version (& 5 Differences)

• 10 Big Stars You Didnt Know Appeared In Tales From The Crypt

• 10 Best Lyrics From Frozen 2s Soundtrack

• 10 Best TV Shows That Premiered In 2020 Ranked According To IMDb

• AirPods How To Stop Automatic Pausing By Disabling Ear Detection

• 15 Most Hilarious Quotes From Forgetting Sarah Marshall