...Hayao Miyazaki attained global acclaim for both Princess Mononoke, released in the United States in 1999, and Spirited Away, released throughout North America three years later. These films are clearly products of the same visionary; each film presents a protagonist of strong will and sound ethic and, in each case, he or she is forced to embark on an epic journey. Both films were very successful in Japan; however, although both were critically acclaimed in the United States, only Spirited Away saw continued box-office success. In order to explain the disparity between these films’ earnings, I will discuss the different approaches, which these films take, to the theme of duality. Naturally, the idea of a double nature is unsettling. However, whereas Spirited Away addresses this theme in a way that invigorates and provides closure, Princess Mononoke leaves the audience feeling uncertain. In order to understand the disparity between these films’ earnings, one must examine not only thematic differences between these films, but also patterns among high-grossing films in the United States. In other words, what are American audiences looking for, which Spirited Away offers and Princess Mononoke does not? When reviewing the history of box-office successes in the United States, one becomes aware of an unfortunate truth: that there is little correlation between what viewers recognize as ‘good cinema’ and what they will pay to see. So what is the formula for a box office success...
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...Admissible Reparations The truth, however masked or denied, is as TS Elliot puts it, “hell is oneself, hell is alone, and the other figures in it are merely projections”. Each and every person has the ability to choose his own actions, and therefore must be responsible for their consequences. Of course, the others in this ‘personal hell’ may have physically or mentally injured us; but that does not mean that we should, in this, result living in hell, but can rather choose to live in paradise. Take injustice, the easiest way to allow our lives to turn into sheer nightmare. Inequality, or discrimination happens in our society, purely because that one is of a different nationality, different status, different abilities and talents; to the point even when appearance could be taken in and laughed at. Injustice is everywhere, and there is nothing that can be done to prevent it entirely; as Kino from The Pearl (Stein) and Santiago from The Old Man and The Sea (Hem), the two protagonists from the respective novellas experiences. The former lives in poverty, right next to palaces; and the other has not, being a fisherman, caught any fish for a continuous eighty four days. These unfortunate events, however, is only the basis for their undeserved discrimination. Such happenings contribute to creating a ‘living hell’ towards the both men; it is only a place among internal conflict, pain and hardship that makes the protagonists who they are in the end. Both Kino and Santiago, strive for...
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...Connection and Web Evolution PHI 339 One piece of art that I really like is called Acceptance vs. Rejection (Username Squish-Squash). This piece was a semi-finalist in Wacom’s 2009 Bring Your Vision to Life deviantART contest. This 2D image depicts a little girl hugging a strange creature that upon closer inspection appears to have the sad face of a pretty girl but the large, monstrous, decaying body of rejected attempts at existence. It is acknowledged to have been inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s film, Spirited Away (2001). An open property, which I feel is appropriate and which this work incorporates, that will necessarily make every piece of art with its inclusion pleasing to me would be personal connection at a high degree. When I say that I connect/ relate to a piece of art at different degrees it is to acknowledge that I fundamentally relate to all art simply by coexisting with it and that there are also other levels of connection between that and true pleasure. The highest of these levels is elicited by a wild variety of connection “triggers” in my many different mental approaches to the artwork. For example but not exclusively, perhaps if the subject looks like me or an experience I’ve had or vividly imagined, if it’s a subject I’ve studied out of personal passion, if it tickles my brain, if it’s a brand new concept to me, if it’s a polar opposite, if it’s my current favorite color, etc. The triggers that will strike my mind are of such a range that they...
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...‘Spirited Away’ is an anime film by Hayao Miyazaki. ‘Spirited Away’ tell us the story about a young girl who has developed from a weak/vulnerable girl to a much more independent and stronger girl. It is highly entertaining and insightful partly because of the education on Japanese culture, but what I believe makes it more entertaining and insightful is the life lessons within the film. Does culture and gender provide entertaining and insightful material for the audience? I don't believe that the culture and gender title is the only factor that makes the film entertaining. Many of other things within the film make it much more entertaining. In my eyes there isn't much of Japanese culture that gives me interest apart from the buildings and more. The gender stereotype is mostly shown in Chihiro not any other characters which doesn't make it a large factor in the film other although it's put in the main character. Many more different factors of ‘Spirited Away’ make it entertaining and insightful, such as life lessons within the film and how some characters are exaggerated also known as a caricature. Life lessons teach more about what we should know more in general rather than Japanese culture which isn't necessarily important for the majority of us in the future. Hayao Miyazaki has used many...
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...Castaway The films castaway was directed by Robert Zemeckis. The film is about an Express Systems Analyst who lives and dies by the clock’. He is very obsessed with his job and time even he has put his relationship in the second place but when the plane crushes in the Pacific Ocean, he finds himself strands on a small isolated island. He has all the time to figure out how to survive. In the film we can see the use of visual techniques in showing changes of the main character. Camera shots are used to demonstrate different aspects of character. A wide shot is used after the plane crushes, When chuck was struggling on the yellow life raft floating alone in the big ocean and at that time the weather was bad, heavily raining. This is shows us how small and how powerless he is. The director also uses a when shot when Chuck first arrive the island to show a empty place with no life, no ship and no technology so this means he has to finds water, food shelter and a way to prevent himself from being destroyed by loneliness. Another camera shot that the director uses is close up shots. The close up shots are focusing on his face and hand when he was making a fire to show us that it is huge progress from him because we can see he bites his lip, grills his teeth and there are some sweat on his face. He is concentrating very hard. There are other close up focused on his hand when he used his finger to draw eyes, nose and mouth and gives it a name ‘Wilson’ He shares his feelings with it...
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...Guy Ritchie hit upon a successful formula when directing his first two films, bringing his unique sense of style and panache to the crime thriller genre, but then blotted his copybook when he attempted new things in his following two movies. The husband of mega-popstar Madonna cast his famous wife in one his biggest commercial and critical flops, but has since tried to get his career back on track after divorcing her in late 2008. Guy Stuart Ritchie was born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England, to successful marketing executive John Vivian Ritchie and Amber Parkinson. His parents divorced when he was five, and his mother would later marry Sir Michael Leighton, a baronet. Ritchie spent a fair amount of his childhood at the Leighton estate, although his mother and Sir Michael would divorce seven years later. Ritchie was born with severe dyslexia, and at 15 was expelled from Stanbridge Earls School, a specialist school for dyslexics. He worked as a labourer before getting into the film industry at age 25. He began as a film runner (an odd jobber on film and TV sets) before trying his hand at directing music videos, doing “20 videos back to back, really crappy ones with sort of German rave bands”. This gave him some valuable experience behind the camera, and he moved on to doing commercials. With the much-needed grounding, he went on to direct a 20 minute short, ‘The Hard Case’ (1995), which aired on Channel 4. As it did so, it caught the attention of Trudie Styler, the wife of...
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... | | |Date: | | Introduction After visiting the "Studio Ghibli Layout Design" exhibition in Hong Kong Heritage Museum, I was shocked by the original layout sketches and the fine storytelling. The 1300 layouts of films contain the cut of camera work, camera speed and space relation between characters and backgrounds; it gives me an insight of the process of animation making. Hence, I would like to comprehend more about the film produced by animation powerhouse-Studio Ghibli, especially the masterpiece-“Spirited Away”, which helps to promote Japanese animation to worldwide audience. “Spirited Away” is an animated film written and directed by the director of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki (Cavallaro 2004) in 2001, which have won awards in a number of international film festivals, including Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film and a Golden Bear at the Berlin International Festival (Reider 2005), and become the top-grossing movie in Japanese history. In the following, the film’s themes based on the plot, use of photography and camera angle and aesthetic symbols and motifs will be analyzed throughout the essay to understand the key of success of this fantasy...
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...Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese chief executive of Studio Ghibli. He was born in Tokyo, Japan on January 5, 1941, making him 72 today. Miyazaki is one of four siblings under his father Katusji Miyazaki; this family initially worked within Miyazaki Airplanes, a family business. His father moved their family to Utsonomiya City later on. These different environments would soon serve as inspiration for the settings of his stories and the basis of plot. Nausicaa (produced in 1984 (Kraemer)) would reflect Miyazaki’s dislike for governmental war and Princess Mononoke would contain the forest inspired setting that he grew up with in Utsonomiya City. Miyazaki would even take personal experiences –like his mother’s diagnosis of tuberculosis- and incorporate...
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...What were Chuck Noland’s most prized possessions while stranded on a deserted island? The three items that helped Noland survive while stranded on a deserted are, a Wilson Volleyball, a broken pocket watch, and portable toilet. The items that he uses can no longer function, but he finds ways to make each item work to his advantage. The first thing Chuck Noland finds most valuable is a Wilson Volleyball. He came across a FedEx package containing a Wilson Volleyball and they instantly became best friends. One day, while talking to Wilson, Noland cut his hand, blamed it on Wilson and palmed him away. He felt bad, so he went to find where he landed. Chuck Noland felt so bad that he emphasizes to Wilson, “I’m dory, Wilson. Wilson, I’m sorry! I’m...
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...Spirted away, a japense film by Hayao Mizaki tells the story of a young girl named Chihiro. At the beginning of the film Chihiro and her parents are driving to there new house. Along the way her parents end up getting lost, the car ends up spinning out of control. Then stops at a huge statue in front of a faded building. The statue is symbollic in the film because it marks the beginning of the other world. Being curious as most people would her parents decide to venture into the building as well as the wind which pulls the parents through the tunnel. Hayao creates a sense of mystery through a darkened tunnel. Behind the tunnel is a bunch of buildings all of which abanadoned as well, her parents smell food and not being wise eat it. Chihiro...
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...30 St Mary Axe, also known as the “Gherkin,” is one of Norman Foster’s works that has sparked London’s new architectural movement. This movement consists of structures with steel and glass, a round-shape, and unused designs. I chose this structure because of its odd-shape and towering height; it’s not very common to see this specific design in major cities around the world. The Gherkin is a missile-shaped skyscraper that incorporates Foster’s combination of steel and glass; its height and shape draws the eyes of every Londoner. The building tends to stand out to many due to its surrounding of outdated, smaller structures. While there are many older buildings surrounding it, the Gherkin is also located in one of the more updated parts of the...
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...was not the type of movie we were about to watch. When the narrator starts introducing the three orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. The first shot looked similar to the painting “Persistence of Memory” by surrealist painter Salvador Dali. In each shot, one of them was in a barren field surrounded by a body of water with a few dead trees. It was expressing the loneliness of the children and was as if telling, if they make a mistake, they will die. The title of Dali’s painting matched with one of the children Klaus’s characteristic too. Klaus remembered everything he reads; “Persistence of Memory.” House of Count Olaf was very Gothic. His entrance door shape was a pointed arch. As soon as the children come inside the house, there are flying buttresses around the entrance. Most of the light source looked like sunlight through the windows, which is another characteristic of Gothic architecture. Natural lighting made the interior look cold and dirty. The word “Gothic” was used by Giorgio Vasari to describe the culture he considered rude and barbaric in 1530s, and it suits the characteristic of Olaf. Gothic style was used to build castles and palaces. To the kind of person who wants to make the children his own servants, it was a great theme. Gothic style worked very well for Olaf’s house and it helped emphasize the creepiness of Olaf. There are “eye” marks/patterns all over his house and...
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...Organizing Function for Boeing Management and organizing planning is a necessary job for a corporation as enormous and confusing as Boeing Corporation. The corporations function by international points that supply manufactured goods to consumers threw out the world. The company creates elevated end to go on airplane for military organizations and commercial. The products manufactured are first and primary require to take carry cargo, customer, and achieve military operations. Referring to the most important supporting and inexpensive matters at hand in Boeing Company, estimates the business organize function of management as the company speak about knowledge, technology and human resources department. Boeing Company employment success pattern move toward while the company were departing during important business quantity augment in equally of the company major marketplaces money making military air automobile, and aircraft lining. Boeing’s seven and seven collections of aircraft lining grab a large contribute to the money making airline marketplace with healthy acknowledgement for models like seven three seven, seven four seven, seven five seven, seven six seven, and 777, and the development of seven eight seven. The company supervises regardless of strong competition from European association Airbus Industries and other American manufacturers similar to McDonnell Douglas, that increase important financial support on or after a numeral of governments from European (Gonzalez...
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...Vaulting Kimberly Gottschalk In the 11th century, we see the development of a new vaulting type. This vault is called the barrel vault and is perched by a mount, making it an irregular shape. This type of vaulting can be found in the church of St. Martin in Pyrenees. Barrel vaults are typically very narrow because of how the arches are formed at the roof. St. Martin’s church vault is made of stone and contains transverse arches, which go across the roof of the vault, and piers, that run vertical up the arches, to help maintain its structure since it’s very heavy. This vaulting type doesn’t allow in much light, making it hard to see at times. A different type of vaulting we begin to see is the intersecting barrel vault, also known as rolling vaults. An example of a place with this type of vaulting would be in the St. Philibert of Cornell. This vault type allows you to have more windows and is constructed more easily since it can be done in segments. It is also more spacious, compared to the barrel vault, which ends up getting its name “the growing vault.” However, there is a downside to this construction. Because it needs a lot of scaffolding, it is often off center. Even with this setback, the development of this type of vaulting moves forward in to the future. Moving forward, we begin to see changes to the growing vaults. These changes lead to our ribbed growing vaults. An example of a place with these are the Durham Cathedral. Ribbed growing vaults have a skeleton with...
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...Small Creatures of the Night Imagine for a minute, you’re walking through the forest at night on the eastern fronts of Australia. As you’re walking you catch a glimpse of something that seems to be flying overhead. Naturally, your first thought would be, it must be a bird or maybe even a bat. Just as you think this you catch another glimpse, but this time you can see that it doesn’t appear to be flapping any wings, and looks almost square in shape. What is this thing? Where did it come from? Is it going to hurt me? These creatures of the night resemble flying squirrels and are better known as Sugar Gliders. These creatures of the night are also becoming more noticeable in homes across the United States as cute pets. Most people have never heard of a Sugar Glider before and didn’t even know you can keep them as pets. So, what is a Sugar Glider? And how do you take care of one? The scientific name of a Sugar Glider is Petaurus breviceps; which, if broken down into it Latin roots, means Short-headed Rope-Dancer. They get their name Sugar Glider from two different aspects of their life. They love to eat sweet foods, such as: fruits, nectars, and saps, which hint at the first part of their name Sugar. The second part is probably even easier to see and understand, Glider because they’re very agile and acrobatic in the air. The can spread they’re arms and legs to produce a very thin skin membrane called Patagia. Their patagium, when fully spread, allows them to glide upwards of...
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