Ryan Roberts - Howl's Moving Castle of Poor Self Esteem

    We just finished watching "The Boy and The Heron" in class today, and while I could do an in-depth analysis on the themes, characters, and general plot referencing anti-war messages and general notions about grief and moving past it... I'm not doing any of that! I'm instead going to talk about my favorite Ghibli Film, Howl's Moving Castle. (also, i don't want to think about the heron with the eyes and nose sticking out it makes me feel all icky inside)

    Anyway, let's start with Sophie. In the very beginning of the movie, Sophie makes it very clear that she doesn't think much of herself, deeming herself ugly and unlovable. Even after she goes on a wonderful sky-walk with Howl after escaping two very insistent guards and a few shadow creatures, she says to her beautiful (and very desired) sister, Lettie, that Howl wouldn't have tried to steal her heart because he, "only does that to pretty girls". 

    A few scenes later, she is attacked by The Witch of the Wastes (we'll get to her in a minute), and is transformed into a very old woman. However, she steadily becomes younger and younger as the movie progresses and, more importantly, as she gains more confidence in herself. This is because her curse is directly tied to her self-esteem. When she learns to love herself, and be loved in return, she de-ages and comes closer to the form she started as. (She also does it as she sleeps. Also indicating that when she's not thinking about herself so harshly, she becomes more like her true self)However, she does keep the silver hair, showing that she has retained her wisdom and gained her youth.

    But what about Howl? You know, the guy with his name in the title. Yeah. His whole thing is that he's a childish playboy who hates himself. His bedroom is covered ceiling to floor with glittery objects, he tries to seduce everything with legs, and on top of that, he literally throws a tantrum over his hair being dyed red instead of blonde. We see this especially in the tunnels, where he's in his monstrous form. He pushes people away when they get too close and runs away if they won't let him. His arc is about maturing into a better person and learning to accept himself as he is, black hair and all. 

    And finally, the Witch of the Wastes. She isn't a super prominent character, but I think she really speaks to the movie's real theme - that being that beauty is not what's on the outside, but rather the inside. At first meeting, she wears extravagant clothing that would normally make others go, "O MAI GOD SHE'S PERTY" however, she is comically fat with at least three chins and has a horrible personality to boot. She may try to appear more beautiful, but you can't disguise true ugliness. 

    Quick analysis on the others: Sophie's outward appearance was altered to appear more aged, or "ugly". However, her real self shines through and makes her appear more beautiful. Meanwhile, Howl is very beautiful on the outside, but his childish nature will always shine through and make him uglier (melting into goop). However, when he decides to grow up, he stays beautiful, even in his monstrous form. 


Anyway, I just thought this was cool. I love rewatching this film every time and now I'm listening to Merry-Go-Round of Life on repeat. Enjoy my incoherent ramblings. ♥

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kip Redick Example of a Blog Post

 Page 4 Michael Taussig would suggest Juan's understanding of the meaning of a place emerges out of the process of an imitation of all the “differences” that we discern there. We mimic (in language and action) the full range of sounds, movements, and other sensory perceptions that come to us from the more than human world.” It’s hard to put a place that strikes us as sublime into mere words; we can try to describe it as a feeling and try to put language to that feeling, but sometimes the feeling of the beauty of nature or the power of a sacred space is too big to try to translate or make sense of. Would every place and experience be subjective, and would the discourse be the same? Would the mountain top make me feel the same as another? Or does my personal experience with the natural world and divine keep it intimate/ unique, or would my experience be relatable enough? The author uses the messiness, ambiguity, and mystery of people's deeply personal experience of ...
Read more

Rose Baker - Herbert's "Dune" and Martyrs

  In class, we talked about Jesus and Christianity as an example of myth. Myths and martyrs are dangerous to systems of control because even if they’re suppressed, they can survive and grow stronger. They last because they’re tied to belief, memory, and emotion---things you can’t fully erase. That’s what makes them more powerful than systems built on forced order or control. Even though much of the early church died gruesome deaths, and were consistently ordered to stop spreading the gospel, the "myth" of Jesus has continued for over 2000 years.      In Frank Herbert's  Dune , we see something similar. The Bene Gesserit know how powerful myths can be, and instead of waiting for one to form naturally, they build one on purpose. Through the Missionaria Protectiva , they plant stories and prophecies across different cultures, preparing the world for someone to fulfill the one part they can't fabricate, the living, breathing "savior" who must be visible and prov...
Read more

Joanah Eresechima - Blue Lock's Exploration of Flow

In the sixth chapter of American Camino , the concept of flow is extensively explained in the context of spiritual walking. It is described as unification of action and awareness to create a state in which thoughts are non-existent. The hiker just moves through the world, extremely aware and focused on the wilderness around them but unable to thoroughly reflect on it in that moment. It is only afterwards that the hiker is able to recall the memories from their flow state. Flow can occur in different types of people like artists, scientists and athletes (Redick 249). I was actually very surprised to see this term in the book because it becomes one of the central components in a manga I read called Blue Lock. The story followed a boy named Isagi Yoichi, a high school soccer player who got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join a soccer program called Blue Lock meant to create the greatest striker in the world. Out of 300 players, he was ranked 299 th , making him one of the weakest p...
Read more