Reflection Paper on Princess Mononoke

The Acts of Nature: A Reflection on the movie “Princess Mononoke” The movie was eccentric. Eccentric in a way wherein it is opposing to what I personally believe and think of. Since it is an animated movie, I expected it to be mild and Disney-like. I was really surprised when I saw flying heads and arms with blood spraying around them. Even the apes wanted to eat human flesh! It was brutal. Also, the sequence of events was unpredictable. It didn’t use cliché dialogues and story lines. It was a brilliant plot that requires deep understanding. Speaking of eccentricity, it also opposes some philosophies of nature that we thought applies in our society. Ecofeminism is one of the ironies in the movie. Lady Eboshi, who is a woman, was the leader of the Iron Town and the one who violated nature by killing the Forest Spirit. It was the female gender (considering the gay follower of Lady Eboshi) who dominated their town, doing the hardest work and defending their territory contrary to what is happening nowadays. However, this irony may want to tell us that gender is not a big factor to the destruction of the environment. Male or female – it doesn’t matter for it is our own personal choice if we want to respect nature. I noticed that even the antagonists were not purely evil people. Lady Eboshi for an instance, she destructed the forest without second thought but she cared for her people and even accepted lepers. It just shows that we people have different perspective about nature and each perspective causes humans to treat nature differently. Some may be like Ashitaka who believes in romanticism. He believed that human and nature must not fight but respect and understanding must prevail over selfishness and hate. The film’s animistic perspective was a very effective way of showing how humans affect nature and vice versa. We love nature, it will nurture us. We hurt them too much, they will hurt us back. When Nago became a demon, it was because of anger and hatred from the pain the humans had brought him. He never wanted to become one. Humans pushed him to be one without realizing it. San, being an adopted daughter of Moro, fought against humans to save the forest but through the help of Ashitaka, she realized that nature and humans can live harmoniously without too much bloodshed. When the forest spirit was decapitated, the forest died. The forest spirit destroyed everything it touches as it looked for its head. I wasn’t surprised that it wasn’t dead for it is the god of the forest but I was surprised that when it found its head, the forest was back to life. I was expecting it to have revenge on people. The forest spirit knew better. It had a Buddhist perspective which suggests that humans and nature are one entity and it is falling. Revenge will just destroy it further. That was what lifted the curse from Ashitaka – defer hatred and let respect and understanding prevail. Even how weird it may seem, the movie was one of the greatest anime creation I have ever seen. It didn’t only bring entertainment but also a new perspective on how we must treat nature. It is never too late for us to change and let earth heal itself. Let us respect and understand nature and set aside our selfishness for a better environment.