Studio Ghibli's "Princess Mononoke"

This blog will be used to express my initial interpretations of the Princess Mononoke trailer. To start with, non-diegetic music can be heard, which is eerie and provokes an anxious feeling.

A sense of purity is apparent, as natural and mythical shots are used, as the god walks and plants grow up, around his legs and also the small white creatures, almost metaphorically act as light, guiding the warrior and princess.

Juxtaposed to the theme of purity, is the idea of mankind being destructive. The grey represents pollution and the black tar is a stereotypical image associated with pollution. The explosions are abrupt, and the mist reinforces the ghastly atmosphere of war.

“The richest land in the world” gives connotations that the ideological values within the film surround monetary and hegemonic values in the iron industry. The war that is created from such values creates an unbalance between mankind and the force of nature. This is signified by the thunder, which is a metaphor for the angry gods, or alternatively, the consequences of pollution.

The main themes of this trailer are: death, fate, love, nature, mankind and greed. Heroic music (again, non-diegetic) fades in towards the end, implying that the princess and the warrior help nature to overcome the destruction of mankind.