Ethics Animated Hayao Miyazaki, Martin Heidegger and Hans Jonas (original) (raw)
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The Ecological and Consumption Themes of the Films of Hayao Miyazaki
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Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki is renowned for combining elements of ecology, environment and perils of modern civilization in his animation films. He has successfully established himself as a master filmmaker who continues to explore the complexity of relationships among humans, nature and spirits through the art form of animation. Amidst all the fantastical elements and dreamlike objects that are frequently seen in Miyazaki’s films, the recurring theme in his movies depicts humans-nature relationship. It is related to the Japanese religion of Shinto, the polytheistic belief in spirits or kami, which can be traced back to Yayoi period (1000 BCE to 300 CE). It concerns worshipping the forces of nature and spiritual powers through which every aspect of life is interconnected. Thus, as a firm believer of Japanese cultural values, Miyazaki keeps infusing elements of Shinto into his films. He also showed that nature has its own way of responding to the damage caused by humanity; through apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic settings in his films, Miyazaki highlights nature’s wrath and how humans can tackle that in an increasingly uncertain future. To understand that, this paper explores two of his films, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Princess Mononoke. In Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, the plot explores modern civilization’s attempt in thriving by exploiting nature and its resources. While in Princess Mononoke, the main theme is the destruction brought upon by humans’ greed in consuming natural resources. Using these two films as examples, this paper aims to critique aspects of modern society which creates imbalance between human beings and nature, and also how that leads to different kinds of natural disasters. It will connect the films’ themes with the current world’s on-going climate catastrophe such as deforestation, in particular, the one caused by the 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires, that have been brought upon by human interventions.
MARTIN HEIDEGGER AND ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
After World War II, Martin Heidegger directed much of his thinking to technology and to the impact of technology on our perceptions of human life. One of the essays developed along this path was "The Question Concerning Technology." (1) It is unfortunate that the essay is not widely read because it carries the critique of technology out of its usual context and form and delivers it into a new light where there is, perhaps, some progress to be made. Furthermore, the essay has special significance to environmental issues and, I believe, lays a new groundwork for an ethical approach to our relations with the environment. The tension in this essay comes into sharp focus, at the end, in Heidegger's preposterous suggestion that art may be what we need to carry us out of the dangerous epoch of technology. I say that this is "preposterous" on two grounds. First, our society thinks of technology as its distinctive talent and strength, not as a disaster. Second, our society sees art as frivolous and impotent in the "real world" of capitalistically generated technology. Heidegger himself recognized this irony and devoted the major portion of the essay to a careful analysis of the dangers that befall us in technology. His suggestion regarding art came late and remained poorly explicated. My intention, in this essay, is to interpret Heidegger's thesis about technology and art in the context of forming an ethical approach to the environment. What we shall discover along this path is that human nature, technology, and art are all intertwined in complex ways. At present, these relationships stand in great confusion and this confusion is part of the danger of our time. But this confusion can be grasped and dispensed with by thinking our way into the essence of our technological epoch. We may also ask, What is the essence of art that it might bear some relation to this epoch? And finally, What is our essence as human beings in relation to technology, art, and our natural environment? I shall begin by summarizing Heidegger's thinking in "The Question Concerning Technology," concentrating on his vision of the dangers with which technology confronts us. Next, I shall use some of Heidegger's other works to describe the nature of art. And, finally, I shall bring the thesis together by showing how art, technology, and human nature are fundamental parts of a complex puzzle that lies at the heart of most issues in environmental ethics. Wherever possible, I shall try to understand Heidegger's arguments in ordinary language rather than merely absorbing and repeating his terminology. This will not always be possible, however; some of Heidegger's invented terms are simply indispensable, attempting as they do to cut across developed habits of thinking. To Heidegger, it is the thinking that is important and the language of our thinking needs careful study and occasional reformulation. The Dangers of Technology
A Discourse on Modern Civilization: The Cinema of Hayao Miyazaki and Gandhi
The relation of human being and nature, peace and war, the quest for mystic invisible world and women empowerment are the four key themes reflected in the cinema of Hayao Miyazaki. Mahatma Gandhi has also addressed these issues in his writings and speeches. Both of them inherit the ideas of Buddha to make their positions. They have similarities of certain level and differences as well. Keeping in view the socioeconomic cultural backgrounds of Japan and India, this paper will analyze the reasons, situations and factors of their similarities and distinct understandings of these issues. Japan is a capitalistic, technological advanced and rich country. India stands almost contrary to it. These situations have a great impact on the foundation of culture and the society of Japan and India. That is why Miyazaki becomes a fan of fighter planes and Gandhi advocates Charkha, a simple weaving-wheel machine. 'Hind Swaraj' is an important document to understand the troubles of modern civilization. Miyazaki too finally reflects a hidden regret about the 'misuse' of modern technologies, particularly of atom bombs and fighter-planes. Is there any contradiction in Miyazaki? This comparative study finds that Miyazaki, partially, failed to relate the technological advancement and its repercussions on nature and society. Gandhi was clearer. Both advocates democracy and pacifism, but this socio-cultural analysis shows that Miyazaki believes in 'utilization' of nature with the help of technology, whereas Gandhi emphasizes on 'co-existence' with nature. Technological advancements, for Gandhi, are always a threat to nature. Gandhi empowers their fellow revolutionaries with the help of spiritual energy. Miyazaki also does so equipping his characters with technical objects and gadgets. Miyazaki creates his movies and characters to express his ideas and positions. Mahatma Gandhi seems to be a hero, a protagonist of a movie in his actual life and achieves his goal with moral and spiritual power, questioning the relevance of technology.
2023
Using environmental humanities discourse analysis, this article asks how environmental issues are exhibited in two environmentally focused animated films, The Lorax and Tomorrow, produced in Hollywood (United States) and Dhallywood (Bangladesh), respectively, and how people responded to these films on social media websites. The first part of the article is the analysis of selected social media pages to understand the impact of these two films on contemporary environmental discourse, and the second part comprises an analysis of the environmental narrative of the films. I selected these two films for four reasons: i) they are both environmental educational and pedagogical tools; ii) they use environmental storytelling; iii) they both address sustainability; and iv) they may have influenced some discourse on environmental issues on social media. The study demonstrates that environmentally driven animated films can shape the discourse of their audiences. This study also demonstrates how narratives from films such as The Lorax and Tomorrow can lead an audience to consider large-scale environmental issues.
AIP Conference Proceedings 2594, 150013 , 2023
Animated films can be read as entertainment and a vehicle to reveal social, cultural, and environmental issues. One of the ecological problems is the bias of anthropocentric perspectives, which exclude and underestimate non-human agents such as animals from the consideration of their policymaking and other significant actions. In this worldview, instead of treating NHA as part of stakeholders, humans think they can exploit NHA and the environment for their benefit. This approach would threaten biospheric harmony. In this paper, Tarzan (1999) will be analyzed to determine whether the movie has an anthropocentric perspective or the other way around or both. The film is ideal since there are at least two kinds of human representations within the story. The first one is Tarzan, the main character, nurtured by and has a strong relationship with nature and oblivious about modern civilization until he met England explorers when he became an adult. On the other hand, Clayton is a hunter scout who disrespected the jungle and its dwellers. Textual analysis will be applied. A close reading of the movie will be undertaken to answer the research questions.
Ecophilosophy in Contemporary Cinema. Rethinking the Relationship Human-NonHuman Through Film
Film-Philosophy Conference 2018. Gothenburg, Sweden July 3-5, 2018
More than 45 years after the publication of Arne Næss’s article “The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement” in which the Norwegian philosopher postulated the difference between shallow ecology and deep ecology, the human-nonhuman relationship continues to be at the heart of the debate of environmental philosophy. By adopting diverse approaches and moving from anthropocentric, biocentric, or ecocentric perspectives, environmental philosophers have proposed a variety of theories and models trying to identify the fundamental principles and values on which a coherent, adequate environmental ethics must be based. Within this broad and complex scenario, film can express new and more vivid arguments and offer filmgoers many different film worlds in which they can rethink themselves, reflecting on their role in the ecosystem and their relationship with the nonhuman. Moving from film as philosophy and the related concept of the film world, this paper will focus on the cinematic representation of environment and, in particular, on the analysis of the modes of expression of environmental philosophy in contemporary cinema. Through the analysis of the two conflicting movies The Shallows (Collet-Serra 2016) and The Red Turtle (Dudok de Wit 2016), a discussion on expressive forms will be carried out in order to highlight the key aspects of a film ecophilosophy in which the specific mode of relationship between human and nonhuman is raised to the status of philosophical principle.