The Journey Back to the Grand Narrative: An

Examination of the Works of Miyazaki Hayao

Timothy Hogge

AMES 493

April 12, 2014

Background

• Interest in Film studies and Japanese culture

• Miyazaki films have not been examined in this light

• This is my original research and contribution

• Interest in rebutting the post-modern ideas that the grand narrative has been shattered by post-modern consumption practices

Research Questions

• What is the grand narrative?

• Why do post-modern scholars believe that the grand narrative has been lost?

• Azuma Hiroki What is his model of consumption, and how does that lead to the loss of the grand narrative?

• How does a selection of Miyazaki’s films exemplify the grand narrative?

What is the grand narrative?

• “In post-modernity, the grand narrative breaks down and the cohesion of the social entirety rapidly weakens” (28) – Azuma Hiroki; Otaku: Japan’s Database Animals

• For all intents-and-purposes, the grand narrative is:

• A macronarrative; a theme or narrative in a piece of work that is common to all people and requires little or no common context in order to understand or appreciate

• Image: http://intentblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/3176173-1748009911-hp.jp_.jpg

Case Study: Spirited Away

• Why Spirited Away?

Image: http://imdb.com

Themes Within Spirited Away

• The transformation of a girl from childhood into being a young adult

Themes Within Spirited Away

• Greed and over-consumption

Themes Within Spirited Away

• Everyone deserves a second chance

Themes Within Spirited Away

Grand Narratives Across Other Works

Movie FemaleProtagonist

Environmentalism Consumptionand/or Greed

Gods and Sprits Metamorphosis

Castle in the Sky

My Neighbor Totoro

Princess Mononoke

Spirited Away

Howl’s Moving Castle

Conclusions

• The grand narrative exists in multiple forms in Miyazaki’s works

• The West has taken notice that works outside of the West are capable of portraying these narratives

“Everything has a moral, if only you can find it.”

–Lewis Carroll; Alice in Wonderland