Exploring the intergenerational relationships in Miyazaki’s animations

Abstract

In this paper, I will attempt to address the intergenerational relationships that are as portrayed in Hayao Miyazaki’s films: namely Gake no Ue no Ponyo (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea), Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away) and Hauru Ugoko no Shiro (Howl’s Moving Castle). To put it simply, I am exploring the portrayal of the relationships between individuals who exist in different generations and age categories in the films that I have mentioned above. What are some of the challenges that these individuals face in their relationships with each other? And while we are on the same train of thought, are the portrayal of their challenges that they face be similar to that of reality? If the point of art is to bring across a certain message to the masses, what then, is the message that Miyazaki is trying to express through his work? Are there any current social situations that he is trying to address? And finally, How can literary concepts such as Shklovsky’s ostranenie as well as Foucault’s heterotopia be applied in the analysis of the above films? These are some of the questions that I would attempt to address in my paper.