Our Castle
“The creation of a single world comes from a huge number of fragments and chaos”- Hayao Miyazaki.
Besides William Shakespeare, John Steinbeck, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Arthur Miller, and all my other favorite writers that I call my mentors, Hayao Miyazaki is added to my list. I grew up with his work, but now that I am older, and as a writer, I can understand the world he creates. Spirited Away was the first one of his creations I saw and will always be my favorite. I have already written a separate blog about this film and what it means to me.
When I read his quote up above, it made complete sense to me. As a writer or a filmmaker, we are storytellers the worlds we create come from every fragment of our emotional journeys we put everything we know and feel into a world that is unlike our own. We fill it with characters of people that we hope to be. At times we aren’t sure what the outcome will be, but the one thing we do know for sure is that it is all worth the chaos it can be to create them.
I love his films and all the others made from Studio Ghibli because they are not afraid to show children the reality of what life can sometimes be. They do it in the most deliberate, but fervent way. Their films give everything they have to show us all that life can give and take away while telling us that no matter what life does, we are so much bigger than it all.
I wish I could write an individual blog about each of my favorites, but for this post, I just want to touch on them by talking about the themes that make their films so inspiring.
Howl’s Moving Castle- In Howl’s Moving Castle, It shows you that love is greater than anything. Loving someone just as they are no matter how flawed, love can change any heart.
My Neighbor Totoro- In My Neighbor Totoro, you see the simplicity but beautiful presentation of the child’s role and how pure it is. Sometimes the best kind of love given is the kind that comes from a heart so purely sincere that you don’t need any complicated ways or theories on what love is. You need to love like a child.
Kiki’s Delivery Service- In Kiki’s Delivery Service, Determination is the key to not just success. Still, it is what gives you the confidence to keep going and be not only the best you can be but to become who you are meant to be.
Princess Mononoke- Princess Mononoke is about how humans can be the worst creatures and how all the personal selfish sins such as greed, revenge, and hate can turn us into nothing but demons eating away at us. When you can see without hate, then doing what is right will always prevail.
Ponyo- a story about a loving friendship that no test or hardship can change their love for each other. That no matter if the waters are rough or the ground cracks love and true friendship can mend it all.
Whisper of the Heart- a young lady similar to myself is looking for her path of becoming a writer. After falling for a young man who’s dream is to be a violin maker. They are two souls that have crossed paths not just to love each other, but to help each other follow their dreams.
The Cat Returns- Sometimes, to appreciate oneself, you have to live out events that will lead you to love who you are. Sometimes in fear of it all, you become stronger. To love yourself is the greatest gift you can give yourself; no one can give it to you, but you.
Castle in the Sky- Castle in the Sky is about courage and pure tenacity to never give up and fight for the truth. A boy and a girl come together to keep the truth and save a world from the worthless desire of power.
When Marnie was There- is about a girl who lives outside the circle of what life has told us you must be a part of. She is an introvert focused on her passion for drawing. She ends up going on not just a journey of self-discovery, but on a journey that connects her to her forgotten past. This is a story of healing.
The Wind is Rising- It is a story about how dreams are the truth to what life is about, it is crazy to think that dreams are more than just what you think about while you sleep, but dreams are the love given to you by the creator of them. This story is about a young man living out more than just his dream; he lives out true love; even the saddest story is made with love.
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya- is a story of miracles where a bamboo spirit becomes a human to find the goodness of the world while doing so she finds that the world is made up of love and power and that no matter how bad things are there is still so much good.
Only Yesterday- is about a woman looking back at her adolescent life and how, as an adult, all her childhood memories came back like it was yesterday. You go on the journey with her through flashbacks and breathtaking narration. This is a story about love, yearning, guilt, and all the human emotions. Her story is our story. I, too, feel that my younger self is with me, always reminding me of who I was and who I can be.
These are things that we have heard over and over. Love conquers all, no more hate, friendship is everything. Unfortunately, I feel that we always need to be reminded of it. To me, Hayao Miyazaki and the rest of the creators at Studio Ghibli give it all to us, in a way that will always stay tattooed on your soul. It will be stained in our memories. We will want to pass on these films to our grandchildren in hopes they will pass it on to theirs. I won’t speak for all of us, but I speak for myself Studio Ghibli films are not just movies that are fun to watch, for me, they are beautiful masterpieces that can never be repainted. There are our stories.