Miyazaki's Marxism - The Politics of Anime's Legendary Director

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Күн бұрын

Hayao Miyazaki began his career as a Marxist, but by the mid-90s, that all had faded away. What impact have those politics had on his works, what do his works say politically past his Marxism, and what are the themes that anime's legendary director always returns to? I'd hope that with a video this long, I'd be able to find that out.
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Transcript: floatingintobliss.wordpress.c...
Sources:
Benjamin, Walter. “On the Concept of History.” Frankfurt School: On the Concept of History by Walter Benjamin, www.marxists.org/reference/ar....
Deleuze, Gilles, and Felix Guattari. A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia. University of Minnesota Press, 1983.
Foster, John Bellamy. Marx's Ecology: Materialism and Nature. Braille Jymico Inc., 2012.
Horkheimer, Max, and Theodor W. Adorno. Dialectic of Enlightenment: Philosophical Fragments. Stanford Univ. Press.
Jameson, Fredric. The Political Unconscious. Cornell University Press, 1981.
Karatani Kōjin. Origins of Modern Japanese Literature. Translated by Brett De Bary, Duke University Press, 1998.
LaMarre, Thomas. The Anime Machine: A Media Theory of Animation. Univ. of Minnesota Press.
Löwy, Michael. Fire Alarm: Reading Walter Benjamins "On the Concept of History". Verso, 2016.
Miyazaki, Hayao. Starting Point: 1979-1996. VIZ Media, 2014.
Miyazaki, Hayao. Turning Point: 1997-2008. VIZ Media, 2014.
Napier, Susan. Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art. Yale University Press, 2018.
Rocca, A. J. “Miyazaki's Haunted Utopia: The Ghost of Modernity in 'Kiki's Delivery Service'.” PopMatters, PopMatters, 24 Feb. 2018, www.popmatters.com/miyazakis-....
Tsing, Anna Lowenhaupt. The Mushroom at the End of the World: on the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins. Princeton University Press, 2017.
Wegner, Phillip E. “An Unfinished Project That Was Also a Missed Opportunity: Utopia and Alternate History in Hayao Miyazakis My Neighbor Totoro.” imagetext.english.ufl.edu/arch....
“Magical Maturity and Motherly Modernity - Nausicaäst #05 - Kiki's Delivery Service.” KZfaq, 12 Nov. 2019, • Magical Maturity and M... .
Check out my blog: floatingintobliss.wordpress.com/
And my AO3 page: archiveofourown.org/users/Zer...

Пікірлер: 616

@wohdinhel 4 жыл бұрын

“Miyazaki was a mistake.” -Miyazaki, probably

@alperenaydin6139 4 жыл бұрын

'Mistakes were mistakes' - Miyazaki

@AndradeSamir 4 жыл бұрын

@ThisIsMyRealName Well he is Japanese, so that is to be expected

@islandplace7235 4 жыл бұрын

ThisIsMyRealName hes a perfectionist, he might not always be nice, but his attention to detail is justified by the craft.

@isaiahfrank4839 3 жыл бұрын

i guess Im pretty off topic but does anyone know of a good place to stream newly released tv shows online?

@kamarimarley617 3 жыл бұрын

@Isaiah Frank Lately I have been using Flixzone. Just google for it =)

@abandonedchannel281 4 жыл бұрын

I knew Miyazaki is a Socialist but I never knew he was Marxist up until the 90’s.

@jamesmiller2521 4 жыл бұрын

"I was a Marxist until I've become rich"

@VaqueroCoyote 4 жыл бұрын

@@jamesmiller2521 It's better to get your head out of your ass than preach socialism/communism as a millionaire like shitty Hollywood talking heads.

@inkmage4084 4 жыл бұрын

@tlessmo Its always the elite who push it.. Socialism/Communism isn't about helping anyone, but the elite control everyone, and everything. They are anti-life, and anti-freedom things.. Foolish people embrace it, because it plays on their envy, or their desire to be taken care of (slaves).

@Cancellator5000 4 жыл бұрын

@@VaqueroCoyote Hollywood talking heads are preaching neoliberalism, not socialism or communism. Most of them probably voted for Hillary instead of Bernie Sanders.

@MatauReviews 4 жыл бұрын

@@Cancellator5000 exactly

@TheBberentzen 4 жыл бұрын

"somehow mideterranian and french" France had a pretty significant coastline on the mideterranian...

@LuisManuelLealDias 4 жыл бұрын

yeah I was about to comment on this, it kinda blew me away that commentary.

@sophiesong8937 4 жыл бұрын

The locations were actually based on Gamla Stan in Stockholm and a city called Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland.

@leaderofthebunch-deadbeat7716 4 жыл бұрын

*Had

@TheBberentzen 4 жыл бұрын

@@leaderofthebunch-deadbeat7716 I meant to say has :)

@bessonpaul 4 жыл бұрын

We still do actually ^^

@ConvincingPeople 4 жыл бұрын

I think it is fair to describe Miyazaki's work following his pivot away from Marxism as antipathetic to capitalism along different lines; specifically, I think your reference to anarchist pastoralism rings true, in that his utopian vision of community without hierarchy formed by independent artisans and agrarian workers strikes me as intuitively in line with a lot of mutualist and early American anarchist thinking. There is also the aspect of community action without the acknowledgement of the state or capital as a form of pacifist insurrection which shows up in various schools of left-libertarian thought.

@tierfreund780 4 жыл бұрын

the un-organized nature-focused spirituality also has a transcendentalist feel which is in line with those early American anarchists.

@Zorro9129 4 жыл бұрын

So basically Tolkien's point of view.

@benjirabbe1205 4 жыл бұрын

"Early American anarchist thinking" is an interesting way to say "Puritan habits of mind."

@ConvincingPeople 4 жыл бұрын

Janet Bernanke Going by this comment, I suspect that you have never heard of Voltairine De Cleyre or Lysander Spooner. I find this unfortunate.

@benjirabbe1205 4 жыл бұрын

@@ConvincingPeople - Your suspicions would be incorrect. Surely you must know "Puritan habits of mind" is an Alexis de Tocqueville reference.

@squeakydeedsdonesoapclean3719 4 жыл бұрын

I did not at all think I would stick watching the entire video but wow this was really captivating and not just because it covers Miyazaki's work.

@ionlyhavebadmemes 4 жыл бұрын

Top tier nickname!

@ZeriaYT 4 жыл бұрын

Edit: I know France has a Medditeranean coast, I should've said Parisian, I got it the first time. A glossary of terms that I use frequently in this video: Metabolic Rift - The gap between nature and human production(ie labor and capital), specifically engendered by capitalism and what Marx refers to as "productive relations". The Metabolic Rift leads to environmental harm in Marx's analysis. Romanticism - A literary and philosophical movement of the early 19th-century, its focus was on pastoralism and nature, as it took issue with the increasingly industrialized society that was Western Europe of the time. Modernity - A heady word that means many things. In this sense, it refers to an industrialized, capitalist condition for the world, where global trade networks have become predominant, wage labor is the primary means of subsistence for the human population, and technological development is rapid in service of capital. Messianic Redemption - This concept comes from Jewish Marxist Walter Benjamin. In Benjamin's conception, the proletariat(or oppressed classes as a whole) form a Jewish messiah-like figure, redeeming the world and its history through revolution and the ultimate defeat of the ruling classes, who've plagued humanity in various forms for millennia. Assemblage - While originally derived from Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, Tsing's use of it here is to explain the connection between humans, mushrooms, trees, and more, without boiling things down to "symbiotic relationships." Essentially, it implies that all of these elements are inseparable in their function, at least when they connect.

@sophiesong8937 4 жыл бұрын

The locations in Kiki were based on parts of Sweden and Gotland.

@vincentbatten4686 4 жыл бұрын

As someone going back to school to be an educator, it's cool to see that you didn't talk down to people and provided an easy way for them to find ways to deepen their understanding of your work. Going to upvote this in hopes it makes it's way to the top.

@vincentbatten4686 4 жыл бұрын

Even though it's a very lengthy description due to the sources you included, I might recommend adding this glossary of terms there as well in case people don't venture to the comments.

@motchie 4 жыл бұрын

Bro pin this up

@bighams69 4 жыл бұрын

You really have to shake this notion of the soviet union falling to mean some great shift in people's believe in socialism. You say it over and over again, yet I have never met an old socialist who says that. Hell, not even Gorbachov believed that. I believe Myazaki when he says 1990 didn't mean the downfall of his socialist beliefs. At the time, most socialists were decades away from the time they romanticised the Soviet Union as the ideal solution. Most international communists in the 30s, 40s and 50s thought so, but Krutchov changed all of that.

@FenrirLaeon 2 жыл бұрын

Khrushchev was garbage yeah. If you are interested, check out Marx Ethnographic notes, where he names the Iroquois Confederacy or as we call ourselves the Haudenosaunee as the inspiration and ideal societal model for "Socialism". We are the only Indigenous "American" Nation which owns our land outright and is untouchable by the US government.

@Kairox2003 Жыл бұрын

Yes I was thinking about this...I don't think the disintegration of The USSR would have waverd the ideological beliefs of a true marxist.

@SvalbardSleeperDistrict Жыл бұрын

Exactly what I was thinking while watching the video. I mean, even if Myazaki, or anyone else, had changed their view of Marxism/socialism based on the fate of the Soviet Union, that speaks more about their understanding of those things than those things themselves.

@veeeVic 6 ай бұрын

There was a pretty clear political shift even in parties across the whole world when the USSR fell, though?

@christopherdeleon2095 4 ай бұрын

He's clearly talking about the overton window.

@reptilefan1115 4 жыл бұрын

this deserves far more views

@ZeriaYT 4 жыл бұрын

Well, it did only come out an hour ago.

@reptilefan1115 4 жыл бұрын

@@ZeriaYT either way, it better get 1+ million or else im gonna throw a big baby fit

@TheOnlyAchilles 3 жыл бұрын

@@reptilefan1115 Do it

@cinaedus8781 4 жыл бұрын

I dont know why, but like... Somehow I simultaneously feel like this could have been 5 minutes long, but also that it should have been 4+ hours.

@oliveranderson928 4 жыл бұрын

If Zeria says a river dragon boyfriend is a pretty sweet deal, you know she means it.

@felipegermano5815 4 жыл бұрын

I didnt know Miyazaki even saw himself as an marxist, even if for a short time, im at the start of the video but thank you for making this, im sure it took a lot of work and its hard to have any success in thr platform.

@donov25 4 жыл бұрын

It was for a long time. Roughly something like 20 to 30 years.

@user-vs6oe8fl3m 4 жыл бұрын

He was a member of the communist party

@pablobarrios7681 Жыл бұрын

@@user-vs6oe8fl3m I know it is way too late, but do you by any chance remember the source of that?

@FalseKing98 4 жыл бұрын

started watching this in one decade, finished it in another... incredible video! i learned a lot

@TheGrooseofLegend 4 жыл бұрын

Man... that Nausicaa Manga section was tough to go through.

@ZeriaYT 4 жыл бұрын

It was tough to record

@benedict6962 4 жыл бұрын

It's not any easier to read. Nausicaa flies the god warrior with the specific intention of nuking her enemy and letting herself die from radiation. Her plans changed, of course, but for this to happen right "after" where she would be in the film really underlines the shift in direction she takes.

@soulbeats135 4 жыл бұрын

so was the collapse of the soviet union

@superdriver 4 жыл бұрын

43:40 idk, I also feel like I've been changed by what little I have written. Forcing yourself to tackle the things you don't want to think about can have pretty cathartic results.

@SteelyPhil37 4 жыл бұрын

Look, there's something to be said for hot wizard boyfriends. Also, on a more serious note, I think that the most incisive and unique critique that Howl's Moving Castle has to offer is that war isn't just destructive but arbitrary - Madame Suliman is utterly unperturbed at the end after Sophie foils her plans, no doubt moving towards the next scheme that will cause mass destruction that she herself will never personally supervise. It's a dystopic vision of what happens when an empire consolidates its power and basks in hegemony for its own sake. The warfare is often unidirectional, with carpet bombings that are seemingly unprovoked and perpetrated on largely unseen masses, whereas in many of his other films there is a strong characterization of an organized opposition that has potent agency of its own. At the end of the film, we have our main characters all moving on with the lives, unburdened by the literal curses that ailed them, and yet their freedom is somewhat hollow when the power structure that shackled them in the first place will continue on without a hitch (this does not get examined by the film at all, to its detriment). All that said I'm not going to sit here and defend its weaker elements, and at its core I think it's more concerned about telling a romantic story (which is genuinely moving) than having a coherent political message beyond "war bad." Great video, really excellent work. Subscribed!

@CubitoDeFuego1 4 жыл бұрын

I was looking forward to this one, I'm really excited to watch this

@raccoonjs6437 4 жыл бұрын

Some random question: Is "modernity" inherently "Western" and does non-eurocentric modernity exist? EDIT: I realized when you were talking Nausicaa manga series. There was a time someone in Hollywood asked Miyazaki if they can adapt Nausicaa series in a live-action film, but Miyazaki rejected. Turns out, he didn't expect Hollywood could faithfully translate his own pessimism to their commercial spectacles.

@ZeriaYT 4 жыл бұрын

I think modernity as it exists inherently bears the mark of the west, on account of imperialism's legacy. However, there easily *could have* been a non-western modernity, if history had gone differently in one of a few clear locations.

@federicoarmada8775 4 жыл бұрын

Industrial Revolution, French Revolution, Humanism, Capitalism, Globalism, Marxism... I'd say modernity is a mixture of Europe, Christianism and Judaism.

@koekjestrommol 4 жыл бұрын

I took a class in Singapore once and there the prof said there are many types, notions and different interpretations of modernity in Asia. Also in the manner in which they relate to and depart from western modernity, which is seen as a singular concept. I kind of forgot the sources he talked about though.

@Naomi-fb1ej Жыл бұрын

@@koekjestrommol Super late response but while modernity appears is different forms in different contexts, e.g. Singapore has been described from being state developmentalism, to state-led neoliberalism buoyed by hard-core (even fascistic) return to traditional gender roles, even such "Asian" modernities are still western in the sense that modernity was brought to them via the colonial encounter. And anything that came after still echoes the complete rearranging of society to serve the interests of an imperialist world order. In fact, Singapore basically occupies the almost the exact same role in modern times in the world economy as it did in colonial times in the British empire.

@koekjestrommol Жыл бұрын

@@Naomi-fb1ej Thanks for the late response :) since then my ideas about modernity and imperialism have evolved and I completely agree with your statements. I do think that the difference in manifestations of modernity, capitalism and imperialism across the world cannot/should not be be tackled with a universal lens of what modernity is. Btw living in Singapore felt like living in Aldous Huxley's Brave New world, overall an alienating experience. The conspicuous consumption, technofix/innovation bias attitude, the repressive (fascist) regime it all seemed so on the nose, but only a few people (Singaporeans and internationals) seemed to notice it... I even met people there that were proud of the colonization, some Thai students I met even blamed the issues in Thailand on Thailand not having been a colony... I still struggle with positioning myself in such debates

@bryanc7094 4 жыл бұрын

Yeeees, been waiting for a video like this

@Doribi117 4 жыл бұрын

This is an amazing analysis of Miyazaki and his works, thanks for your hard work to produce it.

@TheKoyn 4 жыл бұрын

Absolutely no one: Zeria: "Little froggie boi"

@mayajade6198 4 жыл бұрын

I'm really glad you talked about the Nausicaa manga. It's such a huge and important work, perhaps more now than even when it was written, and it just doesn't get enough attention in the English-speaking world. Most people who know that it exists still aren't fully aware of just how wildly different it is from the movie, or of how it fits into the broader context of Miyazaki's filmography. I think it asks a lot of questions that most environmentalist works either don't consider or simply dismiss as self-evidently wrong for the sake of telling an uplifting story, asks us to seriously consider that we might not like the answers to those questions, and offers a starting point for how to deal with that possibility regardless. I think labeling it as Miyazaki's greatest work isn't much of a stretch-- even if it isn't the final word on his developing philosophy, it's certainly the work that delves deepest into it. It's also just.. such a wild read, start to finish. Nausicaa has psychic powers and Kushana (briefly) marries a talking severed head.

@tyblazitar 2 жыл бұрын

Namulith x Kushana OTP

@princesspikachu3915 10 ай бұрын

I am. I read the manga back in 2003-04 and I have never seen the movie unless you count watching Warriors of the Wind back in 1994 and hating it.

@kahneda4725 4 жыл бұрын

after hours on youtube i randomly ended up on your ghost in the shell changed my politics video and now im here. I didnt asked for a youtube channel like yours but ill take it i love it. Subscribed. Keep up the good work comrade

@jmh8817 4 жыл бұрын

Probably the most interesting analysis of Miyazaki's library of work that I've seen. Thanks for making this.

@BenSalernoMedia 4 жыл бұрын

Miyazaki's growing misanthropy is pretty easy to track, and it's interesting to me that he was ever anything except purely some sort of anarcho-primitivist. Nature is almost always the most important character of his movies, especially forces of nature that punish humanity in one way or another. I never viewed his early work as marxist because I always assumed Miyazaki *never* had any faith in people to work together do anything that wasn't purely, explicitly bad, but looking at them again through that lens takes some of the edge off of the cynicism he gives off in interviews and public statements. It's cool to think that he at least used to have some hope in humanity

@yomama5368 4 жыл бұрын

it's important to remember what might me the most deceptively obvious thing here: nature might be the most important "character" in Miyazaki's films, but they are still _films._ Miyazaki must necessarily have faith in people and even, in some sense, industry, for those are the very things which allow him to communicate his message. This doesn't necessarily "take the edge off" his misanthropy; rather, it induces a very interesting tension between what Miyazaki likely desires and how he expresses that desire.

@AHeroWith1000Names 2 жыл бұрын

Such profound thoughts, thanks for sharing them, Yo Mama!

@JeanJeanFGC 4 жыл бұрын

would you say that, then, with time, miyazaki just "gave up" on bettering things in a larger scale? his latter films speak a lot more about dealing with local and personal issues, kinda implying that there is nothing individuals can do besides dealing with their individual problems

@kharicobourne2864 3 жыл бұрын

Pedro Ortega yuck

@dinuxplay8003 2 жыл бұрын

@@kharicobourne2864 how untidy is your room for you to be even disgusted by thought of even cleaning it?

@dehistoriapisciumfish7639 Жыл бұрын

@@dinuxplay8003 Cleaning your room won’t solve climate change. That’s an idiotic quote. “Individual solutions” is not the answer

@dinuxplay8003 Жыл бұрын

@@dehistoriapisciumfish7639 Who said that cleaning your room would solve climate change? Crazy how you cannot see the logic behind that statement. Individual solutions are very much important.

@icipher6730 Жыл бұрын

@@dinuxplay8003 "Individual solutions" for climate change in the way you seem to be implying are a ploy, actively and deliberately promoted by industries responsible for climate change at that.

@redtexan7053 Жыл бұрын

It’s worth noting that Miyazaki’s shifts in ideology often occur in tandem with his shifting relationship with capital. When Miyazaki was a starving artist, then he was a Marxist. When he was owner of one of the most successful animation studios on Earth, well, suddenly Marxism was a mistake.

@spinosaurusstriker Жыл бұрын

Wtf average marxist life development.

@Ocinneade345 Жыл бұрын

This is incredibly depressing

@DogeickBateman 9 ай бұрын

Marxists discovering warm food in the belly is a great thing:

@DogeickBateman 8 ай бұрын

@@geolazakis To be honest most of his films are on the environment, sometimes touching on individual spirit and war, pretty basic concepts when you think of it

@unpopuler 6 ай бұрын

he became what he supposedly wanted to fix 😔

@xxxfairycorpsexxx7592 4 жыл бұрын

Miyazaki has also stated in interviwes in regards to Porco Rosso, that the Yugoslav civil war took a toll on him, wondering where humainty is headed, and possibly wether the marxist ideal is even worth persuing.

@nsytr06 4 жыл бұрын

The video, argument, script, presentation--heck all of it--was convincing, entertaining, and informative. You did an incredible job. Thanks. :)

@awkwardpause9532 4 жыл бұрын

This might be my favorite video of yours since the Ikuhara video. You really know how to make really insightful and engaging essays on anime and I hope this new year/decade bodes well for any of your creative ventures in the future.

@maglorian 4 жыл бұрын

wow, I think this might just have been your best essay you've published to date. superbly done!

@Jon-mh9lk 9 ай бұрын

I wouldn't say that he became an environmentalist sort of Marxist, but rather a romantic socialist like Ruskin and Morris. Morris advocated for leftist unity and was involved in early Marxist communities, but in terms of theory he was likely more inclined to his close friend Kropotkin. Kropotkins attitude to nature may be comparable to Miyazakis, while Morris' romantic idealization of premodern societies, which interestingly also inspired J.R.R. Tolkien, and his environmentalism and anti-industrialism is very close to Miyazakis - and both share their lot as prolific artists.

@curtwildschutt595 4 жыл бұрын

this is exactly the kind of deep-dive into a body of work I love to see, and your presentation is top-notch as well! great work!!

@spaceycarchasey6656 4 жыл бұрын

ooh, excited about this content!

@monog0n 11 ай бұрын

What an incredible video. It lasts one hour and a half and yet not a single second feels wasted. Truly a must watch for anyone who likes Miyazaki.

@thewhowhatwherewhyho 4 жыл бұрын

Amazing analysis - I'm way overdue a Miyazaki rewatch

@mthslzztt7468 4 жыл бұрын

Hey, just wanna say I loved this video. Watched it on one sitting, certainly a testament to it’s analytical and editorial qualities. Very nice to see someone articulate carefully what one has already thought in a intuitive, precarious manner. I encourage you to make more videos like this, great job!

@kokirikid817 4 жыл бұрын

Right at the buzzer. Worth the wait. Well done

@KnishG 4 жыл бұрын

lovely analysis. you have an amazing perspective and great way of communicating these complex ideas. well done, im looking forward to more of your work, whatever it may be!

@derick1259 4 жыл бұрын

>gets round to Ponyo Yesss, my favourite. >i don't have much to say about this tbh h

@ZeriaYT 4 жыл бұрын

Sorry bout that

@derick1259 4 жыл бұрын

@@ZeriaYT Really good video though! I fairly recently got around to watching all the Ghibli movies, so barring the first two Miyazaki movies you covered, I felt like I was in a secret club like 'hell yeah, I've got a grip on just about all of this'.

@danhenri3310 4 жыл бұрын

This is exactly what I wanted. I recently rewatched Mononoke and realized Lady Eboshi's relationship with the workers in her village was very unmarxist.

@EmonWBKstudios 3 жыл бұрын

Workers of the world, unite. You've nothing to lose but your chains.

@expendedamech7436 4 жыл бұрын

its like he viewed marxists as a hivemind near the end when he left it

@stackk.113 4 жыл бұрын

Miyazaki vs Żiżek debate would be impressive af.

@tomio8072 4 жыл бұрын

This video is made by the anprim gang (jk)

@ArkRiley 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this one, Zeria. A great overview

@kalakakku7749 4 жыл бұрын

Wow, this was so well done and interesting! The best video of yours I have seen so far.

@NoGoodNik1 4 жыл бұрын

This video and your one on Ikuhara show you have a real knack for exploring the views and values of a creator by analyzing their work. I can tell you put a great deal of effort into research and writing. You really deserve more subscribers. Keep up the awesome work 👍

@JediHobbit89 2 жыл бұрын

I'm surprised you didn't mention that the French song Gina was singing in Porco Rosso was about the 1870 communist revolution in Paris.

@Elektromaen 4 жыл бұрын

Great and very insightful video. Thank you for making this.

@franciscoteixeira174 4 жыл бұрын

You forgot tho mention the pacisfist/anti-militarist theme of a lot of miyazaki's work walking together with the other themes mentioned in the video

@MalditoSeasEstadoDelsrael 4 жыл бұрын

This is a lot of work. Thank you.

@JordyBoothy 4 жыл бұрын

I wasn't expecting an emotional journey when I clicked this. Great work!

@robertocorrea4967 4 жыл бұрын

This video is such a masterpiece, keep up the good work! :')

@underland2578 3 жыл бұрын

A tour de force! A worthy dissertation! Bravo, and thank you, for your excellent work and thoughtful analysis. I was riveted from start to finish, seriously!

@Jsilveira309 3 жыл бұрын

This is an amazing video. Thank you for making it.

@garrettbouslough3647 4 жыл бұрын

This is a phenomenal video and must have taken so much research! THANK YOU FOR THE FOCUS ON THE NAUSICAA MANGA!!❤️❤️❤️❤️

@bernardheathaway9146 4 жыл бұрын

Wow!! Great work man! Criminally underwatched!

@weast2123 Жыл бұрын

So that's what radicalized me...

@makecowsnotwar 2 жыл бұрын

Them: What’s your political ideology? Me: ugly crying nostalgia

@jadenwaz9585 Жыл бұрын

This video is astoundingly good. Thank you.

@agentpipp 4 жыл бұрын

Excellent video, it has a criminally low amount of views. However I believe a central point regarding Miyazaki and romanticism is that he is essentially a romantic, and that it is this romanticism that leads him away from marxism and towards his spiritualism and nationalism. You describe the romanticism in his earlier work as working in tandem with his marxism, however I believe you might be mistaken, they do not only work together, but rather provide a tension. Marxism at its core is not, and can not be romantic, as it is inherently materialistic and rejects idealism. This is best seen in its transformation of Hegelian idealistic dialectics into a materialist dialectic. This rejection of idealism makes it impossible to be romantic. This tention I think, between socialism and romanticism is felt through much of Miyazakis work, is the conditions of the workers and social equality or the beauty of nature and spiritualism the most important? This makes both Porco Rosso and The Wind Rises very interesting, as fascism as opposed to communism IS inherently romantic. The fascist love for beauty, nature, the past, all this is a result of romanticism, and is found in Miyazaki as well. At the same time Miyazaki rejects the fascist’s use of romanticism and nationalism as a tool for violence, rather seeking to use it as a force for good. What does this make Miyazaki, politically? A traditionalist? Enviromenttalist? I’m not sure to be honest, though what is clear is that in the his romanticism won out over his socialism. Sorry if this came out as a little rambly, and I aknowledge that this analysis may be influenced by my own romanticism, as your was by your marxism. Thanks for the great video all the same.

@Hunterchuck 4 жыл бұрын

"What does this make Miyazaki, politically?" -- It makes him an animation filmmaker with opinions. Not much more than that. Depending on how we discuss Marx and his ideas today, it can be insightful or pointless/misleading. Times have changed and how labor is managed is different now due to the advancement of technology. Many who have thoroughly studied Marx will say that he changed his mind on lots of things. Such as the fact that his friend had to co-author his writings because he would never finish them himself due to discarding what he originally wrote because he didn't like it. So who knows how Marx would address the problems with how the economy and society of today operates. The works of Marx are influential enough to give us some insight on how we might be able to do things differently though. Obviously the ones who are in power would never want to allow for anything where there is more accountability through a checks and balance system such as socialism.

@CosmoShidan 4 жыл бұрын

What if Miyazaki's views are actually Taoist or even Buddhist in nature?

@jasonfenton8250 4 жыл бұрын

@Marvin Martinez In what way do the workers own the means of production in our current society? If your answer is, they don't, then the marxists aren't in charge.

@vicentematias763 2 жыл бұрын

I think you interpret socialism as only marxist tho. Socialism can be anarchist, marxist, communist and a million different tendencies on each one of those. At it's core, socialism can be veyr romantic as an idea, but i agree Marxism in particular does come into a tension with romatnicism, as it presents itself as inherently materialistic. However, there is a reason socialism and fascism clash, that i think Porco Rosso is very good at showing, and that tension is the freedom of the self, the man who doesn't want to own another and especially the rejection of warfare, even if that means not being human anymore, vs the expansionism, senseless violence and the dominion over population, belief and race. There are core romantic themes over there, but i get the point over marxism at least.

@Willian1995 3 жыл бұрын

Great analysis! I'm from Brazil, my english isn't that good but i'd realy like to translate it so more people here could watch this! Love your videos!

@naalo2794 4 жыл бұрын

Great vid! Keep up the good work!

@christianmartinez774 4 жыл бұрын

Really enjoyed this video on such an influential person in animation. Thank you for your work!

@kaurikallio4668 2 ай бұрын

This video is actually a masterpiece analysis. At least as a totality. Relly imprtant work.

@Michirin9801 4 жыл бұрын

Excellent video!

@natwalpole2263 4 жыл бұрын

I always interpreted fire in howls moving castle as representing industrial labour rather than any kind of enchantment

@miguelthealpaca8971 4 жыл бұрын

Well, we use nature's enchantment for our industry. I think the point of the magical fire is that we appreciate where our industrial power comes from - nature. Miyazaki's work doesn't say we need to have industry or nature. We can have both, as long as we respect nature and don't abuse it for our own selfish ends.

@natwalpole2263 4 жыл бұрын

@@miguelthealpaca8971 I suppose those interpretations aren't contradictory, he can represent both an enchanted natural spirit, the worker, the industrial process, and a resource. I think you could also develop some interesting ideas around the fact he is personified but isn't necessarily a free agent. Miyazaki's work is pretty layered and Howls moving castle in particular is hard to interpret sometimes for me.

@wheresmyeyebrow1608 4 жыл бұрын

Just watched your previous video on Japanese Cyberpunk and I am now met with this masterpiece.

@leezuregamr 4 жыл бұрын

Beautiful essay, thank you so much for your work.

@Shining_Waters 4 жыл бұрын

Damn this looks fantastic!!! Can’t wait to unwind and learn some dope ass new info about Miyazaki and Marxism when I watch this tonight ❤️

@bottomtext 4 жыл бұрын

What an amazing video, you've really outdone yourself.

@SamuraiAkechi 4 жыл бұрын

Maybe I wasn't paying much attention, but I can hardly see idolisation of agrarian communes and questioning the goodness of industry (as it was featured in early works) as something marxist. 37:11BTW, here's an aspect I've learned about recently and wanted to share. In the 1919 an italian writer and army pilot, who was one of the inspirators of fascist movement (and who later was disappointed in it), Gabriele D'Annunzio, has occupied a town of Fiume on the croatian shore of Adriatic, where Porco Rosso takes place, and declared it a free state. One of the main income sources for the Republic of Fiume was sea piracy, including the piracy on hydroplanes. So, the entire setting of Porco Rosso actually has even more relations with reality than many people think. 41:11 Damn, this WWI sequence always kept me fascinated. All that attention to details, all those identifiable airplanes, all that stuff is simply amazing.

@SpiderMan-gf1lc 4 жыл бұрын

perhaps it's more utopian socialism then marxism

@shinkiro403 4 жыл бұрын

Have yet to see some of Miyazaki's main works, so I fear this would spoil me if I watch this now. But for what I saw so far... you earned another subscription and deserve much more, I'll hopefully be enjoying this as soon as I catch up 👍

@iatoa2812 4 жыл бұрын

Holy cow what a long video!

@martincastillo542 4 жыл бұрын

Excelent video. There's an inmanent force to make change in the heart of most great miyazaki's works.

@Zero_Has_Returned 4 жыл бұрын

your videos are a work of art

@LaodamasQuale 4 жыл бұрын

Amazing video-essay, thank you

@Malon2malon 3 жыл бұрын

This is wonderful. Thank you for this.

@nathandrake5544 4 жыл бұрын

oh yes I am watching all of this

@vickeviking 4 жыл бұрын

I watch and read pretty much everything about Hayao Miyazakis work. Never do I leave any comments. But I have to say, this was superb. Thank you.

@KarelPletsStriker 2 жыл бұрын

i love how this video is longer than some of his movies

@GoldenBloodyBeared 4 жыл бұрын

Amazing work my friend

@ケイリー 4 жыл бұрын

I initially blew my own mind when back in 2014 I got high watching Spirited Away for the 15th time and finally realized its anti-capitalist slant, but you've opened my eyes even more to the nuances of how the film also embraces industrial progress in a way. You've given me a better understanding of the GOAT himself and the greater definition of nationalism. Best Miyazaki essay of all time.

@vf00 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this insightful video.

@krankarvolund7771 4 жыл бұрын

It's funny, with the first images of Boy Conan, I thought "it doesn't look like Miyazaki". Then I saw the planes and I knew it was from him XD

@xhackmasterx 4 жыл бұрын

Exceptional analysis. Subbed.

@pandymandy Жыл бұрын

Given the breadth of the subject matter in the context of its presentation, this was a VERY well articulated video. I can safely say I've come away from this feeling something added to the viewing introspection of these films, and a sense of connection with intended meaning I was only passingly attuned to. Incredibly done.

@LeekyKale 4 жыл бұрын

great video comrade

@gonzogil123 4 жыл бұрын

That is weird because his own work is a perfect example of getting as close to the limit on non-capitalist alienated labor.

@wedoalittlemonkeybusiness6545 4 жыл бұрын

What do u expect miyazaki is left leaning as hell not marxian or anything but he glorifies community a lot he honestly might be an anarchist

@gonzogil123 4 жыл бұрын

@@wedoalittlemonkeybusiness6545 It seems like a lot of people back then were unjustifiably invested in the USSR as the legit expression of a socialist society. To such an extent where the standards that would allow you to asses what is, and is not leftists were sort of sacrificed for something "more practical, and less illusory" so yeah it is possible that he might have changed his mind and moved towards anarchism.

@lukas-qu4zh 4 жыл бұрын

Great video man

@Money_Man55 4 жыл бұрын

Holy crap, this deserves way more views than it has

@chrislondo2683 4 жыл бұрын

Enjoying this so far. A lot of knowledge about the themes in Miyazaki’s film. Wondered if Hollywood did a full adaptation of the Nausicaa manga? Though, he’s completely turned down the ideas of doing sequels or remaking his movie.

@SuperBoyboys 10 ай бұрын

I'm not a Marxist, but I appreciate the depths of thought and themes in Miyazaki's work. Similarly, I appreciate your well written video and analysis. I hope one day I can produce something with such depth of thought and beauty which explores my thoughts about the world.

@minivergur 4 жыл бұрын

Damn... thats a pretty profound video you got there

@raeorion 2 жыл бұрын

I want Miyazaki to write a manifesto so we can have Miyazakism.

@brendonbackus1297 4 жыл бұрын

I think Miyazaki read Industrial society and It's Future "Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness." - Mr. Ted

@Moosemoose1 3 жыл бұрын

So I'm not the only one who recognized a lot of Ted Kaczynski in Miyazaki's worldview! They're extremely similar in their views and their cynicism, both taking very different paths too.

@GorillerViller 4 жыл бұрын

Miyazaki is an interresting guy and I always likened him a more naturalist stanislav lem. Less in his political leanings (he's not a sexist old dick like lem was) but being a brilliant creator who also is a grumpy old fuck (I mean this rather affectionately). The main edge miyazaki has over lem is em litterally an edge. Him sending harvey weinstein that katana with the message "no cuts" written on it is an absolute baller move, best thing lem ever managed was to get salty at the hugo awards for not giving him one by default.

@Junior-ts1xg 7 ай бұрын

I know you are retired but The Boy and The Heron (How do you live?) came out last year. If you ever decide to come back Zeria, I'm sure people would love to hear your analysis of the new film!