Random musings on mythic relevance, gaming, books, and other shinies.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Anatomy of Kaiju
No, not Steve (god, Steve!). The other kaiju. Mythic fiction author and editor Midori Snyder posted an article on her blog this morning about Yōkai Daizukai, an illustrated encyclopedia of Japanese monsters. Intrigued, I checked out her source, (pinktentacle.com):
authored by manga artist Shigeru Mizuki, [it] features a collection of cutaway diagrams showing the anatomy of 85 traditional monsters from Japanese folklore (which also appear in Mizuki’s GeGeGe no Kitarō anime/manga).
I'm incredibly amused by the preview entries. But it only makes sense ... the only thing that rivals the Japanese aesthetic for bizarre creatures is the old D&D Monster Manual. I wonder if there's a correlation there ... perhaps Gygax and crew consumed too much wasabi at some point, and it pickled their brains. That would explain the Rust Monster, wouldn't it?
For the record, the Kijimunaa is much cuter in Devil Survivor. (Really, what would a Shin Megami game be without fairy-demons?)
Recuperating after a wicked exhausting week. It's been a long, long time coming, but I think things are finally starting to look up at work. There are a lot of interesting projects in the works -- about half of the projects on my grand to-do list are my idea, and half are from the new deans who've asked for my help on one thing or another. All of them will involve some form of geekery, so I'm looking forward to digging in.
Also handed off a 19-page doc to my boss this week that included a project log, to-do list, arguments on why my job needs to be restructured, and the four other positions I'm applying for. After taking a few days to digest the info, she came back with an encouraging response, so I'm working on draft two this weekend.
Speaking of work, I'm also working with The Monica on layout and design for a Violet War story project, and was approached by another program on campus to do some freelance work on their behalf. I have a couple of weeks at most to put together a workshop, modified style template, and procedural guidelines. And then we're going to tackle how they archive these projects, because they will contain patent-application materials that will need to be restricted to secured access. (I'm hoping to spread that luck around a bit, as well, since they also need writing help for their students, and I happen to know a freelance writer and editor with graduate/academic experience...)
It's almost like 2010 is apologizing for 2009. I ... accept. I think we're off to a good start, here.
In other news, a good friend shared a fun vid of a Glee-based flashmob in Rome over the holidays:
The fascinating part for me in the vid is how the flashmob grows, the longer it goes on, as if people who weren't in on the plan start to join in around the edges.
I don't think I've mentioned this previously, but I came across an excellent myth- and folklore-related blog late last year by author Kate Winter. Titled Girls Underground, it's Kate's attempt to explore the Persephone/Armless Maiden story archetypes in popular culture. I've been drawn to these stories since I was a kid, so I'm excited by the prospect of a writer paying close attention to those heroines.
Pushing through some unfinished posts that have been languishing the last couple of weeks... Here is #1.
Here there be spoilers. Do not follow the breadcrumbs if you're annoyed by that sort of thing.
I finally did get to see Ponyo with some good friends. The company was excellent, the movie was cute, and I'm glad I went. However, my reaction to the movie has been somewhat different than that of everyone else so far. While I loved the character of Ponyo herself, and the adorable old ladies, the more I thought about the movie, the more I realized how ... well, disappointed I was.
Overall the movie felt sort of ... recycled. Mind you, I love the Little Mermaid tale, and I expected it to be a re-telling, not something ground-breakingly new. As well, there were some bits of nice symbolism and such -- the water kingdom, the tunnel, etc. -- and I'm all for Cate Blanchette as a sea goddess. I also loved Totoro, so I don't even think it's just that I was caught off-guard by a movie meant for younger children. (As Sherri put it, the movie was definitely not challenging, and honestly, I usually don't mind that.)
First, I was less enamored of the character designs, which struck me as vintage Miyazaki in the bad way: the fish-girls are shapeless blobs with odd heads, and I'm pretty sure I rolled my eyes at the garishness of Ponyo's father.
Then there's the inclusion of some tired and unsubtle jabs of nature vs. humanity that were unnecessary. They seemed to have been plugged in out of some moral obligation, and were especially annoying because the proponent of the "wipe out the humans/return to pristine ancient ocean" camp had once been human himself. As well, the movie does an excellent job showing how pollution affects the ocean and so on -- the dialogue to that effect removed any hint of subtlety or finesse from those scenes. It reminded me of the first Miyazaki film I saw, Princess Mononoke. While it was admittedly a lovely, lovely film, I haven't the faintest desire to re-watch it, and a large part of that stems from the heavy-handed eco-thumping.
Yes, I understand that concern about the planet is a good theme. But Studio Ghibli has the talent to show the encroachment and damage and concern in a way that makes the preachy dialogue clunkier by far in comparison. Unfortunately they insist on telling us the moral of the story, as well, which ruins the effect.
The other thing I disliked was actually a little harder to pin down.
I do understand that this is supposed to be a sweet little love story; a fairy tale in which the fate of the world hinges on two five-year-olds and their innocent idea of love. Ponyo, who is a willful and spirited girl (not unlike Coraline, who survives her ordeals precisely because she is both clever and such an utter brat) makes a decision about who she's going to be, rebels against the father, and promptly tromps off to make it so -- leaving quite a wake in her path. She is the epitome of a tiny force of nature.
Her decision and her magic (presumably augmented by the potion her father was going to unleash on the poor humans) do affect the balance of nature, endangering the world, and at the same time enabling the wonders of ancient oceans to return. It is, quite literally, magic of world-shaping proportions.
Meanwhile, Sosuke, the object of Ponyo's fascination, is somewhat serious, kind, considerate and responsible (or as much as can be expected of a five-year-old boy). He saves her life in the beginning of the story, gives her the means to become human, and gives her the name Ponyo, which she gleefully adopts. (Honestly, it is better than Brunhilde or "Hey, fish girl".) He is understandably distraught when Ponyo's father retrieves the magical talking fish and traps her in a bubble under the sea.
The movie goes on as expected. Ponyo and Sosuke must make a journey, helping and trusting each other; as predicted by her father, Ponyo tires and begins to lose her magic, and Sosuke ends up pushing her along. And I think that was what finally tipped me from mild amusement to flat disappointment -- suddenly Ponyo's tale bcame just another story about a girl giving up everything (home, family, friends, and especially her own inherent magic) to join the world of the boy she loves. Why does the sacrifice have to be so complete -- and so completely one-sided?
The original version holds within it a bouquet of Christian warnings; illustrations of the inherent dangers of desire and sacrifice; soul vs. magic; humans mixing with Others (whether that meant mermaids or, I suppose, those of a different class or race). I had honestly hoped that this re-telling might bend those rules, if not outright break them. I was hoping for a little balance.
I don't consider myself one of those women who get their panties in a twist over fairy tales, but I do find myself quickly tiring of certain tropes. Maybe it's a symptom of my age, or perhaps there's a sense that some of them hit too close to home, these days.
These days I'd much rather read about women whose magic is so ingrained it can't be so easily forsaken; women clever enough and strong enough to remain true to themselves without losing that balance. I want Vasilisa or Chihiro, a Coraline or a Promethea.
If there must be a little mermaid, then let her be wise enough to understand the dangers she faces, and brave enough to turn herself to foam on the water, if need be. And once in a while, if she could turn the tables, to see what her object of desire might be willing to give up for her instead ... well, that would be a fine thing to see, as well.
Sita Sings the Blues is fabulous. Aside from being based on the heart-wrenching tale of Sita told in the Ramayana, I love writers and artists who are able to bring modern relevance to the old stories, and Nina Paley managed to do that both through interweaving a modern-day breakup tale with Sita's story, and by using Annette Hanshaw's jazz vocals as Sita's modern voice. (Also: Todd Michaelsen's three Indian-flavored electronica pieces are awesome. Must download those.) The three shadow puppet narrators manage to be informative (for those who don't have a clue about Indian myth or The Ramayana) and also hilarious at the same time.
The only complaint I have about the movie is that it's too long ... and by that, I could have done without a few of the Hanshaw songs without losing the fun and flavor of the story. They all fit eerily well, mind you...
Apparently there will also be a hi-res download of the film in the archives beginning March 7. Good to know.
Gunnerkrigg Court is one of my most favorite webcomics of all time. Tom Siddell has managed to spin a wonderful story about school, and robots, and and friendship, and talking to dead people. It's a world in which gruff, eyeless girls from another dimension accidentally pull you along when their mind gets yanked into a scary place, and the Big Bad Monster gets bound into the stuffed wolf doll your mom made you, and the forest at the other end of the bridge really is full of living shadows and faeries and even Coyote himself. It's a world of myth and weird science and all the things I love. I wish I could write these things half as well, never mind drawing the story, too.
As always, I'm loving the current storyline. Coyote has taken an interest in the main character -- a young school girl who also happens to be a spiritual medium -- and has invited her to visit him in the dark forest. There is tension between the denizens of the forest and those of the school, so Annie, brave girl that she is, must leave her escort at the bridge and undertake the journey alone. (As is only right and proper.)
The echoes of the mythic hero quest invoked by Siddell has been a delight since the comic began, and now I find myself anxiously awaiting the new pages to see what happens next. How will the journey change her? (As all such journeys do.) And how will our heroine change the deep, dark wood?
I had heard about Liquid Comics a few months ago, and promised myself I'd keep an eye on them as they tackle their goal of bringing ancient epics such as the Ramayana to the comic/graphic novel audience. Of course, we have all of one comic store in town these days, and I very rarely get over there, so this eventually slipped my mind altogether. Until Technoccult was kind enough to link to a Wired article on the movie version of Ramayan 3392 AD, that is. Due in 2011, the movie is a collaboration with Mandalay Pictures; let me just say, the teaser pics rock. If that's what the comic looks like, I have got to find that book.
This sort of thing -- updated myths with modern relevance -- has been on my mind again recently, since Evn prompted his loyal strifemongers to ponder casting calls for myth-based movies. All of the entries posted were very cool ideas, with excellent "casting," and most of them prompted me to take notes on more must-track-down stories. (My own entry was based around the stories of Iyansa and Shango, the orishas of storm and war. It won, somehow, sending my brain into meltdown mode. Seriously ... I never win things like this.)
Hm. That's the second thing I've won in the last two weeks. Perhaps I should look into this "lottery" thing. You know, the one where they give you money..?
Honestly, I would love to see any of the proposed ideas made into movies. It blows me away that there is such a wealth of inspiration and wonder in the old stories that has largely gone untapped and forgotten by the modern world. I hope, with the success of Guillermo del Toro's brilliant treatments of mythic relevance in Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy II, that the tide will be changing in the near future. Not only for the obvious wealth of imagery and effects, but because I want storytellers who are able to successfully tap into the wonder and inspiration and terror of the mythic other that modern life has largely forgotten. I would also like, if it's not too much trouble, an immensely successful writer/director/actor to drop the "Pagan" bomb on Oprah -- in a way that won't immediately cause the Wince of Associated Shame from every Pagan who witnesses it. And also ponies. Because everyone likes ponies.
