Media Issue Research Project Summary

Hello Everyone! It's Alyssa Fowler.

Today I would like to tell you what I learned from my Media Issue Research Project for my Introduction to Electronic Media class.

The topic I chose for this assignment was to talk about my favorite film director and how their style differs from that of other directors. I decided to talk about Hayao Miyazaki.

One factor that I learned about Miyazaki is that he was inspired to become an artist after watching The Tale of the White Serpent, the first Anime movie in color, in 1958. He also worked at various animation studios in Japan, including Toei and Nippon, before finding Studio Ghibli on June 15th, 1985.

Personally, what I found hard to believe is that he looked to the works of other animators for inspiration. This included animations by Paul Grimaul, Yuri Norsheteyn, and Frederick Bach.

John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer at Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and DisneyToon Studios, was one of the artists who was inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's work. This influence began when Lasseter saw the first film Miyazaki directed, Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro. Starting with Spirited Away, he was the executive producer of the English versions of Miyazaki's films.

What set Hayao Miyazaki's work apart from animation by other film companies like Disney, Dreamworks, and Illumination, is the themes present in nearly all of 11 films. These themes were the absence of villains, flying scenes, female protagonists, feminism, environmentalism, and anti-war pacifism.

My favorite films from Hayao Miyazaki are My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Ponyo. My Neighbor Totoro was one of the first Anime I saw when I was a child. Miyazaki's work is one of the sources of inspiration that influenced my own art style for my Cryptic Casters book series.

Fans of Hayao Miyazaki's work, like myself, were disappointed when he declared his retirement from feature-length animation on September 6th, 2013. However, he still continues making manga and taking part in animated short films by Studio Ghibli.

I'll chat with you guys later!