Polaneczky: Miyazaki's films empower children

Teen Reader

Hayao Miyazaki’s films have changed the childhoods of this last generation of young people. He is one of the most renowned animators in film, and his art is groundbreaking in its uniqueness, wonder and sense of morals. 


Miyazaki’s style is like a Japanese twist on the classic Walt Disney films of the 1940s, with breathtaking details in fantastical worlds. Amongst the beauty and fantasy, however, Miyazaki is actually quite the opposite of Walt Disney. The worlds portrayed in his movies are often frightening and broken, and he doesn’t sugarcoat this. There is a balance between light and dark, and the morals set in his films are about creativity, bravery and and finding inspiration and courage in yourself during tumultuous times.

These stories go far beyond just being fairy tales, though, and they hold a strong sense of metaphor and truth. The 1980s’ “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” is about a post-apocalyptic world surrounded by a forest of deadly mushrooms and Nausicaä’s determination to keep two kingdoms from destroying the land in an attempt to make things better for the people within it. The film’s symbolism is indistinguishable, and it illustrates to children the importance of culture and of the Earth, and was presented by the World Wide Fund for Nature in 1984.

I can honestly say that being raised with films like these has affected the way I view art, nature and people for the better. I was taught that as a young person you have the ability to change things and to help people greatly, and that being a child or a girl doesn’t mean you are the helpless character. Every person has the power to make a difference. Miyazaki showed me that children were appreciated and valued as the ones shaping the world we live in.

Athens’ Ciné is showing a series of films from Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli, including “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” this January and February. For more information, go to www.athenscine.com/studioghibliseries.php.

• Grace Polaneczky is 14 and lives in Athens.