Japanese and American Films - Essay Example

Japanese and American Films The world today can be seen to be totally different form the past world as general knowledge of it is continued to be studied. Films however have been there in the past and also now. It is through the present knowledge that films are analyzed to bring out their real meaning and connection to the world. Different films have different themes and archetype that portray a different understanding to the society. The paper will look the films Kiki’s Delivery Service which is a creation of Japanese writers & animators: A Dog of Flanders which is a Flemish story: Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone which is a creation of European & American writers & filmmakers. Assessment of these films shows their similarities and differences and most importantly, the archetype hero portrayed in all of them through the main characters which are Kiki, Nello and Harry Potter, respectively. A Dog of Flanders, Kiki’s Delivery Service and Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone are films that tell stories of young children by the age of ten to thirteen. Most of the films, the target audience being children, were first published as stories then later became screen played. Harry potter is a series of stories written by J.K. Rowling. Harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone is however the very first novel in the series. The book was published in London on June 26th 1997. The book became popular all over the United Kingdom and later on also became popular in the United States in 1998. The book went to heights of winning awards which was of course judged by children since they were the target audience. It was later on turned to a film which became even more popular. The film and the rest of harry porter series is said to be used as a source of object lessons in sociological analysis, educational techniques and marketing. Kiki's Delivery Service, a Japanese animated fantasy film was produced by Studio Ghibli in Japan on 29th July 1989. Hayao Miyazaki wrote it, produced and directed it as an adaptation of the 1985 novel that was of the same name by Eiko Kadono. Just as Harry Potter, Kiki’s delivery service was first a written novel that became popular and was later turned into a film that made it even more known. Its popularity among the targeted audience who were children led to it winning various awards. The film focuses its story on the main character, a young girl named Kiki. According to the writer of the book, a close understanding of the movie and the book portrayed the gulf between reliance and independence in teenage Japanese girls. Just like Kiki’s delivery service and harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone, a dog of Flanders was first written as a novel which was later produced as a film. The fact that they were all novels before being films is one of the similarities between the three popular films. A Dog of Flanders was a novel written by the author named Ouida. The screenplay was however written Robert Singer and Brodie which was entirely based on the novel. In 1999, Kevin Brodie directed the film which was shot in Belgium. Based on the original novel, a Dog of Flanders was the fifth film. It can be analyzed that he book versions of these films is very similar to the films. The producers strictly based the films on the characters in the novel, giving them life to help people understand and place a motion picture to the already well understood and loved books. Despite the similarities in the three films, there all have different stories that attract the audience in a unique way. To fully understand the common heroism among the stories, it is important to have a full understanding of the plot stories. Kiki’s delivery service is a story of a thirteen year old girl named Kiki and other main characters who are Jiji, Tombo and Ursula. Kiki though being young leaves her home and goes to another place taking with her, her black cat, Jiji. Kiki knows that she is not an ordinary girl and hence goes in such of proper practice since she is a witch. In the new place, Kiki gets a job at a delivery service where she uses her broomstick to make the deliveries. Through her work, Kiki meets a variety of people, one of them being Tombo. He is annoying at first but later on become good friends with Kiki. It is during the latter half of the film that the main theme of the story starts to reveal. Kiki loses her power and her understanding of her pet jiji. Through the help of Ursula, Kiki is determined to find a new purpose that will help her regain her powers. Fortunately, Tombo is faced by a misfortune that pushes Kiki to her limit letting her regain her flying power and manages to save Tombo. A close understanding of the film allows the audience to see that Kiki did not only regain her flying power, but also her confidence and happiness to do what she mostly loves. Harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone, is a story of a young boy by the age of eleven. Just like Kiki in Kiki’s delivery service, Harry Potter has a magical heritage since he is a young wizard. He leaves home in such of a new and more comfortable life that is ordinary to him and goes to Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. The other main characters in the film are other students who come to be Harry Potter’s friends. With the help of his friends, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom , harry potter faces his greatest challenge who is also his greatest, enemy, Lord Voldemort. Lord Voldemort is a dark wizard who killed Harry’s parents when he was just one year old. Despite facing Lord Voldemort and other enemies, harry seems to be happy with his friends as he learns magic and how to ride a broomstick. Hogwarts becomes a new home for harry where he feels the need to unleash all the hidden power he never knew he had. Just like Kiki, a new purpose helps Harry discover the ability of his magical powers. Find and protecting the sorcerer’s stone becomes Harry’s focus which helps him to gain more confidence in himself and his abilities. A Dog of Flanders, is a film whose main character is a young boy by the name Nello. He lives with his grandfather, Jehan Daas who is also a major character in the film. Nello, despite having a home, he does not have parents and he sends his young life making milk deliveries. It is through his deliveries with his grandfather that they find a dog on the side of the road that is nearing death. The working dog of Flanders becomes Nello’s friend and companion. Nello lives a life of poverty and unhappiness. Just like Harry Potter, Nello faces an evil man who blames him for burning down Nicholas Cogez local mill. Nellos grandfather dies and shortly after people stop buying his milk. He is left alone in a world full of ungrateful people. As Nello wanders the street, he comes across a wallet full of money that belongs to the mills owner and through an act of heroism returns the wallet to its rightful owner. As he finally shelters in a church, Nello becomes totally depressed. Life appears to push him to the edge but unexpectedly, just like Kiki and Harry Potter, he regains true confidence and realizes he has a lot of strength in him and in his abilities as an artist. Nello then lives a happy and comfortable life after it is realized that his father is a famous artist named Michael La Grande. A critical analysis of the three films shows recurrent themes, characters and symbols that appear in the films. There are various elements that appear in such films driven by an almost similar story line. These elements are known as archetypal mythic elements which include archetype and archetypal characters. An archetype is model or paradigm of something by which, through mythology, comes to exist in the collective unconscious and becomes an addition to the way we organize our thinking about the universe and human life. Archetypal characters are role models or characters that represent humanity. Harry Potter, Kiki and Nello are the archetypal characters in the films since they represent heroism among the people around them. Carl Jung stated that everyone is born with an instinctive knowledge of certain archetypes. The instinctive knowledge of what a hero is, our ability to recognize heroic deeds without being told about them first is part of our collective unconscious. The three films have the ability to trigger the viewer’s instinctive knowledge. Anyone watching the films will realize that the characters portray heroism and true confidence which lead to them having a happy lie than they initially had. Kiki, Harry and Nello have a sad life at the beginning and feel lost from the world, it is through their inner strengths that they bring forth their capabilities and show the world that they can be true heroes. The audience interprets the films and responds to reality. Despite the films having common archetypal characters, the concept of vulnerability is also common among the films. In Kiki’s delivery services, Kiki can be seen to appear vulnerable when she is in a different town. She leaves her hometown I search of acceptance of her true self. Kiki appears to be mist vulnerable after she loses her ability to fly and also her ability to communicate with her cat. Her own inflicted self-doubt reflects her loss of flight. Kiki, however, realizes that vulnerability doesn’t dictate failure and by this she can regain her flight ability. In Harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone, Harry also appears to be vulnerable when he experiences hardships in his family. Harry Potter is an orphan and the family he lives with shows no love and affection towards him. It is during this time that he feels most vulnerable having no self-acceptance since he is a wizard. Just like Kiki, Harry realizes that vulnerability does not dictate failure when he decides o join Hogwarts the school of witchcraft and discover his true inner strength as a wizard. He channels his strength when he realizes he has to face his greatest enemy who is the evil man who killed his parents. Having knowledge of this will answer the question, what human lessons are there in these two stories? People should learn that there comes a point in life when giving up is the only option left after life becomes unfair and seems to head in the wrong direction every waking day. However, it is the inner most strength that should keep one going, the ability to realize that there is more your body and mind can offer. Several wrong turns in life eventually lead to the tight turn and all it takes is self-motivation and acceptance. In A Dog in Flanders and Kiki’s Delivery Services, the use of animals as pets can be clear seen. Nello has a pet which is a dg while Kiki has a black cat named Jiji. The use of these pets is to show that despite the troubles they were going through, they had that one companion that help them to feel safe and at peace. In Kiki’s Delivery Services, Kiki can be seen to be devastated when she loses the ability to communicate with her cat. It is clear that he cat is her close companion. Considering the target audiences of the films are mostly young children, the use of animal pets is a strong statement to show the importance of having a pet as a companion. Nello is seen to love and care for the dog he finds beaten and nearing death. Being a boy who just lost his mother, Nello finds true friendship in his pet. Kiki, Harry Potter and Nello are heroes. They all seem to have the same characteristic that truly portrays their heroism. Harry potter was a mistreated orphan that grown without being shown love and affection but yet had the capability to considerate with people and also be protective against the weak. This portrayed him as a hero in the lives of many young children and also of adults watching the film. Kiki was a hero when despite the loss of her flight and confidence; she managed to gather strength after seeing her friend on the verge of falling when he was hanging for his dear life. Kiki, just like Harry, is protective of the weak. Nello is also a hero when he rescues the injured dog, nurtures it and despite not having uch to offer, he loves it and gives it a home. Nello was also faced with life difficulties but when he came across a wallet full of money, he decided to take it to its rightful owner. These simple acts are seen as acts of heroism. In conclusion, A Dog of Flanders, Kiki’s Delivery Service and Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone are films that have over the years become popular in the society. They are films that every person young or old can watch, understand and relate to. The main characters, Kiki, Nello and Harry are seen to have gone through hardships at the beginning of the film in their lives but later find true confidence and self-worth leading to the restoration of their happiness. I personally can relate to Harry potter. He is an offer that experiences hardships very early in his life. He has no loving family to help him conceal the loss of his real parents. However, despite all this, finds a new family in the true friendship of his Hogwarts classmates. He still is compassionate ad cares for the weak. Anyone watching the film should see that harry porter is a true hero, this being the reason why I can strongly relate to harry porter. References Anime News Network,. 'Buried Treasure - The Dog Of Flanders'. N.p., 2015. Web. 5 May 2015. Beneluxguide.com,. 'Nello And Patrasche – The Antwerp’S Story Of The Dog Of Flanders'.N.p., .Web. 5 May 2015. Campbell, Joseph, and Bill D. Moyers. The Power of Myth. New York: Doubleday, 1988. Print. Criticalthinking.org,. 'Defining Critical Thinking'. N.p., 2015. Web. 5 May 2015. Read More