Reflecting on Media: Tale of the Princess Kaguya

I am starting a blog on my website, WOW! I think this will be a good way to document what I’m up to and what's been on my mind.

Over the last year or so I have dedicated myself to the idea of graduate school, specifically an MFA. However I feel as though at this current stage in my life, I am not ready. Graduate schools tend to want someone who at least has some sort of idea of who they are and the art they want to make. I’m afraid that just isn't me yet. Would I be wasting my time and money if I don’t have any idea of the art I want to make? So I’ve decided to take a step back and get involved in my community and make art at my own pace, taking the time to explore ideas thoroughly. Another important thing I’d like to do during this new period of reflection, is read more and watch more movies. Stories have the ability to inspire so much within us, causing us to reflect on why certain stories, characters, and worlds stir up emotions. By reflecting we then have the ability to respond to these stories or films in the form of our own art.

For example: I just watched “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” and I really enjoyed it. The movie had a lot of themes that resonated with me, most notably the role and expectations of women. For those who have not seen the movie, to quote the IMDB page “A tiny nymph found inside a bamboo stalk (Kaguya) grows into a beautiful and desirable young woman. Kaguya is coveted by five nobles. To try to avoid marrying a stranger she doesn't love, she sends her suitors on seemingly impossible tasks. But she will have to face her fate and punishment for her choices.” Much of the movie focuses on Kaguya and her free spirited nature being continuously dampened by her expectations of being a princess. Throughout the movie, she is receiving marriage proposals from many even powerful men that have never met or even seen her. She is merely a tool to fuel their own ego. There was one scene in the movie that stuck with me, not to spoil anything but the main character is with her parents after finding out something bad is about to happen to her. Her father rants and raves about how “I won’t let them” or “Do you think I’d let you go?!” or “When I held you, changed you, set you on your feet…I was as happy as if I were in Heaven!”, while her mother simply holds her as she cries. The father is talking about himself and how she makes him feel almost exclusively, while her mother says nothing. Neither of the parents have to endure the fate their daughter has to, but even so the father makes this about himself up until the very end. I have been reflecting on my past relationships and in interactions with men, and have seen some of these in a new light. Particularly with male friends and how I had been expected to be so many different things to them, a bro, attractive, supportive, funny, resilient, and most importantly an option. I provide value based on how I make THEM feel, not based on who I am really. And this is not just something exclusive to me, I am far from the only young woman with nerdy interests who has felt this way. To my point though, whether a movie intends to or not it really made me stop and think and even reflect on my past. I am still thinking about this movie, sketching ideas and feelings. I am very glad I gave this movie a watch, I had heard so many raving reviews about it. While I did touch on the role of women in this post, there is so much more to discuss about this movie that is not centered around the role of women. I would love to explore these ideas more in future blogs.