[HN Gopher] Miyazaki's 'The Boy and the Heron' makes clear the w...
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       Miyazaki's 'The Boy and the Heron' makes clear the world is a
       fragile place
        
       Author : cempaka
       Score  : 104 points
       Date   : 2023-11-14 17:14 UTC (5 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.latimes.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.latimes.com)
        
       | ilrwbwrkhv wrote:
       | I think the future will be a large group of Amish like who will
       | be pacifists and shun technology and a group who live in the
       | citadel with AI creating everything in their consciousness.
       | Deeply unhappy but addicted to the rat race.
        
         | skummetmaelk wrote:
         | The future?
        
         | webkike wrote:
         | Ok
        
         | TeMPOraL wrote:
         | Shunning technology on its own won't lead to pacifism.
         | Otherwise, what you described is pretty much a typical fantasy
         | setting.
        
           | ilrwbwrkhv wrote:
           | I think even the little that we have seen from chatgpt is a
           | sign that generated content will always be heartless, poor
           | quality but people will be ok with it and adopt it. So I
           | think it would make sense that eventually this will break the
           | market into two.
        
             | aik wrote:
             | Or... you view it as just another perspective just like
             | that from a human coworker where most ideas are throwaway
             | but you take what you like and leave the rest.
             | Understandably we all want AI to be perfect but what we
             | have today is much more human.
        
             | isk517 wrote:
             | Sturgeon's law ("ninety percent of everything is crap") is
             | well known, and a lot of money has been made and time spend
             | consuming a significant chunk of that 90%. AI only needs to
             | be better than 90% of that 90% to succeed.
        
           | 082349872349872 wrote:
           | When anabaptism was new, there were also many non-pacifist
           | sects, but those eventually all failed to survive the
           | conflicts they got into the with the wider non-anabaptist
           | world.
        
         | pilsetnieks wrote:
         | Neal Stephenson's _Fall_ [1] is by far not his best book,
         | however, the first part has a chilling depiction of societal
         | divide into Ameristan and, for lack of a better word, the blue
         | states that feels entirely plausible.
         | 
         | [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall;_or,_Dodge_in_Hell
        
           | msisk6 wrote:
           | I just finished the audiobook version of this on a long drive
           | through the heart of Ameristan. Very plausible. Remember
           | Moab!
        
           | lph wrote:
           | It's a shame, the Ameristan near-future dystopia parts of
           | Fall were quite good, but the virtual world plot became
           | increasingly silly. My mood would pick up whenever I landed
           | on a chapter that got back to the "real world" plot.
        
         | stuckinhell wrote:
         | I'm slowly coming around to this conclusion as well.
        
         | PakG1 wrote:
         | I told my wife that we should consider being farmers in the
         | future. She said we'd starve to death. Can't figure out if I
         | agree with her.
        
       | jrsdav wrote:
       | One aspect of Japanese culture that deeply resonates with me is
       | its unique connection to the geographical landscape. It seems
       | intricately woven with the very essence of Japan, a nation shaped
       | by the terrifying reality of earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, and
       | volcanoes.
       | 
       | These influences appear to have profound influence on the
       | collective mindset of the people. The constant reminder of
       | impermanence has sculpted a distinctive perspective on life,
       | rendering the cultural tapestry of Japan something that feels
       | intrinsically tied to its specific time and place.
       | 
       | I often reflect on this thought -- Japan could have only ever
       | happened in Japan.
        
         | ep103 wrote:
         | I think this is true of all places, people just tend not to
         | recognize it where they live.
         | 
         | One of my favorite ways to travel is by train or motorcycle
         | over long distances, and just watch how architecture, clothing,
         | styles, layouts, etc change or surprisingly don't change in
         | response to geographical changes.
         | 
         | Both are possible, and both tell you a lot about the people
         | there.
        
       | phillipcarter wrote:
       | Guillermo del Toro really put it well:
       | 
       | > We are privileged enough to be living in a time where Mozart is
       | composing symphonies
       | 
       | I'd encourage anyone who hasn't seen the full breadth of
       | Miyazaki's work to watch them all. It's well worth your time, and
       | especially to see how his work has helped shape a lot of other
       | media you've likely consumed.
        
         | layer8 wrote:
         | Aside from the feature films, also don't forget:
         | 
         | * his one major manga/graphic novel, Nausicaa
         | 
         | * Future Boy Conan (TV series)
         | 
         | * Panda Kopanda (aka Panda! Go, Panda!) (two short films)
         | 
         | * the five episodes of Sherlock Hound he directed
         | 
         | * On Your Mark (music video)
         | 
         | (of course, there's more)
        
           | tehnub wrote:
           | Deeper in the iceberg we find early animation work by
           | Miyazaki on the 1969 film Phantom Flying Ship: https://www.sa
           | kugabooru.com/data/4d0af6c0638a415173b7de66766...
        
         | huytersd wrote:
         | They are artistically sound and beautiful, but kind of boring
         | to be honest. Kurosawa on the other hand satisfies all three.
        
           | slekker wrote:
           | Any recommendations from his work for someone who hadn't
           | heard of him before?
        
             | huytersd wrote:
             | Rashomon and Seven Samurai are classics. Kagemusha is
             | probably my favorite.
        
           | baby wrote:
           | Miyazaki's films are boring? What?
        
             | huytersd wrote:
             | Yeah, it took an effort to get through spirited away and
             | nausica. I even tried a second watch through of spirited
             | away but at the risk of being blasphemous, I found it
             | boring.
        
             | hotnfresh wrote:
             | They're often light on plot and don't foreground conflict.
             | If you don't enjoy drinking in a long animated "shot"
             | (that's another thing, they have relatively slow editing)
             | with little movement or talking, don't appreciate the
             | attention to detail and highlighting of little everyday
             | actions, or aren't cool with simply absorbing a vibe, I can
             | see how they might bore.
        
               | huytersd wrote:
               | Well I don't want to come off as a rube. I did appreciate
               | the attention to detail and it's a beautiful movie with a
               | consistent vibe. You can still find something boring with
               | all of those boxes checked though.
        
               | hotnfresh wrote:
               | Sorry, didn't mean to imply that, but my wording kinda
               | does, you're right. I just meant that if those elements
               | aren't, at least in the particular mix and form they take
               | in these films, _engaging_ for a given viewer, I can see
               | how they might be boring. They definitely have a
               | different focus and form than most films, including a
               | large majority of very-well-regarded or "sophisticated"
               | films (I don't mean they're just different from, like,
               | Fast and the Furious X).
        
         | ilamont wrote:
         | The only two animated films that have ever triggered an
         | emotional response are _Watership Down_ (when I was a kid) and
         | Ghibli 's _Grave of the Fireflies_ (when I was an adult). Both
         | were really heavy in ways that are hard to articulate.
         | 
         | The trailer for the latter:
         | 
         | https://youtu.be/4vPeTSRd580?si=CAN__Md9KIKQcehN
        
           | surgical_fire wrote:
           | Grave of Fireflies was to this day the only movie that made
           | me cry.
           | 
           | It did so twice.
        
             | apricot wrote:
             | Best movie I never want to see again.
        
           | triceratops wrote:
           | Pedant's note: GP's comment was how Guillermo del Toro
           | compared Miyazaki to Mozart. _Grave of the Fireflies_ was
           | written and directed by Isao Takahata, not Hayao Miyazaki.
        
       | Chanderton wrote:
       | While not Miyazaki (but still Studio Ghibli), Isao Takahata's
       | films Grave of the Fireflies (and to some extent, Princess
       | Kaguya), isn't really some "feel good" movies. Optimistic is the
       | last thing i would describes those two masterpieces.
        
         | boogieknite wrote:
         | Had seen most of the Ghibli movies and then turned on Princess
         | Kaguya for the first time as something to help my spouse fall
         | asleep. By the end were both crying. This was 3 years ago and
         | was the last time I cried and can't recall the last time I
         | cried before that.
         | 
         | Princess Kaguya is my favorite Ghibli movie but also never
         | rewatched because it's so emotional. All that and I'm not even
         | a parent, let alone good with kids whatsoever.
        
       | victordevt wrote:
       | Miyazaki's work is so different than the mainstream Japanese
       | anime industry!
        
       | robterrell wrote:
       | I saw the film at a festival last month, not sure what to expect
       | for a beloved creator coming out of retirement. I should not have
       | been worried, it's astounding -- Del Toro isn't really
       | exaggerating in that praise. I hadn't read about it being
       | autobiographical until afterwards, but it did seem incredibly
       | personal. I found it to be profoundly joyful and sad in multiple
       | ways, especially in the aspect of a master searching for a
       | protege.
        
       | kleiba wrote:
       | I haven't seen any of Miyazaki's work - which of his movies would
       | you recommend I watch first and why?
        
         | topaz0 wrote:
         | It really doesn't matter -- they are all incredible.
        
           | lm28469 wrote:
           | I've randomly picked three to watch with my gf because one of
           | her friends kept saying they were all master pieces. Castle
           | in the sky, spirited away and Howl's moving castle
           | 
           | I did not really enjoy a single one of them, castle in the
           | sky was the best but it didn't make me want to watch the rest
           | of his filmography.
        
             | wahnfrieden wrote:
             | Just stop there then
        
             | baby wrote:
             | I honestly can't fathom how someone would not be mindblown
             | by these three movies.
        
             | surgical_fire wrote:
             | Not all movies are for everyone. It's okay to not like
             | something
             | 
             | It's also possible that a lot of people wouldn't like
             | movies you love.
             | 
             | That said, Castle in the Sky in particular is not only one
             | of the best animations I ever watched, it's likely one of
             | the best movies I ever watched.
        
         | tehnub wrote:
         | No better way to do it than release-order. Start with The
         | Castle of Cagliostro and make your way to The Wind Rises. I'd
         | recommend watching the films he wrote but didn't direct as
         | well, which are Whisper of the Heart, The Secret World of
         | Arrietty, and From Up on Poppy Hill.
        
           | kleiba wrote:
           | Excellent, thanks very much!
        
           | Der_Einzige wrote:
           | Note that his sons films are conspicuously missing from this
           | list, hehe. Tales from the earth sea was absolute garbage.
        
             | tehnub wrote:
             | Well I was only saying the films directed or written by
             | Hayao Miyazaki. I actually did list From Up on Poppy Hill,
             | directed by Goro and co-written by Hayao.
        
         | baby wrote:
         | Princess mononoke, totoro, spirited away, kiki, porco rosso,
         | floating castle, castle in the sky, basically all of them
         | except the last ones IMO (ponyo, the wind rises)
        
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       (page generated 2023-11-14 23:02 UTC)