Looking at the Frames

The mall tends to bore me.  I rarely go, so at least there is usually something novel when I do.  I will admit that malls usually do have a pleasant atmosphere.  However I do not feel the sense of community with the aggregate of consumers surrounding me, as some seem to.  Shopping for me is not so much a social outing as a militaristic mission.  Whether it is food, clothes, or an item from a specific store, I like to determine what I need, formulate a plan to get it, execute the plan, and get out.  Perhaps this mindset deprives me of the joy so many people find in shopping, but it seems to work for me.  I have a hard time "just looking" most of the time.  Unless there is something I am already interested in, and am actively searching for, I feel like I am wasting my time.

I have never people watched as many seem fond of doing.  It has always seemed almost a rude prying into other's lives.  If I can find a nice place to sit, and have nowhere to go, I can close my eyes and let the hubbub around me to slur together into a meaningless bubbling. In this moment I can find peace, but it does not last.  The peace does not last when I am surrounded by people I do not know, in a place I do not know.  My mind keeps spiking and telling me I should be aware.  This is not to say that going to the mall is an overly traumatizing event.  But whenever I am there I cannot fully relax, it is like a small itch that does not go away until I leave.  I  am not sure what makes me feel this way.  Maybe the pseudo-religious atmosphere bothers me as the tries to become more than it should be.

I did not buy anything when I went to the mall. This was mainly due to the fact that I didn't need anything.  I noticed the brands trying to draw me into a "relationship" with them through their fancy slogans, art in the stores and even those working there trying to make me feel welcome.  I also noticed that when I realized what they were doing, it broke the spell.  It made it appear to be the thin veneer that it was. Although I was disoriented by their schemes of design and advertising, their reorientations did not capture my imagination like they planned.  I realize that I have been caught up in it before, and bought things I don't need or even necessarily want.  However when you enter that place with a light, planning on seeing just what is going on, it not nearly as easy to be fooled.

Princess Mononoke

John Jung

1/21/13

DCM

Princess Mononoke

          When I was in middle school, my friend from Japan had a movie that she brought back from her hometown which was called, “Princess Mononoke.” At that time I viewed the movie with pure pleasure and curiosity, not wandering what sort of hidden messages the movie had. On January 18, 2013 I had another privilege to watch the movie again in the CFAC, with a way bigger screen and better sound quality. The movie is a very interesting, the way everything is portrayed in the movie gives a fascinating excitement of wonders. Everything seemed so weird. Well basically this movie is about the main character Ashitaka, a prince of the village of Emishi, defends a demon from attacking the village. He is able to stop the demon, but he is cursed from the battle. He goes in a journey to search for a cure for his curse. 

          The movie portrayed many different themes that related to the topics that I studied in DCM. One of the main theme that I saw was greed. One of the character named Eboshi, is a woman who led an Iron Town near the forest. In order to make iron they had to cut down the forest destroying many habitats of animals and gods. This leads to conflicts against the gods of the forests and the town. Eboshi is also portrayed as a woman figure who led a revolution so that they females would not be looked down upon. All this different themes tell us about even the present world today, how we are wasting natural resources and we are constantly in battles of having more than necessary. The evil nature of human being is all around us and it is our responsibility to save this world, just like how Ashitaka did. 

           This movie shows both traits of Empire and Kingdom. Some characteristics of Empire that was shown on the movie were that everything was military controlled through violence. One of the main military controlling aspect was that the Iron Town had guns that other didn't have access to. Some characteristics of Kingdom are in the forest, where the animals had faith in their gods for protection. They also wanted peace with everybody and they worked together to seek welfare of the forest.

           I really enjoy watching animations and this is one of the must watch movies that I want to recommend to anybody of all groups of ages. (Maybe not too young because of bloody scenes.) This movie has so much deep meanings and was very well made, with famous musicians and artists. Some other movies that I would like to recommend are Spirited Away, and Howl's Moving Castle. 

1. How can we in our daily lives live for the welfare of the community that we are in?

2. Is it possible to have a world with no evil? 

3. If we look into our lives, what's evil?