Ed, ENTS- I think "Bambi" was the only Disney movie to influence me in regards to nature, and I think it was a positive influence. Probably saw it about 1956.
Steve On Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 11:33 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > I love Miyazaki and find that many many other Japanese movies convey high > respect for forests. > > I've mentioned the Narayama movie ( > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnkSHX96cuc), but I also recently saw "The > Mourning Forest" by Naomi Kawase (2007). A young woman recovering from the > death of her young son nurses a senile old man. One day he wanders off into > the woods and she has to find him and then they get lost. Beautiful movie. > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jFVebzJ-y4 > > Another really really good and weird one is Fire Festival (Himatsuri, > 1985). A lumberman wages war against a developer in unexpected ways. > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt1UmDBRT8k > > There are so many more. > > No disneyfication going on in these movies, that's for sure! > > Jenny > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Andrew Joslin <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Thu, Nov 19, 2009 7:19 pm > Subject: Re: [ENTS] Family Activity: The Disneyification of Nature > > Ed, if I had kids I'd be glad to conduct your survey! > > Many of you have probably heard of the animated film director Hayao > Miyazaki whose movies do a great job of capturing the mystery and > importance of nature and the forest in a way that's appealing to > children and adults. He is an environmental populist with deep roots, a > rare species in the entertainment industry. My only caveat is try to > watch the English subtitled Japanese language versions as opposed to the > dubbed English versions. The voices of the Japanese actors seem to > convey the intent of the director better then the often poorly cast or > directed English dubbed voices. > > If you're not familiar with Miyazaki's work I recommend the following: > My Neighbor Totoro > Spirited Away > > For a great parable of uncontrolled human enterprise, technology and > destruction of the environment: > Princess Mononoke > > This Studio Ghibli wikipedia entry has a thorough list of Miyazaki's > films:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_Ghibli > -Andrew > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki> > Edward Frank wrote: > > > > The Disneyification of Nature > > > > Andrew Joslin recently commented on the Disneyification of nature: > > > > /Yep nature metaphors are a double edged sword, you want to be able to > > communicate to a wide audience. At the same time the power of the > > metaphor can be diluted or co-opted/redirected by commercial/marketing > > forces. I guess that's why I think forest and nature metaphors/myths > > need to be reinvented and reinvigorated to stay ahead of > > "disneyification". (November 16, 2009)./ > > > > Certainly how nature is portrayed in the popular media influences how > > we perceive nature. In the latter part of the 19^th century and early > > part of the 20^th the safari’s in Africa by luminaries such as Ernest > > Hemmingway and Teddy Roosevelt popularized and glamorized the idea of > > the “Great White Hunter.’ This accompanied the romanticism found in > > the journals of Robert Stanley and his search for Dr. Livingston in > > the heart of Africa. Fictional stories by H. Rider Haggard such as > > “She” and the “King Solomon’s Mines” glamorized the jungle experience > > and in turn inspired a series of over two dozen Tarzan novels by Edgar > > Rice Burroughs. Later on in the thirties to the present animated > > movies and cartoons by Disney and others similarly influenced our > > perception of the natural world. The Bambi effect for better or > > worse has changed the public perception of hunting. More recently > > explorations of the natural world by Marlin Perkins in his Mutual of > > Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, Marty Stouffer’s Wild America, and Steve > > Irwin’s Crocodile Hunter put a human face anew upon explorations of > > the natural world. These television programs were produced against a > > background of documentary films by Disney, National Geographic, and > > various Nova producers showing a version of nature in which humans did > > not play an intermediary role. Some have characterized these > > documentaries as the elevator music of nature programming. There is > > little doubt that these examples of popular media influence our > > collective view of the natural world. > > > > > > > > How are television, movies, and video games influencing our children’s > > view of nature? > > > > Specifically how are trees and forests portrayed in these media > > formats? I am proposing a project that involves children’s > > programming on television. Many of you have children or have close > > relatives with children grade school age or younger (or perhaps you > > can rent some.) The perception of children of these media sources is > > different from our perception as adults. The goal would be to compile > > results from surveys of what children see and interpret from > > depictions of trees and forests in cartoons. In general terms > > participants would ask their children about what examples of trees and > > forests they remember from cartoons, then the children would be ask to > > mark down and comment on what tree and forest images they see in > > cartoons as they watch them. It can be treated like a game rather > > than a homework assignment. Specific information required would be > > the age and gender of the child and the name of the cartoon, in > > addition to the comments. > > > > > > > > Preliminary Survey: > > > > Before they sit down and make notes on the cartoons as they watch > > them, a series of questions should be ask. > > > > 1) Do you remember any trees or forests in the cartoon shows you > > watch? > > > > 2) What show were they in? (Doesn’t matter if the answer is wrong) > > > > 3) Were the trees part of the story or just things in the background? > > > > 4) If they were part of the story > > > > a. Did they have faces? > > > > b. Could they talk? > > > > c. Could they move their branches around? > > > > d. Could they walk around? > > > > e. Were the trees friendly or mean? > > > > f. Were they happy or sad? > > > > g. Do you know what kind of trees they were? > > > > 5) What did the trees do in the story? > > > > 6) Is there anything else they want to say about the trees (or > > even other plants)? > > > > The key is to not lead them into giving any particular answer, but to > > document their impressions. After this preliminary session, they > > should be given notepaper or a notebook so they can write down what > > they notice about trees as they watch their cartoon shows. You > > could even loan them a digital camera to snap photos of the television > > screen as they watch. Try to make it fun, a game or a contest. > > > > When these notes are completed, everyone can email them to me at > > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]?>> > > rather than post them > > to the discussion list, and I will compile them all into a report > > which I will post in a month or so. Feel free to include scans of > > drawings they may make as part of the processes. > > > > > > > > Edward Frank > > > > > > > > Check out my new Blog: http://nature-web-network.blogspot.com/ (and > > click on some of the ads) > > > > -- > > Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org > > Send email to [email protected] > > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en > > To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] > > -- > Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org > Send email to [email protected] > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en > To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] > > -- > Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org > Send email to [email protected] > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en > To unsubscribe send email to > [email protected]<entstrees%[email protected]> > -- Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected]
