Historic Background of the Artwork: Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

Visual media has undergone a significant development following the technological development. The media has been used for a long period to communicate societal values and practices as well as condemn the unacceptable values. The focus in the paper will involve the exploration of the values and significance of Ponyo as one of the Japanese visual media form. Ponyo is a Japanese animation film directed by Hayao Miyazaki and was produced in 2008. It tells a story about a boy and a girl who became friends. The boy was called Brunhilde (Sosuke), and the young fish girl (Ponyo) was staying in her wizard father's house with other many young siblings under deep waters. The fish girl was so curious about nature and adventure and so decides to take an impromptu trip to the above waters and surface. On arrival to the water surfaces, she meets a very young boy by the name Sosuke, and she develops a liking towards her. Having developed a liking towards the boy, she desires to become a human girl and stay as well as play with Sosuke and the mother. The film is created in the present day in a seaside town in Japan. The paper focuses on comparing two films one focusing on Japanese animation film and a fairytale.

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At the beginning of the film, you might think that you are watching the little mermaid film since the plot closely relates. However, the two films tend to completely diverge at some point regarding themes and the progressing story. The little mermaid emphasizes the theme of selflessness while focusing on the test that a mermaid must endure to gain or get a soul ("Little Mermaid - Under the Sea," 2013). On the other hand, Ponyo focuses on highlighting the theme of acceptance, happiness love, Devotion and harmony. The good thing is that the love triumphs at the end of the movie but whatever it triumphs over is the main source of conflicting issues that involves separation and power ("Ponyo - Official Trailer," 2014).

Thesis Statement

Love is the most featuring theme in the whole story since the main characters tend to fall for each other and also love needs to exist between the mother of the boy and the girl for the girl to be accepted in the family. The love portrayed between Ponyo and Sousuke is very pure and direct with no complications.

Analysis of the Artwork

There are various examples in the movie that display the conflict of separation where Ponyo separates from Sousuke in the first act. Additionally, another conflict of separation happens between Lisa and Sousuke in the final act. Another conflict of separation happens between Koichi and his family members who happen for most of the film and on the other hand Fujimoto and Granmmare.

The main unifying factor in this film was love as a binding force they finally reunite at the end of the movie despite the varying circumstances. Love as the main theme is seen throughout the movie especially in Sosuke's family where the father Koichi proudly announces how his boy is a genius to his friends. Another incidence happens in the Aldis lamp scene where Sousuke wishes his father best of luck for getting back on the good side of Lisa. It is also manifested between Lisa and Sousuke who tend to encourage and cheer each other up. In the above events, we get to know so much about Sousuke's family and also know the existing bond of love between them ("Ponyo - Official Trailer," 2014).

Comparing to the other film the mermaid which portrays self-sacrifice as a theme, Ponyo becomes the total opposite since it portrays the theme of selfishness since through separation of Koichi and Lisa; Lisa gets frustrated due to what the husband goes through at the workplace. The nature of the job he does puts him in danger on several occasions and thus making her frustrated and wishes it never sawed and thus portraying the theme of selfishness where Lisa feels the safety of the husband is important than serving others.

Regarding music art and animation, Miyazaki has a beautiful way of merging this aspect to create a wonderful experience. To be specific, the opening part of the film is simply an amazing thing since he tries to show a world full of light and life. After a sweet moment of introduction then an audiovisual spectacular comes in where Miyazaki displays an art style that is so different from the mermaid. The music supplied transforms from an attractive style to a sweet one and finally to a splendid that matches the happenings on the screen in an impeccable manner thus displaying the kind of confidence that the writer has in writing the animation movies. The theme of acceptance as earlier mentioned is displayed when Lisa finally accepts Ponyo in the family and the fact that she consents to her husband's job despite the risks involved and the frustrations she gets in (Wu, 2016). It is also displayed when Sousuke is accepted by the family the way she is, and the father is very proud of him as a bright child.

The theme of harmony is seen in the family that is united and supports each other's needs. The theme of harmony and happiness is also nicely brought out where the land and the sea, as well as fantasy and reality, are compared. Sousuke and his life are lands related in contrast with Ponyo and her sea life where Sousuke's life on the land represents the outer part of the human mind, and the Ponyo represents the conscious human mind. The two worlds tend to meet and bring out a perfect balance and combination of harmony and happiness.

The little mermaid has different Christian overtones while Ponyo lacks such overtones for instance mermaids are said not to poses souls but humans do and their soul goes to heaven after death, but at the end of the tale, they are said to get to heaven by doing good. What's more, while the author seems to follow the basic narrative of the little mermaid he also gets inspiration from the Japanese folk tales ("Little Mermaid Later, 2017). The best example of the Japanese folktale he draws inspiration from includes the folk tale of Urashima in which a human fisherman fell in love and lived together under the water with a sea princess. It also carries the same message and the main theme of love as Ponyo.

Ponyo also contains environmental overtones, for example, the character of Fujimoto who is concerned with ensuring balance in the sea and sees humans as destructive to the said balance. A scene of destruction is evident where miyakazi displays the amount of trash littered across the ocean making Ponyo get stuck inside a jar and was nearly caught in a net ("Project MUSE - Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (Gake No Ue no Ponyo) (review), 2018).

Miyakszi is so keen on bringing out the aspect of a family where through his theme of love he instills the values of family and the need for unity. He also communicates that life in a family needs to go on while children grow up and can survive all environments. He also portrays the father as the head of the family and takes responsibility through hard work to take care of the family. It is seen where he lives his family and goes to work despite the risks involved. He also brings out the value of care and the nature of a mother who molds the son into a handsome boy as well as takes care of the family. The environmental overtone, on the other hand, brings out the aspect of caution where humans ought to take care of the environment to protect the sea life (Wu, 2016). It is seen in the scene where Ponyo gets stuck in a jar that was littered with humans.

The film reveals a true belief in a nuclear family where there is only a father, mother and their children, in this case, Lisa, Koichi, and Sousuke. It also reveals the fact that it is not acceptable for humans to interact with sea creatures thus the reason behind Ponyo's desire to become human and be united with Sousuke. It also portrays the father as the breadwinner of the family since the father; although, the risk job has to work to ensure ends meet. It also brings out the aspect of sharing which is generosity and community where Ponyo sacrifices her soup and gives it out to a breastfeeding mother (Wu, 2016). To sum up on contemporary values culture and norms the family bond and love are the main aspects communicated on passed across in the whole movie. This is seen where Sousuke falls in love with Ponyo and out of love she rescues Ponyo from the jar she was stuck in. It is also seen between the family members and when Ponyo gave the breastfeeding mother some soup. Out of love they also go on a mission to help future generations to get back to normal ("Project MUSE - Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (Gake No Ue no Ponyo) (review)," n.d.). The family bond is not only seen in Ponyo's home but also in Sousuke's community where people live in harmony and with each other (Wu, 2016). Roles within the family are also clearly explicated, and everyone focuses on what they ought to do for instance the crewmen do their job, but in the evening they go back to their families.

Both characters Ponyo and Sousuke are presented simplistically thus making the movie charming. The simplicity of this film and the message in clearly defines it as a children film. It has an unequivocal message about family and the community as well as love amongst friends that children can easily emulate. However, taking a harder look at the tale can bring a different elaboration that can engage adults.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the movie intended to teach children the values of a family and what family is all about as well as the value of friendship. It also aimed at teaching love and acceptance in a community despite any hardships or impossibilities that might exist. It is seen where for Ponyo to be Sousuke's love she must be human permanently and there love needs to be true and unshaken. From the artistic work, it is evident that art plays an important role in influencing the societal values and practices. The value of art is analysed from both the aesthetic and moral perspective and it becomes apparent that art cannot be detached from the human lives because it shapes how people think and reason as well as their attitudes towards social lives and experiences. The theme of familial love was much evident in the artwork analysed in this study.

References

The Little Mermaid - Under the Sea. (2013, November 22). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC_mV1IpjWA

The Little Mermaid Later. (2017). The 1002nd Night. doi:10.1515/9781400861170.38

Ponyo - Official Trailer. (2014, September 16). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsR3KVgBzSM

Project MUSE - Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (Gake No Ue no Ponyo) (review). (2018). Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/marvels_and_tales/v024/24.2.baskan.html

Wu, C. (2016). Hayao Miyazaki's Mythic Poetics: Experiencing the Narrative Persuasions in Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Ponyo. Animation, 11(2), 189-203. doi:10.1177/1746847716643777