Japanese Mythology in Film - A Semiotic Approach to Reading Japanese Film and Anime

Description

A cyborg detective hunts for a malfunctioning sex doll that turns itself into a killing machine. A Heian-era Taoist slays evil spirits with magic spells from yin-yang philosophy. A young mortician carefully prepares bodies for their journey to the afterlife. A teenage girl drinks a cup of life-giving sake, not knowing its irreversible transformative power. These are scenes from the visually enticing, spiritually eclectic media of Japanese movies and anime. The narratives of courageous heroes and heroines and the myths and legends of deities and their abodes are not just recurring motifs of the cinematic fantasy world. They are pop culture’s representations of sacred subtexts in Japan. Japanese Mythology in Film takes a semiotic approach to uncovering such religious and folkloric tropes and subtexts embedded in popular Japanese movies and anime. Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 16 Conventions......Page 18 Part I. SEMIOTICS FOR FILM ANALYSIS......Page 20 Chapter 1. Introduction: What Is Semiotics?......Page 22 Chapter 2. Reading Film: The Nature of Interpretation......Page 32 Chapter 3. Mythology in Film: Why Study Mythology in Popular Film and Anime?......Page 44 Chapter 4. Storytelling: What Is in the Story?......Page 54 Chapter 5. Visual Literacy: What Do We Get from Watching Film?......Page 66 Part II. APPLICATION......Page 76 Chapter 6. Taoism and Shinto Symbolism in Onmyoji (2001) and Onmyo¯ji II (2003)......Page 78 Chapter 7. Folklore Motifs in Spirited Away (2001) and Princess Mononoke (2000)......Page 116 Chapter 8. Motifs of Buddhism and Folklore in Dororo (2007) and Departures (2008)......Page 148 Chapter 9. Eclectic Myths in Mushi-shi (2006) and Cyborg Mythology of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)......Page 186 Chapter 10. Conclusion. Social Usage of Mythology......Page 228 Bibliography......Page 234 Index......Page 248 About the Author......Page 262