How can Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) be ... · feminist themes and ideas...

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How can Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) be interpreted as a feminist text? Mazena Emmerson (Student 0901207) (BA) Film and Moving Image Production February 2011 2,556 words excluding quotations

Transcript of How can Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) be ... · feminist themes and ideas...

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How can Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)

be interpreted as a feminist text?

Mazena Emmerson

(Student 0901207) (BA) Film and Moving Image Production

February 2011

2,556 words excluding quotations

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How can Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) be interpreted as a feminist text?

Japanese animation, or ‘anime’ as it is more commonly known, has been a very popular part of everyday Japanese culture for many years, with the first known animation in Japan cited as being recorded in 1917; a very simple animation featuring a Samurai warrior, testing his new sword. Before the rise of the film industry in Japan, Japanese culture was very much influenced by and revolved around live action plays and although anime existed, it was merely a shadow in the eye of the live action plays and was immediately considered to be a genre for children. “To some extent, animation’s rise in Japan is in an inverse relationship with the decline of the Japanese film industry, which, in the fifties and sixties, was one of the greatest in the world.” (Napier, 2005: 16). Hayao Miyazaki, described by Napier as “Japan’s most famous animated film director” (Napier, 2005:152), is possibly one of the most recognised and successful Japanese anime directors and writers, whose vast majority of work is predominantly aimed at a young female audience, known as Shōjo. It is interesting to see how Miyazaki creates such a successful film, by which the audience are always stunned at his ability to create loveable, strong female characters in a world in which female characters are traditionally stereotyped and portrayed in the minority. He has, for many years, been called a ‘feminist’ due to his love for young female protagonists in the vast majority of his stories. In this essay, I hope to explore Miyazaki’s feminist themes and ideas throughout the characters and narrative of Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), and to what extent these particular themes make the film a feminist text. To begin with the characters of Kiki’s Delivery Service, I feel it is most beneficial to begin with the main protagonist herself, Kiki. Kiki is a young girl, instantly making her a vulnerable and innocent character in the eyes of the audience because of her gender, ultimately playing on the femininity of the character herself simply because of the stereotypical ways in which audiences view women. She has no visible awareness of the ‘dangers’ of the outside world (however we are unsure if there are any in this particular Miyazaki world since there are no antagonistic characters, but we naturally assume there to be), and she travels lightly with only a small bag, radio and cat Jiji, the deuteragonist, for company. Kiki is generally a very sweet girl, who values her traditions and values. She will try to help anyone who needs help, a trait which is positively shown when she helps Osono the baker. Similar to most Miyazaki stories the deuteragonist is male (as they are in Spirited Away, 2001 – Haku; Howl’s Moving Castle, 2004 – Howl, etc.) however this is where Kiki’s Delivery Service begins to already differ in character structure. Although Jiji is a male character, he isn’t human for the entirety of the narrative and doesn’t have another physical form, in contrast to other Studio Ghibli male deuteragonists (see figure 1). This therefore, leans more feminine power towards Kiki, simply because of her species over Jiji the cat, even though he is her best friend with a very prominent voice and opinion, described by Michael Lane as “the eternal pessimist, to whom the bottle is always half empty, rather than half full, and every silver lining has a black cloud. He provides a sort of Greek chorus of complaints and defeatist comments to their adventures.” (Lane, 2004: 2) Similarly to the structure of Howl’s Moving Castle (2004, Miyazaki), the tritagonist of Kiki’s Delivery Service, Tombo, is male, yet he appears almost on the sidelines in a cast of characters in which males are in the minority. Excluding Jiji the cat, only due to his species, there are only three male characters in Kiki’s Delivery Service, one of which doesn’t speak (Mr Osono) and another who only features at the beginning and end of the story with, again, few lines (Kiki’s Father); the last, of course, being Tombo, within a narrative of a total of seven female characters. Structurally, female characters are portrayed as the more dominant gender in Kiki’s Delivery Service, with all of them providing some input into the narrative, as Colin Odell and Michelle Le Blanc note; “Osono is a good business woman.” (Odell and Le Blanc, 2009: 83) Stereotypically, business people, of both genders, are considered to be of a higher status than most other characters, possibly because they portray themselves with a certain confidence and intelligence. Osono the baker, is no exception to this rule and whilst Kiki is away from home, Osono acts as her Mother (see figure 2). Although Osono’s husband, who we only know as Mr Osono, is frequently featured in the film, he never makes any interaction with Kiki which helps to drive the story, possibly showing that Osono is a more intelligent and valuable character to Kiki and her progress within the narrative. This again, contradicts the idea that stereotypically, males are the more dominant character within society, and particularly contrasts with most modern Japanese anime, in which males are the most prominent hero, as Susan Napier comments; “their [female characters] active independence is unusual for most fairy tales, particularly in Japan, where active protagonists are almost exclusively male.” (Napier, 2005: 155). Secondly, Osono’s femininity is strengthened by the fact she is pregnant and not far from giving brith when Kiki first meets her, a significance which is the result of their friendship. This minor detail adds no effect to the storyline since Kiki and Osono’s friendship is still likely to have occurred even if Osono wasn’t pregnant, yet it helps to promote Osono’s femininity. Osono’s kindness towards Kiki can be explained by using Michael Lane’s

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White Moments theory (March 2004). Lane describes Osono’s first meeting with Kiki; “[Kiki and Jiji] are wandering when a pregnant woman, Osono, runs out of a bakery with a [dummy] in her hand. Her last customer left it but is already far down the hill, out of earshot.” (Lane, 2004: 3) Here, we are greeted with Kiki’s first issue, which she stumbles across, but wishes to solve, and help another character because of her friendly nature; which can also be linked with her femininity, since females are stereotypically of this nature, in contrast to males. “Kiki offers to deliver it, takes it, and hops off the wall. Osono sees her fly with a delighted wow! It is a white moment. Kiki, all alone in the big city for the first time, so needs a friend, has so much to give, is so eager to prove herself. This is her first little triumph, her first chance to be of use.” (Lane, 2004: 3) According to Lane, such moments can be described as ‘white moments’ because of the pleasure and happiness they cause the audience to feel. It can also be suggested, that Miyazaki himself wanted to include small details such as Osono’s pregnancy, to emphasise the femininity of the tale, as well as wanting to create a story that can be considered as more as a fairy tale, most of which are all traditionally feminist in which characters fall into stereotypical roles, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White etc. To further reinforce Napier’s statement, (“their [female characters] active independence is unusual for most fairy tales, particularly in Japan, where active protagonists are almost exclusively male”) we can look further into the female character structure of Kiki’s Delivery Service and consider importance of another important female character; Ursula. Colin Odell and Michelle Le Blanc describe; “Ursula is independent and determined and acts as a mentor to the young witch, teaching her to be true to herself and to understand her limitations. Her admission that ‘sometimes I can’t paint a thing’ helps Kiki realise that failings are inevitable.” (Odell and Le Blanc, 2009: 83). Ursula acts as a very positive character towards Kiki, very similarly to Osono. At first, Kiki feels slightly intimidated by her, particularly when she arrives at her log cabin asking for the plush Jiji doll which fell from her broom. When Kiki first arrives at Ursula’s cabin, Ursula is talking to the birds which earlier caused Kiki to fall from her broom. She appears to have a certain amount of authority over them and they listen to her and wait patiently whilst she sketches them for her artwork. Due to her physical location on the roof, we can also assume that the height of Ursula above Kiki suggests that she is an important character, (see figure. 3). However, Ursula does not act hostile or unkind towards Kiki and in fact, she does help and support Kiki throughout the story. Similarly to Osono, Ursula is a very strong minded character, possibly the second most influential to Kiki, yet although she is female, she is the most masculine of all the female characters, with a confident attitude and the way she interacts with male character’s, however she always asserts her femininity when she feels as though she needs to (see figure 4). This again, shows how important it is for this character to assert her gender in front of others, implying the female genders to be the more prominent and assertive. Kiki’s Mother, Kokiri, only features briefly in the story, yet from the limited character information surrounding her, we can read that she is a very successful woman. Kiki loves her Mother and looks up to her with great respect, as she does her Father, Okino, yet her Mother appears to be the more dominant parent and member of the household (see figure 5). We are also unsure as to Okino’s job, in contrast to learning a lot of information about Kokiri in the first five minutes of the film, particularly that she is a successful witch (implied by the sign for ‘Witches Potions’ outside her house (see figure 6) and by Miss Dora, one of Kokiri’s customer’s). Okino, therefore, appears to be of the weaker gender, because of his lack of voice, assertiveness and willingness to appear as a stereotypical Father and immediately in charge of the family. This can again be supported by Kiki’s immediate instinct to ask her Mother for permission to leave on that particular night, rather than her Father who she simply tells and simultaneously dismisses their camping trip originally planned for the coming weekend. Kiki’s Delivery Service is directly a film with successful female characters. In contrast to the likes of Kiki, Kokiri, Osono and Ursula; there are three male characters of importance to the narrative, however their assertiveness, authority and status within the character hierarchy of the tale is very different to the female characters. I have already discussed Kiki’s Father’s personality and status, so I feel it most relevant to argue the case of the deuteragonist, Jiji. Jiji is an unusual deuteragonist, in the way that his character is presented as an animal in a story in which the other characters are all human. This immediately shows Jiji’s difference against the other characters and indicates that although he has a very outspoken and wise personality, he isn’t as important as Kiki. It is as though Jiji’s status in the character hierarchy of the narrative has been limited because of his species, as well as his gender. For example, it is difficult to imagine Kiki with a female cat, because of the overall femininity of the film, in which females are more prominent. Jiji’s male personality is enforced when he falls in love with the female cat next door, perhaps indicating males are easily sidetracked and can give in easily to temptation. Although Jiji is the deuteragonist, he offers little competition for Kiki and his advice is often overlooked, consequently making his authority less prominent in comparison to Kiki (see figure 7). This proves to be slightly ironic, since Jiji is Kiki’s black cat, traditionally a sidekick and mentor for witches throughout stories, however Kiki often dismisses his advice since she believes her own actions to be better than Jiji’s guidance.

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I argue that the tritagonist of the story, Tombo, is possibly the strongest human male character in the film. When Kiki first meets Tombo, she shows little interest in him and almost acts very unkindly towards him, since she has a very traditional personality and feels a boy should properly introduce himself to a girl before talking to her and asking her many questions, (see figure 8). This again, hints towards the femininity of the film, since Tombo never argues with Kiki after this, yet he simply decides to accept her for who she is, and not conflict with her values and describes her as “a cool witch”. This may also imply, that he sees Kiki as a more domineering authority figure, again hinting that female characters are more prominent. I have also noticed similarities between Kiki and Tombo, and Kokiri and Okino (Mother and Father), not only that Okino and Tombo look physically very similar (see figures 9.1 and 9.2), but they act very similarly to each other. Although this is possibly what Miyazaki wanted to achieve in the story to give the indication that the narrative can continue through many generations of characters, I believe that this suggests Tombo will turn into a very similar character as Okino, whilst it is also likely that Okino behaved and acted the same way when he was the same age as Tombo. This connotes that Kiki and Tombo may eventually become husband and wife, and their potential daughter may also be a witch, which follows the same traditions. Further evidence of the link between Okino and Tombo can be read from the scene between Kokiri and Miss Dora at the beginning of the film, (see figures 10.1 and 10.2). In conclusion, I agree that it is very easy to see from the simple character structure of Kiki’s Delivery Service that male characters appear in the minority, compared to the more prominent female characters. Yvonne Tasker explains a feminist film often including; “supportive figures who exist almost exclusively in relation to the hero, or women set in competition with each other.” (Tasker, 1998: 139) This can be applied to the character structure of Kiki’s Delivery Service in two separate parts. Firstly, there are identifiable supportive characters, particularly the deuteragonist and tritagonist who are portrayed as having less authoritative power or significance than the protagonist herself. It is interesting that both the deuteragonist and tritagonist are male, in contrast to a female protagonist in a character hierarchy where females are the most dominant gender. Secondly, Tasker’s statement can be applied again, since there are three other significant female characters in the story, such as Osono, Ursula and Kokiri, who all have successful jobs, (baker, artist and witch, respectively), and although they aren’t seen interacting with each other, the impression is often given that they may be competing for Kiki’s friendship. In contrast to Hollywood films, particularly American films, in which women may compete for the attention of males, Miyazaki successfully portrays male characters in the minority, suggesting that although they are in the story, they are merely featured on the sidelines with less importance and significance than the more prominent and interesting female characters, and therefore the female characters aren’t so much competing for the attention of the males, but for the friendship of Kiki. Kiki’s strengths are made noticeable through her innocent and happy personality, and her growing confidence throughout the narrative, factors often not present in a male character. There are no antagonists in the film, with the only ‘evil’ being Kiki’s own character, as Michael Lane describes; “Miyazaki could certainly embody evil when he wanted to; but in this movie the evil is Kiki’s own doubts and fears.” This is certainly true in regards to Miyazaki, but I believe this statement also helps us to understand the femininity of the narrative more. Kiki’s Delivery Service features many strong willed, successful female characters. None of them have anything nasty to say to anyone else, and the whole evil of the film is brushed aside through the absence of antagonistic characters. Women are clearly in the majority in this film, and all of the leading characters are professional women, in contrast to the male characters, who appear on the sidelines and not a lot of information is given about them. We are constantly reminded of Kokiri, Ursula and Kiki’s professions and aims to better themselves, as we are reminded of Osono’s pregnancy, indicating perhaps that women are adding something to the world, both via their profession and their ability to produce new life, (all guaranteed females can’t do this on their own). Kiki’s only strive is to better herself, a quest which would often be more prominent within a feminist film, and is already particularly common in Shōjo anime (anime aimed primarily at girls aged 10-18). Miyazaki successfully creates a view of feminism in Kiki’s Delivery Service not immediately visible throughout his other films. He manages to create a film worthy of the Shōjo anime category in a piece of animation, which can clearly be considered as feminist due to its featuring of female characters in a narrative in which males are clearly in the minority, with less power, authority and importance, than the more intelligent and successful female characters.

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Table of Illustrations

Figure 1:

Figure 2:

Figure 3:

Figure 3:

Kiki (right) and Ursula (left) when they first meet, shown at different heights

within the frame, suggesting one character’s authority at a certain stage in

the narrative, compared to the other.

Figure 2:

Osono is a very kind character who acts as Kiki’s Mother whilst she is away from

home. Her femininity is increased because of

her pregnancy.

Figure 1:

Jiji the cat is a very unusual deuteragonist, primarily because he isn’t

a human character.

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Figure 4:

Kiki and Ursula are standing at the side of the road, trying to hitch hike a lift to Ursula’s cabin, since the bus only took them so far.

MAN DRIVING

Get outta the road! What’s the matter with you?!

URSULA What’s the matter with YOU?!

(Turns to Kiki) Musta been blinded by two beautiful girls in front of him.

KIKI

(Laughs)

Another car approaches and Ursula thumbs for a lift.

CAR DRIVER (MALE) Ursula? Is that you?!

URSULA HEY!

CAR DRIVER (MALE)

Hop in!

URSULA (To KIKI)

I know this guy, come on!

CAR DRIVER (MALE) You know, when I first saw you I didn’t recognise you. I thought you were a boy…

URSULA

(Shocked) Huh? You really thought I was a boy?!

CAR DRIVER (MALE)

Well, it’s the way you’re dressed an’ all. URSULA

(Disgusted) Tell me. What kinda boy has these legs, mister?

(Lifts leg)

KIKI (Laughs)

Figure 4: (above)

Ursula’s outward attitude towards the driver reveals her confidence and emphasises her satisfaction of being female.

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Figure 5:

KIKI Dad, can I at least take the radio – Mum didn’t you say I could take the radio?

KOKIRI (Nods)

KIKI Yay!

OKINO

Alright! It’s yours already.

Figure 6:

Figure 7: POLICEMAN (To KIKI)

Now, you stay right there! (Runs off in the direction of the person shouting ‘Thief!’)

KIKI

(Walks away as soon as he is out of sight)

JIJI KIKI, he said to stay here..no!

(He follows KIKI as she quickly walks away)

JIJI He told us to stay there!

We don’t wanna get in trouble, KIKI.

KIKI …

JIJI Uhm...KIKI?

Figure 5: (above)

Kokiri, Kiki’s Mother, undermines Okino’s authority as Kiki’s Father.

Figure 7: (above)

Kiki ignores Jiji’s advise to listen to the Policeman in order to avoid trouble.

Figure 6:

Kokiri’s profession and success as a Witch is shown by the sign outside her

house advertising her potions.

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Figure 8:

TOMBO Hello?! Miss, I sure fooled that cop, huh?

That was me yelling ‘THIEF!’. You’ll be OK now. Worked pretty good, huh? You gotta be a real witch, the way you can fly that broom. Do you think maybe you could teach me

how to fly it? …

You know, Miss, I love flying too. Can I see your broom?

KIKI (Ignores TOMBO and hurriedly walks away)

TOMBO

Hey, wait!

KIKI (Snaps)

Thank you for getting me out of trouble, but I really shouldn’t be talking to you and you wanna know why?! It’s very rude to talk to a girl before you’ve been introduced and before you know her

name! HMPH!

Figure 9.1:

Figure 8: (above)

Kiki’s traditionalist values are revealed when Tombo tries to become her friend.

Figure 9.1: (above)

The visual similarities between Okino, Kiki’s Father (left) and Kiki’s friend Tombo (right) are striking. Not only in personality, but physical appearance, particularly the fact that they have very similar glasses, and

smart casual attire.

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Figure 9.2:

Figure 10.1:

MISS DORA My, oh my, what’s all this about?

KOKIRI

It’s one of our oldest customs, that when a witch turns thirteen, she has to leave home for a year to begin her training.

MISS DORA (Shocked)

Your little ‘Baby’ is thirteen?! My goodness! But time flies so quickly.

KOKIRI I know… she seems so young to be leaving home now.

MISS DORA

I remember very well the exact day you arrived in this town. A little girl flew down from the sky on her broomstick, and I was certain she was much too young to hold such an important job as

president witch…

Figure 9.2: (above)

Kiki and Tombo (left) and Kokiri and Okino (right). The visual similarities between the characters are very similar, particularly Okino and Tombo’s glasses.

Figure 10.1: (above)

Miss Dora confirms for us that Kokiri had the same adventure as Kiki when she, Kokiri, was thirteen. It is also confirmed in the last part of the speech, that Kokiri is an important female character in the film with a

high class job.

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Figure 10.2:

OKINO (To KIKI)

You look just like your Mother when she was young.

KIKI I’m glad about that.

Figure 10.2: (above)

Okino confirms that he met Kokiri when she was young and we can assume that this was at the time she was a witch in training, similar to Kiki.

Kiki also confirms for us that she is proud to be similar to her Mother, signifying her Mother’s success as a witch.

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Bibliography

Kiki’s Delivery Service. (1989) Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli/Buena Vista Pictures [DVD]. Howl’s Moving Castle. (2004) Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli/Buena Vista Pictures [DVD]. Spirited Away. (2001) Directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli/Buena Vista Pictures [DVD]. Napier, Susan J. (2005) Anime from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle. 2nd (updated) ed. New York, USA, Palgrave Macmillan. Odell, Colin and Le Blanc, Michelle. (2009) Studio Ghibli, The Films of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. 1st ed. Somerset, England, Kamera Books. Tasker, Yvonne. (1998) Working Girls: Gender and Sexuality in Popular Cinema. 1st ed. London, England, Routledge. Lane, Michael. (March 2004) Triumph of the Past: White Moments and Miyazaki’s Kiki. Available from: < http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/essay/ > [Accessed February 15, 2011]