Culture Hayao Miyazaki named the Hollywood films that he hates the most - Old man has shit opinion

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/hayao-miyazaki-hates-hollywood-films/

Hayao Miyazaki is undoubtedly among the greatest living artists today, known for his seminal masterpieces such as Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away among many others. His contributions to the art of animation have inspired artists from various domains, including live-action filmmakers who have praised Miyazaki’s understanding of movement.

Although the ageing auteur had announced his retirement to the world, Miyazaki decided to make one final addition to his illustrious filmography before bidding farewell to the world of cinema. He is currently making an adaptation of his favourite childhood novel – How Do You Live? by Yoshino Genzaburo – and he has dedicated the upcoming project to his grandson.
Over the years, Miyazaki’s political stance about America’s involvement in global conflicts as well as the country’s contribution towards the globalisation of American culture has been unwavering. “Anti-jeans, Anti-bourbon, Anti-burgers, Anti-fried chicken, Anti-cola, Anti-American coffee, Anti-New York, Anti-West Coast,” Miyazaki once said while describing his beliefs.

According to excerpts from multiple interviews, Miyazaki’s dislike for all things American also extends to the realm of cinema. Despite the fact that the Japanese auteur had named John Ford as one of his chief visual influences and even named his 1946 film My Darling Clementine among his personal favourites, he doesn’t feel the same way about other popular American films.

“Americans shoot things and they blow up and the like, so as you’d expect, they make movies like that,” Miyazaki stated. “If someone is the enemy, it’s okay to kill endless numbers of them. Lord of the Rings is like that. If it’s the enemy, there’s killing without separation between civilians and soldiers. That falls within collateral damage.”

Miyazaki compared the visual politics of large-scale Hollywood productions such as the Lord of the Rings to the country’s international policies. Attacking America’s actions in Afghanistan, Miyazaki claimed that such projects are a dangerous addition to public discourse because they diminish the value of human life by weaponising the audience through cinematic violence.
Miyazaki continued: “How many people are being killed in attacks in Afghanistan? The Lord of the Rings is a movie that has no problem doing that [not separating civilians from enemies, apparently]. If you read the original work, you’ll understand, but in reality, the ones who were being killed are Asians and Africans. Those who don’t know that, yet say they love fantasy are idiots.”

Throughout his body work, Miyazaki has conducted continuous conversations about antiwar pacifism – an ethical belief that has been deeply influenced by his own experiences. Miyazaki has often explored the paradoxes of pacifism in a world that embraces violence through his art which is why these cinematic spectacles fail to amuse him.

When his magnum opus Spirited Away became the first anime to win Best Animated Feature Film at the Oscars, Miyazaki refused to attend the ceremony because he did not want to support America’s actions in the Iraq war. Even though his producer asked him not to speak about the issue, he later came clean and revealed that his producer had felt the same way.

Miyazaki was also very critical of Steven Spielberg’s iconic film series Indiana Jones. Addressing many of the issues caused by capitalism in post-colonial nations, Miyazaki admonished those who failed to recognise the political and racial allegories embedded within the subtexts of supposedly innocent and purely entertaining action films.

“Even in the Indiana Jones movies, there is a white guy who, ‘bang,’ shoots people, right? Japanese people who go along and enjoy with that are unbelievably embarrassing,” he explained. “You are the ones that, ‘bang,’ get shot. Watching [those movies] without any self-awareness is unbelievable. There’s no pride, no historical perspective. You don’t know how you are viewed by a country like America.”

 

[Bungus Scrungus]

I always thought this guy was far up his own ass, and now I have definitive proof! It should have been Osamu Tezuka or Satoshi Kon that got Miyazaki's legacy.

While I agree either deserved his legacy; I'm also glad they weren't the ones who had to deal with all the Hollywood international bullshit.

 

[Devout Muslim]

Eh, this is sort of a "western, Christian" take on his works. It really isn't fair to apply that to the works of someone who lives in a majority non-Christian country.

It is fair if you believe one of them is objectively right. It’s the same reason that Miyazaki hates Western media (e.g. LotR), and this article was even written. In his retarded Japanese folk religion there is no such thing as archetypical Good and Evil. He thinks his woo-woo “good and evil in everything” “everything is shades of grey” folk religion is kino and Christian-rooted depictions of archetypical Good and Evil (which pervade Western media, esp. LotR) is too simplistic.

 

[Kacho]

Miyazaki has never made anything worth watching.

 

[kcbbq]

It is fair if you believe one of them is objectively right. It’s the same reason that Miyazaki hates Western media (e.g. LotR), and this article was even written. In his retarded Japanese folk religion there is no such thing as archetypical Good and Evil. He thinks his woo-woo “good and evil in everything” “everything is shades of grey” folk religion is kino and Christian-rooted depictions of archetypical Good and Evil (which pervade Western media, esp. LotR) is too simplistic.

If he had been ten years older he would have happily been flying a kamikaze plane. He's a talented animator but his stupid opinions hold no more weight than my stupid opinions.

 

[thegooddoctor]

Such a shame such a talented filmmaker is a depressed communist and close minded douchebag, It just goes to show you a surface look at a creators work doesn’t always reflect their true selves.

 

[Dom Cruise]

The audacity of this imperialist. I remember reading him denying Japanese war crimes like the creator of Ghost in the Shell did, it seemed to be his generation's thing. His hypocrisy knows no bounds.

He's also hypocritical because he's very clearly a military otaku who loves the look of old school military vehicles, equipment, planes, ships etc.

He's drawn manga involving WW2 style tanks and stuff.

Maybe this attitude is an overcompensation for guilt over loving the look of military stuff while also being aware of the horrible reality of war.

Also, some Japanese just have a weirdly anti-American streak, there's another anime creator I love who is also pretty anti-American, it does sting, but hey, we did drop two nukes on their country.

If he had been ten years older he would have happily been flying a kamikaze plane. He's a talented animator but his stupid opinions hold no more weight than my stupid opinions.

It's been clear for a while now he's a very talented guy who's also a bit of a shithead, but the revelations in the OP and this thread are still pretty shocking.

It is what it is, people are messy and complicated, just because someone might be a great artist doesn't mean they're a great political thinker.

 

[Uranus Pink]

I always thought this guy was far up his own ass, and now I have definitive proof! It should have been Osamu Tezuka or Satoshi Kon that got Miyazaki's lelegacy.

Why would the late Dr. Osamu Tezuka be lower to Miyazaki's level when Tezuka had already earned the recognition and title of "God of Manga" during his life.

 

[That Chris Guy]

Ghibli movies just all seemed too Disney-like for my liking. Howl's Moving Castle was basically Beauty and the Beast made by Japs.

Bit of a nut with his take on LotR though. Tolkien was partially influenced through his time in WWI, so if anything the Orcs and Goblins would be stand-ins for Germans.

Also, some Japanese just have a weirdly anti-American streak, there's another anime creator I love who is also pretty anti-American, it does sting, but hey, we did drop two nukes on their country.

Considering what Imperial Japan was like, it wasn't undeserved.

 

[Dom Cruise]

The Japanese in general, as much as I love them, can also be frustratingly stubborn, aloof and hypocritical with their attitudes at times.

One example of that is the company Konami, how does it leadership oversee some of the greatest games ever made and then piss all of that talent away in favor of pachinko?

Or Nintendo, so many great ips left behind because they stubbornly insist on always having to reinvent the wheel with a new game instead of sometimes having a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach.

But hey, nobody's perfect.

 

[Juan's Sombrero]

A lot of Japanese are also averse to other people from different countries/ethnicities, and no, this isn't me being a chink hating nigger, but personal experience. They are indeed aloof and stubborn. They do not trust anyone who isn't Japanese.

Their societal norms ensures that anyone who isn't pure is looked down on. It isn't that much of a paradise that weebs make it out to be, but the reality is that it's very subdued.

 

[verissimus]

Assuming the man was accurately translated, and the article was actually doing justice to what he was trying to say, I'd say Miyazaki could probably give some of our "critics" a run for their money when it comes to delivering the most inane takes you could think of.

Why, never mind how would you connect LotR to Afghanistan? You'd think, if he actually wanted to make an anti-war point, then he would have chosen to complain about the Iraq war which I know he has done in the past, but apparently that must have slipped his mind in this instance. Of course that still doesn't explain why you would even connect either conflict with Lord of the freaking Rings. There simply is no connection.

"Attacking America’s actions in Afghanistan, Miyazaki claimed that such projects are a dangerous addition to public discourse because they diminish the value of human life by weaponising the audience through cinematic violence."

...this "gem" really does it for me though. As far as I'm concerned, this is akin to left wing politicians wanting to ban video games because it is somehow connected to violent crime.

Edit : On another note, I will never understand these "pacifists" take with regard to tyrants or tyranny. What exactly were the people of Middle Earth supposed to do? Give Sauron the One Ring, and submit? Perhaps Doctor Jones should have let Der Fuhrer have the Ark. Maybe the Earth Federation should have pat the Zeon on the back for dropping a colony on one of their major cities. This is simply retarded. You can find a better, more sincere way to advocate for peace/condemn war without making a fool of yourself by whining about Hollywood movies.

 

[Zero Day Defense]

This is why I only watch anime made by right wing nut job Konaka
View attachment 3176194

This contextualizes why this was the only iteration of Digimon that I liked.

I was born based.

 

[Dom Cruise]

This is why I only watch anime made by right wing nut job Konaka
View attachment 3176194

Konaka, the Serial Experiments Lain guy?

Ironic because Lain is a troon icon, but he's not a "right wing nut job"? Maybe he feels some remorse.

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Of course Miyazaki hates American cinema, he's an Italyfag, probably also idolizes German folk. How is this so surprising?

 

[Homegrown Homophobia]

Neglectful father as well iirc. Son tried living up to his father's legacy as a legendary Japanese animated filmmaker, made his own animated film, father walked out when he premiered it.

Whenever I hear about Miyazaki being a shit father I'm reminded of the story of Lamberto Bava the Italian giallo/horror director who made classics such as Demons and Demons 2. His father (Mario Bava) was also big in the Italian film industry as a director/producer and Lamberto was an assistant director on quite a few of his films in the 70's. When Lamberto screened him Demons his father broke down in tears of joy exclaiming he can die a happy man knowing his son could make an amazing horror movie that he was proud of.

The virgin Japanese neglectful father vs the chad Italian overly emotive papa.

 

[Atatata]

Spirited Away is my favourite one. Though a lot of other Ghibli movies make me sleepy whether it be boredom or the atmosphere in a lot of them being sunny afternoons, Tales From Earthsea being the biggest offender. I still don’t really know what happened in that one.

Neglectful father as well iirc. Son tried living up to his father's legacy as a legendary Japanese animated filmmaker, made his own animated film, father walked out when he premiered it.

Tbf the movie his son made was Tales of Earthsea, and it really was just not great.

Iirc his son came out with another movie, Earwig and the Witch, which his father at least didn't walk out on. I didn't watch it because honestly it also looked pretty bad.

 

[Kosher Dill]

What exactly were the people of Middle Earth supposed to do? Give Sauron the One Ring, and submit?

Well I mean, the people of Middle-earth aren't real. Miyazaki would probably say "Tolkien just shouldn't have written a story designed to play out as it did, because I, a Japanese boomer, dislike themes such as battles between good and evil, a king returning to set things right, etc."

 

[stupid frog]

WHY WONT YOU JUST DIE OLD MAN?

 

[usoland]

You gotta wonder if an old man who primarily makes movies for children is a pedophile. It doesn't help that he's Japanese.

 

[pwnest injun]

This nip doesn't even know that the US left Afghanistan.