Since the castle is in the middle of these two clear aesthetics, it is an evocative, hard-to-analyze object. That’s because they carry the same system of meanings, so they are consistently treated in the same way. At this point, it should not be surprising that the places of power belonging to war supporters remind closely Zeniba’s office from Spirited Away and the interiors of the Moving Castle are closer to Yubaba’s House. A sign that Miyazaki’s and Ghibli’s vision is timeless and aspatial, and not just related to Japan. On the other, an archaic, vernacular vision which, for the first time, includes some European historical (mostly architectural) elements. Furthermore, on one hand, there is a pompous, post-industrial aesthetics that, in its coarseness and roughness stands for a confusional society in which everyone wants to overwhelm the other. Indeed the two different esthetics of Yubaba and Zeniba find in this film and hybridization, but each of those still carries the typical arguments previously described. The dichotomy of visual choices operated by Miyazaki can be initially interpreted with the same devices as seen in the analysis of Spirited Away (2001, dir Hayao Miyazaki).
#STUDIO CULTURE THE SECRET LIFE OF A GRAPHIC DESIGN STUDIO SERIES#
If it is true that in Studio Ghibli’s films villains are never deliberately declared so, the authors usually disseminate a series of clues throughout the film to hint at the distinction. This deeply influences the whole imaginary around whoever is good or bad, generating the two opposite aesthetic poles. War is actually an active protagonist of the film and, even if its reasons are deliberately left unknown, it sanctions who are the good and the evil. In Howl’s Moving Castle, classic thematics regarding environmentalism, pacifism, and heritage of traditions polarize into two very different aesthetically lodgings in the middle of which war stands. To do so, the designer has to narrate through a common base of understandable images and symbols, parts of a wide, global, collective imagination. In the long run, the iteration of this technique produces meaningful, and at the same time enjoyable (relatively short) plays, which can fit nearly any taste and attention.Īnalyzing Studio Ghibli’s brilliant ability to narrate through design enables designers to get crucial insights to design artifacts that not only look and feel good but also convey a particular message, idea, or philosophy, which is what makes a good piece of design a masterpiece. To achieve that density, the films object of the study say a lot with fast symbolic, metaphoric, and immediate images, rather than slow-pacing dialogs. The films are dense and leave a lot of room of interpretation, to continue to appreciate the pictures and its meaning even after the film itself. One of the key techniques that put Ghibli films one notch above the average animation movies, is the quantity (and quality) of information it leaves in a short time. Watching Studio Ghibli (and Miyazaki’s films in particular), it is amazing to find out how a narration that feels smooth and natural, actually passes through design objects to define its fundamental ideas. Each of those details belongs to a specific narrative or informative level. There are hundreds of details and finesses to spot, and dozen new come out at each rewatch. Total works of art are total for a reason: they could be analyzed on multiple levels, finding several interpretations and attention to detail at each of these levels. Studio Ghibli films are some of these rare, pure gems, total works of art that leave a trace in every day’s sea of sh*t and triviality. Real masterpieces are hard to find, but when one happens to find one, a mixed feeling of satisfaction and pleasure makes one realize that it could be watched a hundred times still with the same amazement and joy.
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