Forum - View topicINTEREST: Mamoru Oshii: "Hideaki Anno is More of a Producer Than a Director These Days"
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4570 |
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Get Imaishi to direct it and I am so there. 
Man I don't even know how to unpack this. "Weird auteur creator makes thinly-veiled criticism of another weird auteur creator while simultaneously praising grumpy older creator and dissing the younger creators who have largely supplanted him"...does that about sum it up? |
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SpacemanHardy
Posts: 2509 |
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He's just grumpy that nobody remembers Sky Crawlers anymore. |
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Jayhosh
 Posts: 972 Location: Millmont, Pennsylvania |
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This sounds like it might be a case of something lost in translation. I concur with an earlier user who suggested that his intended point was probably moreso regarding how him and Miyazaki and other directors from his era placed a much more prominent focus on the thematics structuring their films; as in, they “picked a fight with society” through their films by calling out its ills with scathing critiques veiled through sci-fi and fantasy premises and settings. Whereas contemporary directors’ films tend to be incidentally thematic without much of pointed value to say regarding the current state of our world.
However, even if that was the intended message by Oshii, I still think it’s a pretty baffling thing to say. I mean, Anno’s Shin Godzilla is literally a straight up brutal evisceration of the Japanese bureaucracy with its political opinions left in no uncertain terms regarding its response to the 2011 earthquake/tsunami. As someone else has already mentioned, Your Name deals in the erasure of tradition and culture with industrialization. And almost all of Hosoda’s films tackle a different theme of the concept of family, whether that be accepting a new member, creating one with those who aren’t blood relatives, or learning to be a parent and the selflessness that must come with it. I think all of the referenced creators have shown that they incorporate relevant social themes into their works. Maybe they aren’t delivered as cryptically as something like Angel’s Egg (lol) but they’re certainly present and. Large part of what seems to drive these individuals. |
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Suxinn
 Posts: 243 |
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Oh, come on, Oshii, it doesn't have to be either/or! I do agree that Miyazaki (at least as he is now) seems to keep coming back to film in order to "pick a fight". (I mean, he literally said that one of his motivations for his most recent return was to prove that traditional animation was still better than 3D.) But I also think that Miyazaki is constantly, constantly thinking about his audience, and making films that his audience (children) can enjoy. If you watch any of the documentaries showcasing how Miyazaki works, you can see how focused he is on replicating the sense of wonder and imagination that children see in their everyday lives. Like, Miyazaki always has things to say about society at large in his film, of course, but he's first and foremost a filmmaker for children. And I think that's important to remember because so much of children's animation is treated as if it can't be as thematically rich as "adult" animation, when it absolutely can, as Miyazaki shows time and again. (And I'm saying all of this while not actually being a fan of most of Miyazaki's actual work, though I definitely respect him as a filmmaker.) Also, as much as I love Hosoda, I can kind of see where Oshii is coming from about his and Shinkai's works being more like "I-novels". Because as creators they do tend to have pet themes that they just keep returning to with each subsequent film, which is not necessarily a bad thing, as Oshii himself mentions. (I once heard a del Toro fan talk about how he thinks del Toro basically makes the same really good film over and over, and that really stuck with me -- because if you like someone's style, would you mind if they made the same film over and over?) I wouldn't have necessarily phrased it like Oshii did, though, because they do technically have themes. No comment on Anno because I actually have never watched anything he directed to completion, wonder of wonders. I should get to watching Evangelion one of these days... |
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BlueAlf
 Posts: 1498 |
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I agree there might be something lost in translation as well. From what's described, I'm not sure if 'theme' is the correct choice of words.
I think I sorta get where he's coming from though. It's more like the older generation (him and Miyazaki) tend to attempt to portray things objectively while the younger generation (Anno, Shinkai, Hosoda) tend to approach their stuff more subjectively. |
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Zeino
Posts: 1098 |
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Hey, Oshii?
1. Anno is far closer to Miyazaki then you are, so maybe you shouldn't go and make such presumptive statements. 2. Miyazaki's left behind radical politics after finishing the Nausicaä manga and has adopted a much more ambivalent "do your best to help out on a local level, because worldwide change may be impossible." position (See the Youtube video: "Miyazaki's Marxism - The Politics of Anime's Legendary Director" for further details.) 3. You've clearly not see Shin Godzilla. 4. Hosoda and Shinkai shouldn't be bound by your notion of what an anime director must be. And 5. If Vlad Love is your idea of picking a fight with society, then joining local social justice protests would be a far better use of your time instead of directing. |
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simona.com
 Posts: 330 Location: Tokyo |
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#nailedit |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4074 |
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And that's where I agree with him and judging by what people listed here of what they think of as themes of their works... they agree with me. Plot is not theme. "The Place Promised in Our Early Days" comes closet to an actual theme but to say "love" is a theme is like saying an action set piece is a theme. And it's not because I dislike Hosada's and Shinkai's output. I loathe them but it's not like I need an excuse to rag on that piece of crap sentimentality that is Your Name. .... . Do I add a period when the title has a period? And then there's Hosada and his theme of family. What do you have to say about it, Hosoda? "Family good" Astounding. And your next film? "Family good." ... next film? "Family good." Hmm. But to be fair, it does beat his first film which has "Misogyny good". |
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Jayhosh
Posts: 972 Location: Millmont, Pennsylvania |
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Loathe is kind of a harsh word just because you don’t like their movies, isn’t it? It’s a big oversimplification to say that all Hosoda’s films can be boiled down to “family good.” He comes at the subject from a different angle with each story. Wolf Children showcases just how painful and heartbreaking raising a family and specifically children can be when they leave and become their own people. I have no idea how you got that out of TGWLTT either (unless you’re referring to his actual first film, OP Movie 6). That being said you don’t have to resonate with a directors thematic focus to acknowledge its legitimacy.
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Konopan
Posts: 397 |
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The guy who directed GITS Innocense doesn't understand subtlety or nuance, big surprise
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simona.com
Posts: 330 Location: Tokyo |
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@Jayhosh you always make a lot of sense. I like that.
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