Studio Ghibli films can help us rediscover our connection with nature | Hacker News Reader

Studio Ghibli films can help us rediscover our connection with nature

theconversation.com

48 pointssamizdis16 comments

And then there is Pom Poko, which is in no small part about the giant and magical testicles of Japanese raccoon dogs.

edit: I think I'm being downvoted because people assume it's a bad joke, but that's really in the movie. And it's a great Ghibli movie by Takahata, but it's on the weirder end of the Ghibli movies about nature.

Holy smokes you really aren't kidding. I just did an image search for that movie, and now I need to lie down.

After you’re done lying down you should watch the movie. It’s pretty great!

Funny while caring a heavy environmentalism message. I felt joyful watching the film and sad when it finished.

It’s weird, but I urge everyone to give it a chance, lol.

yeah just watch the film, the director is obviously intentional about that. Wonder if it's censored out in the united of snowflakes.

Read the book "Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window" too see how the Japanese are really open about body image in early education (which then lead to sex education later). The book is not just about that, but a story that comes to mind is this one about a primary school pool where all kids are naked.

I've been watching some studio Ghibli movies with my kids, it's been a treat!

The ones we watched so far (Kikis Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro) have a style of storytelling that is delightful and engaging without feeling rushed or overwhelming.

Not all of their movies are suitable for younger audiences, but I think many/most are. I highly recommend them.

Ponyo is another good one for kids.

Yes! We started with these two as well. My girls are currently 3 and 5, and my wife and I had been eager to introduce them to some of our favorite movies from our own childhoods. We started watching the Lion King once without putting much thought into it, and then ended up shutting it off after the opening scene once we thought ahead to what was coming and realizing they weren't ready for that.

They wanted to be witches for Halloween last year and so we watched Kiki's Delivery Service in October and it has been a staple in our house ever since.

  1. Sit in a dark room.
  2. Stare at a screen.
  3. ???
  4. Reconnect with nature!

If it shows people what they’ve been missing then it works.

most people can't explore Amazon rain forest or go up to the top of mount Everest. Even if they can go explore the Amazon rain forest, they wouldn't connect with nature in the same way that watching a documentary about it does.

During peak pandemic we stayed at my inlaw’s house for a couple months to be with other people and my 8yo introduced Ghibli movies to my retired father in-law and he was entranced. He wanted to watch them all and more, said he had no idea there was animation like this.

Of note, the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in LA (near LACMA) has a very well done exhibit on Hayao Miyazaki, including copious sketches, story boards, concept art...well worth going. It's up until June 5.

What about shinrin-yoku? I would’ve thought the popular idea of “forest bathing” would’ve been mentioned somewhere. Not just an article about watching films and finding beauty in comparisons.

Nature is cool in that the more you get attuned to it, the more mysterious it is.

Great concept for an article, but the discussion about each film is quite surface-level. Feels like I just read the wikipedia summary for each film rather than a critical analysis.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com