Life Lesson from The Heroines of Studio Ghibli
I always jamming to some music while doing my research paper. Yesterday when I was taking a break, suddenly Merry Go Around played in the background. If someone asked me which song that never fails to make me cry because of happiness, the answer is Merry Go Around. I really like Ghibli’s movies and their osts a lot. They taught me so many life lessons such as how to appreciate every little thing in your life, always be kind to each other, and never doubt yourself. But one thing that I like the most is, how Ghibli always portray woman as someone who’s strong just like man.
“Many of my movies have strong female leads- brave, self-sufficient girls that don’t think twice about fighting for what they believe with all their heart. They’ll need a friend, or a supporter, but never a savior. Any woman is just as capable of being a hero as any man.”
― Hayao Miyazaki
Studio Ghibli female characters are good representative to present to young girls out there. Being a female is not about fitting one superficial ideal or another. It is ultimately not about how you look or how you act, but who you are. What makes their artwork is special is because they always show the human-side of the character, that every hero of their own story has some vulnerable moments. Spirited Away is one of Miyazaki’s masterpiece that gain so much popularity after its release. This film shown us about Chiriro, the 10 year-old-girl’s journey while getting stuck in the spirit world. Not like any princess who mostly waiting for their prince to save her. Chiriro have her own battle and try her best to save her parents. In the beginning, she seems arrogant and likes to complain about her life. But as the time goes by, she turns to a very brave, strong, and know what is it like to fight for what she wants. Her qualities, lack of greed, respect for elders, compassion toward others and perseverance help her to complete a seemingly impossible journey.
Sophie Hatter, the female character from Howl Moving Castle is a very reserved woman who’s lacking in confidence. She’s also very stubborn, she firmly believes that her life is doomed to failure, because only the youngest one (her sister) will get to go off and seek her fortune. Despite chasing for her dream, she prefers to stay as a hat maker and never find happiness from that. But we can see her character development after she is cursed into becoming an old woman. She’s more confident than before, not afraid about what other people think of her, and finally be able to take control of her life. She is aware about her will to always want to protect everyone that she loves, including her sister.
Sophie and Chiriro are some of the good examples that show us about being special in your own way. Their development helps us to understand that everyone’s life isn’t perfect, but from every failure and struggle that you face will help you to become a better version of yourself. Imagine if Chiriro choose to give up from saving her parents because she’s afraid with all the spirit creatures? Her parents will be gone forever, Haku will be dead, and she’s not becoming a brave woman who fight for what she wants. Maybe Sophie, Howl, and another characters will be dead at the end of her story if Sophie still believes that her life is doomed to failure and she can’t do anything about it.
“Always believe in yourself. Do this and no matter where you are, you will have nothing to fear” -Hayo Miyazaki