In Kiki's Delivery Service, by Hayao Miyazaki, a young witch, Kiki, sets out to make her mark on the world. In the film, witches aren't portrayed as they usually are in older western media. usually they would be portrayed with the cliche of them having a hooked nose, a pointy hat, scraggly hair, warts, ugly teeth and horrible skin. On the contrary, Kiki is seen as young, pretty, innocent and pure. There are shared themes, such as brewing potions, flying using broomsticks, a black feline companion, and wearing a big black robe. But the difference is, in old western media, those things were seen as horrible and unholy, whereas in the Kiki's Delivery Service movie universe, witches are generally seen as rare but amazing people.
Adding on to this, Aunt Maria by Diana Wynne Jones was very similar to Kiki's Delivery Service. The first half of the book could totally be a Studio Ghibli movie. It shared all the Ghibli themes: cats, children, nice houses by the sea, mysterious forests, spirits, and beautiful scenery. Just like the movie, it was thrilling, mysterious, supernatural, and quirky.
I also thought Aunt Maria has a lot of similarities to the writing style of Harry Potter. If we're talking about witches in Harry Potter, the tone is very normal, as if they were talking about humans. There are good witches and evil witches and its like a social norm in the story.
Like Kiki's Delivery Service, Harry Potter is a good story in which the witches are not viewed as evil, dastardly beautiful, or anything else; they are seen as just members of society trying to fit in. Kiki seems more human than a supernatural being. Recently, media is trying to go for a witch character as one that is more normal and human (like Hermoine and Kiki).
Sagar,
ReplyDeleteI highly enjoyed this weeks theme! I’ve been a fan of Studion Ghibli and the form that their storytelling takes, for a long time, and their visual imagery is undoubtably spectacular! Having had the opportunity to also acquaint myself with Aunt Maria and the world portrayed by Diana Wynne Jones was something I also greatly appreciated.
I do however believe that the way the witches are integrated in the society of the worlds they’re portrayed in are a bit more elaborate than is touched upon here. In Kiki’s delivery Service witches are indeed a natural and well known part of the community. They serve a purpose and every city has their own which to whom the citizens can turn for magical services. In Harry Potter however, the witches and wizards live in segregation from the people who represent the norm, the muggles. They have their own society with their own rules, and for the most part the wizards/witches and the muggles try to stay out of each others way.
In Aunt Maria the situation is something in between. Very few, if anybody, outside of Cranberry knows about the occurrences that’s taking place there, and about the magical war raging quietly between the men and women of the town. Although secluded, the magic is still present in the “real world” and is accessible to those who knows how to seek it.
This is partly why I find witches so interesting. As far as folklore goes, they’ve been around for a really long time, but they never stop evolving. They hold great symbolism and can change with the society around them. Witches don’t have to lurk in the shadows; they use nature as a tool through which they either gain or focus their power, relying on herbs and natural energies. They can take their power from the spiritual world, using mysticism and illusions, and they can be everyday people who do extraordinary things, using telekinesis or simply being more present and harmonised, thereby having the power of focus to effect the world and people around them.
Witches have so many possibilities and there are so many realms in which they can wield their influence.