Sage Stanley
The animation company named Studio Ghibli has become globally known since the early 2000s,since their first international release of their movie ‘Spirited away’ in 2001. A key character in this movie is a character by the name of No-Face, No-Face is a mysterious character who both wreaks havoc and the approval of the young Chihiro, all while having few lines of his own. It is safe to say that he has become an icon within the world of studio Ghibli, he and one other character are seen and associated with the animation company. With this information and along-time love for the movies, art 111students were provided a picture of him and provided me with research that led to my own further research. It was found that No-Face wears a Noh mask, a mask that is traditionally used in Japanese theatre to become anyone. Seeing as the origin of the mask is incredibly relevant to Japanese culture, I dug further into the company itself. Through this research I found that the two studios, Ghibli and Disney have had a great influence on the others animation styles and storytelling. Thinking about that exchange, I created a print of Kaonashi (No-Face) and Mickey mouse exchanging their iconic material, mickey’s ears and kaonashi’s mask
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Art History Student Responses to Sage Stanley:
By Jerilyn Paule:
I have seen Spirited Away multiple times and consider it one of my favorite movies, I first watched the movie as a child so seeing any of its characters, such as No-Face, makes me feel nostalgic. No-Face was a mysterious character when he was introduced, but he soon develops into one of Spirited Away’s antagonists, leading to an uncomfortable scene where he transforms into a grotesque monster and becomes terrifying. Focus on the article is around his research and analysis on the marketing materials used in promoting Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, or Spirited Away, in both Japan and the United States. Disney was associated with the distribution of the film in North America, Carter also repeatedly references the “Disneyfication” of the American promotional materials.
Carter, Laz. “Marketing Anime to a Global Audience: A Paratextual Analysis of Promotional Materials from Spirited Away.” East Asian Journal of Popular Culture 4, no. 1 (2018): 47–59. https://doi.org/10.1386/eapc.4.1.47_1.
By Hao Le:
My icon is No-Face, Kaonashi, from Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away film. For me, who is growing up in the Eastern part of the world, media from neighboring countries were a part of my childhood. Thus, when I see this iconic character, I immediately think about the nostalgic feelings and childhood memories. In the film, Kaonashi is portrayed almost like a blank sheet of paper or a mirror that reflects the needs and feelings of individuals to consume them and obtain their characteristics and physical traits. By creating Kanaoshi and giving him a happy ending, Miyazaki hopes that Japanese children can have folk tales and traditions with their technologies and devices so that they don’t slowly lose their roots.
Reider, Noriko T. 2005. "Spirited Away: Film of the Fantastic and Evolving Japanese Folk Symbols." Film Criticism 29 (3) (Spring): 4-27,79. hp://proxy.lib.csus.edu/login?url=hps://www.proquest.com/scholarly-jour nals/spirited-away-film-fantastic-evolving-japanese/docview/200901297/se-2.