Miyazaki Hayao, arguably Japan's greatest animator, has made a career of creating heroines who-while in some respects corresponding to the anime stereotype of cute and girlish-- are also notable for their intelligence, resourcefulness, and independence. These heroines and the imaginative fantasy worlds they occupy often serve as a critique of contemporary Japanese society on a number of levels. Existing outside the mainstream in liminal spaces of fantasy and time, the heroines enact rituals of change and sacrifice that suggest alternative modes of being, not simply for young female viewers but for viewers in general. Miyazaki's most recent film, the box office smash "Sen to Chihiro" (Spirited Away) is perhaps his most fascinating work to date. Set largely in a fantasy "bathhouse of the gods" the film uses its initially reluctant young heroine to explore themes of nostalgia, national  and personal identity construction, and the carnivalesque.This presentation discusses some of Miyazaki's most important films in terms of their use of these outside or liminal heroines and in regards to the liminality inherent in the animation medium itself.

My Neighbor Totoro 1993  87 minutes  Director: Miyazaki Hayao