Princess Mononoke

I just watched the film and I thought it was pretty incredible. Aside from the brilliant animation, there's a great soundtrack and an epic story that captures the imagination. I want to give a brief synopsis of the film. Don't worry, Devin, no spoilers. Basically, this story takes place during a time when the human world and the spirit world coexist. The spirits are in animal form and are gods and guardians of the forest. The story follows the adventures of a young man from a small village, journeying West to find the Spirit of the Forest to lift a deadly curse. Throughout his journey, he struggles to strike a balance between his humanity and his veneration for the beast gods of the forest. It's a story that's relevant to our world today. There are major themes of deforestation, over-industrialization, and an overall disrespect of nature presented as a battle between humans and animals. The two main characters voiced by Billy Crudup and Claire Danes are pitted against one another because Danes's character was raised by wolves.

The film got me thinking a lot about the way things are and the way things used to be thousands of years ago. It's pretty remarkable how advanced our society has become. Just think about it. Every time I drive up to Dartmouth, I see the vertical grooves left on the rock as a result of drilling. They drilled into these rocks to drop dynamite to blast away mountains to build roads. That really blows my mind that we have roads where great mountains used to stand. I can't say I've always been one to appreciate nature. I always thought nature was beautiful, but I can't say I've always appreciated it. I would say that I took it for granted. It was there to serve an aesthetic pleasure during camping trips. Living in Hanover and being in the middle of nowhere has made me think of nature a little differently. I was fortunate enough to have hiked Mt. Washington, Mt. Moosilauke, and Mt. Cardigan this summer. I can't really put into words the feeling you get when you are on top of a mountain, surveying the countless trees and breathing what feels like the cleanest, crispest air you've ever breathed. I wished I had taken advantage of more opportunities to explore the Upper Valley and experience nature. The best way to experience nature is to just be smack right in the middle of it. I feel like I'm having a Thoreau moment. I really miss being able to take a short car trip to the base of a mountain. That's just not really a feasible outing for me anymore. There's a chance I'll be living in New York in the future, navigating the Urban Jungle. That prospect makes me miss my outdoors adventures and experiences even more. I know I'm kind of rambling, but I'm struggling to find the right words, words that will do justice to the subject matter. Unfortunately, I don't think I can adequately describe the importance of nature. Some of my best memories are out in the wilderness. I spent a lot of time during Sophomore Summer at the Ledges, a rock ravine carved out by a running stream. It provided swimming holes a giant 18-foot tall boulder to jump off of. Other memories that come to mind are the times I spent with friends sleeping in cabins in the woods. I remember the campfires, the games of Contact, and mostly of all, the sound of silence. Of course, silence is not really silent. It's the sound of the wind shaking the leaves of trees, the sound of crickets and other creatures of the night, and it's the sound of the embers in the stove cracking with its last life.

I feel a new sense of deep respect for those who live a much simpler life, free of modern luxuries, by choice. These are who care about the Earth and its future. For a month this summer, SEAD practiced sustainability on a small scale. We used plastic reusable plates and silverware instead of paper products. I'm proud to say that we ended up saving a ton of paper products that would've been trash. The biggest thing you notice is that the trash barrels aren't completely filled after each meal. I have to say, though, that it's not easy. It takes effort. It's so much easier to use something once and to throw it away. If you're interested in more information and statistics on the state of the Earth, google "the story of stuff". It's a short 20-25 minute video that gives you some true and truly disturbing facts. I find them disturbing, at least.

Anyway, I'm going to make an effort to take advantage of nature opportunities when I'm in Hanover for Homecoming. It's going to be a busy weekend filled with fun, but I'm going to try to make time for a short hike, maybe Mt. Cardigan. If anyone is interested, let me know. Take some time to appreciate nature while we still have it to appreciate. The view from the top is really amazing and it's an easy hike. Also, I want to hike Mt. Washington again. There are so many peaks to take in the view from. I want to try to Presidential Range that's up there. It's getting pretty cold so this would have to wait until spring or summer, but I really want to do it, so let me know if this interests you. While I was hiking, I saw some people that were talking about hiking the Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. Just imagine how amazing an adventure that would be. I'm having difficulty picturing a more ruggedly romantic journey. You would hike up and down mountains all day while witnessing breath-taking views. You would sleep in the woods some nights, curled under a tall tree on top of some soft moss. When you made it to a town, you could restock your supplies and treat yourself to poached eggs over corned beef hash with home fries. Sounds good. Imagine all the different kinds of corned beef hash you would come across at the various diners and truck stops along the way and the people you would meet. A journey like that could probably tell you a lot about yourself too, since there'd be plenty of time for introspection.

Back to the film; I digress. I really enjoyed it although it made me a little melancholy. It made me think, which is something I'm challenging movies to do more now than in the past. Of course, I can always go for a funny yet brainless comedy, but I've come to appreciate the art of cinema, not that I understand much of it. I've always been fascinated by film and I hope to learn more about it. I digress again. The film was excellent and I recommend it to anyone with an imagination and a soft spot for epic tales of heroism and adventure. It's funny that Claire Danes was a voice of a character in this film because I really enjoyed her performance in Star Dust. Yes, I'm being serious. I have such a soft spot for these types of tales that border fairy tales. I used to watch Grimm's Fairy Tales all the time after David the Gnome when I was younger. I guess I always enjoyed some fantasy in stories. Seriously though, check out Princess Mononoke and Star Dust if you ever imagined you were a dragon-slaying prince or a captured princess in an unreachable tower. Fantasy is very much alive. It's in our minds and out there in nature too. Go explore and throw yourselves into it!