Ethan Yamashita
How does culture get shared? There are certainly many routes. The book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes shared and familiarized people with the Japanese tradition of wish granting paper cranes. BTS has greatly exported both Korean culture and language. Even TV shows like Nickelodeon’s Ni Hao, Kai-Lan did a lot to familiarize American audiences with different cultures, specifically Chinese culture in the case of Ni Hao, Kai-Lan. But if we pan our focus back to Japan and the realm of movies, we see one very large exporter of Japanese culture: Studio Ghibli.
Now out of all the cultures represented in western media, Japanese culture has to be among the most present. Anime has established a firm foothold with shows like Dragon Ball Z or My Hero Academia, sushi and ramen of widely varying qualities can be found in almost any town, and I’m sure everyone at some point wanted to be a ninja. Now there are many reasons for Japan’s share of cultural fascination in the states, from immingration to the growth of Japan and cities like Tokyo seen as the cutting edge of modernity and tech. But one important reason that cannot be ignored is simply the media that happens to cross over. This is not a very predictable process. Sometimes the things that catch fire and get popular seem to have no rhyme or reason behind them (as anyone who has ever interacted with TikTok can attest). So who could have predicted that this quiet little movie from a relative no-name in the states would blow up and continue to fascinate and delight people across the world to this day? Of course, I’m talking about the eternal classic from Studio Ghibli: My Neighbor Totoro.
You might not know Totoro by name, but you know Totoro. Large, gray-white bear looking thing with some pointy ear things sticking out of his head and triangles on his stomach? Totoro. Quickly after its release in Japan and worldwide, My Neighbor Totoro quickly gained quite the cult following. But as more people began to talk about it and as this adorable plush mascot spread across western culture, soon Ghibli had quite the American mainstay. And it’s not just Totoro. No-Face, Calcifer, the soot sprites, and the wood spirits all have their own niche and place in American culture. But even beyond that, many AAPI people around my age grew up on these movies. I was raised on movies like Ponyo, The Secret World of Arrietty, and yes, My Neighbor Totoro. This was one of our best inroads to this culture that we have been slightly removed from. From the foods, demons, and clothing that were so beautifully rendered in cel shading, these “simple cartoons” really gave me a road to connect with the culture I came from. I can see myself in the characters. They eat the food I grew up with like ramen or dango, they had stories and traditions I had read in books, and, as is oft repeated but should not be understated, they looked like me.
My favorite movie of all time is still The Wind Rises, an absolutely beautiful film that continues classic Ghibli themes like pascivisim and beauty, perfect themes for both a healing post-war Japan and a constantly in crisis America. But as this new generation rises, we can hopefully take these ideas intrinsic to the media and movies we grew up with and apply them to our everyday lives. We hold the future as the young generation. To conclude, I’d like to paraphrase the words of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. As with women, AAPI people belong in all places where decisions are made. We have such a large role in American history and it’s time for us to be treated like it. Thank you for reading my pieces in the AAPI month column. Equality is a long road that we will continue to walk day by day until we finally reach that mountaintop. For years and years those of AAPI heritage have been overlooked and marginalized but as our culture slowly gains fascination and respect by the larger American salad bowl, hopefully all the rest will follow suit.
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