A philosophical essay on the films of Hayao Miyazaki

This thesis examines the philosophical dimension of animation art, which abstracts the viewer from reality and offers an alternative world, through the works of Hayao Miyazaki from a philosophical perspective. The study is built on three main pillars: the art of anime, Miyazaki's films, and philosophy. By establishing a connection between the unique narrative possibilities of animation and the philosophy in Miyazaki's films, aesthetic and philosophical approaches are analyzed in an integrated manner. The research focuses on the relationships between humans, nature, and existence in Miyazaki's works, aiming to uncover their philosophical depth. Animation, due to its boundless imaginative potential, provides a more powerful narrative form than classical cinema. In this context, the wide audience reach of Japanese anime culture and the profound narratives of Miyazaki's films have served as significant inspiration for this thesis. Although Miyazaki himself avoids defining his works as anime, the strong association of his films with anime culture worldwide necessitates the inclusion of key concepts of anime art in the study. How imaginary worlds created in consciousness gain meaning in Miyazaki's films through philosophy and visual arts is explored in detail. This thesis provides a philosophical examination of Hayao Miyazaki's films, focusing on the relationships between humans, nature, and existence. Its primary aim is to analyze the central concepts in Miyazaki's cinematic narratives through the philosophies of Heidegger and Levinas, exploring the inner journeys of characters, gender roles, and their relationships with objects. The study is structured into three main chapters. The first chapter focuses on the art of anime and Miyazaki's influence on it. The second chapter examines the representation of gender roles in anime and recurring themes in Miyazaki's films. Themes such as elegy, apocalypse, and festival are analyzed in terms of their impact on characters' individual and collective experiences of trauma and transformation. The representation of male and female protagonists in cinematic narratives, particularly within the frameworks of Shoujo and Shounen genres, is also discussed. The third chapter investigates the relationship of the protagonists with life through the lens of Heidegger's and Levinas's philosophies. Female characters' growth as they confront emotions like loneliness, anxiety, fear, and existential unease, alongside male characters' transformation within the framework of ethical responsibility, are elaborated upon. Objects, architectural elements, and natural features are analyzed for their reflection of the characters' inner worlds from a philosophical perspective. The final section explores the relationship between protagonists and objects, connections to spaces and architectural elements, and interactions between humans and nature within a philosophical context. The concept of Mono no Aware is examined in Miyazaki's depiction of nature, and the relationship between the transience of nature and human awareness of this transience is evaluated in light of Heidegger's critique of modern technology. While Heidegger's critique provides a backdrop to the damage modernization inflicts on nature, Miyazaki's films foreground the alienation caused by industrialization. This thesis establishes a philosophical discourse by building a bridge between animation art and the philosophical ideas of Heidegger and Levinas, offering a deep intellectual analysis of Miyazaki's works, which present alternative worlds through animation.