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A review by ryan_ggaur
Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art by Susan J. Napier
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
5.0
I think I learned the most about what it means to be an artist from this book than I have from anything else. Napier’s recounting of Miyazaki’s journey and breakdown of this philosophy saw my own artistic ideals not only reflected but expanded upon.
There is no definition of what art should be, just elements that resonate with us as individuals. To discover the films of Studio Ghibli was to discover my own taste, my own outlook on film.
I was anxious about reading about Miyazaki. I didn’t want to break the illusion. I didn’t want the messages and beauty of the films to be down to some misreading on my part. What I found in Miyazaki was a deeply complex person with a sadness stemming from childhood trauma which determines so much of his outlook.
Napier shows Miyazaki as a person who leaves room for inner conflict, quoting interviews around the release of each movie that depict an arc of life which sees his changing outlooks. It’s just so real.
I think it can be a difficult and dangerous thing to bare emotion as boldly as Miyazaki but his art wouldn’t be this catalogue of joy, of fear, of longing for a distant utopia of the past or future. The richness of his art comes from his expression of his truth as a person. He’s the type of guy who can’t hide a thing, it’s all expression.
There is no definition of what art should be, just elements that resonate with us as individuals. To discover the films of Studio Ghibli was to discover my own taste, my own outlook on film.
I was anxious about reading about Miyazaki. I didn’t want to break the illusion. I didn’t want the messages and beauty of the films to be down to some misreading on my part. What I found in Miyazaki was a deeply complex person with a sadness stemming from childhood trauma which determines so much of his outlook.
Napier shows Miyazaki as a person who leaves room for inner conflict, quoting interviews around the release of each movie that depict an arc of life which sees his changing outlooks. It’s just so real.
I think it can be a difficult and dangerous thing to bare emotion as boldly as Miyazaki but his art wouldn’t be this catalogue of joy, of fear, of longing for a distant utopia of the past or future. The richness of his art comes from his expression of his truth as a person. He’s the type of guy who can’t hide a thing, it’s all expression.