The Allure of Hayao Miyazaki - Lecture at SAMAThe Allure of Hayao Miyazaki – Lecture at SAMA

The San Antonio Museum of Art features a lecture titled The Allure of Hayao Miyazaki by Frederik L. Schodt on Sunday, November 8 at 3 pm. A public reception follows.The lecture will be in SAMA’s Auditorium and is free with Museum Admission. Seating begins at 2:30 and is first-come, first-seated.

From SAMA’s web site: The filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki is often described in English-language media today with the word “revered.” In the United States, he has arguably become the most revered, if not the best known, living Japanese artist today.

Miyazaki is one of the greatest animators of all time. He has legions of fans and, surprisingly, a growing phalanx of academics who are studying and writing about his films and about him. In this talk, Frederik L. Schodt will explore some of the reasons for the appeal of both Hayao Miyazaki, and his films, in both Japan and the United States.

Frederik L. Schodt

About the Speaker: Frederik L. Schodt‘s writings on manga, and his translations of them, helped trigger the current popularity of Japanese comics in the English-speaking world. In 2009, the Japanese Government awarded Mr. Schodt the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, for his work in helping to promote Japan’s popular culture in the United States. Mr. Schodt has written widely on Japanese history, popular culture, and technology and is the author of numerous influential books. His most recent translation, with Beth Cary, is a 500 page collection of Hayao Miyazaki’s writings published this year, titled Starting Point: 1979-1996.

Three Miyazaki Films will be showing on the Big Screen at SAMA Tuesdays, November 10, 17, and 24 at 7 pm. Again, these will be in the Auditorium and museum admission is free of Tuesdays. Seating begins at 6:30; first-come, first-seated.

These are films from Miyazaki’s early career that, while classics themselves, foreshadow the creative path he would follow in later works such as Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Ponyo. All films on Disney DVD; original Japanese soundtrack with English subtitles.

Schedule:

Nov. 10 – Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) Themes such as environmentalism and pacifism underlie Princess Nausicaä’s efforts to rescue her people from terrifying insects, a poisonous jungle, and other threats. Adapted from Miyazaki’s popular graphic novel of the same name. Rated PG.

Nov. 17 – Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986) A mysterious crystal links the orphan Sheeta to a fantastic sky kingdom known as Laputa. Sheeta encounters sky pirates and a host of other colorful characters on a journey which will test her courage. Unrated.

Nov. 24 – My Neighbor Totoro (1988) Satsuki and her four-year-old sister Mei are in for magical adventure when they move to the countryside and befriend a forest spirit named Totoro. A charming and touching film you will long remember. Rated G.