I recently read and watched an Asian story by the name of Princess Mononoke. It's a grand tale of Gods, warriors, great creatures, and the common man in a vastly changing world. The setting is in rural China where the invention and implement of explosives and guns has changed the balance of power between man and the old creatures and gods of ancient times.
This story is a myth because there are a few different gods of the forest; one resembling a wolf, a giant elk, and the others giant boars. In the end, all of them come to their own fate, including death. Romance is also a prominent mode because of the inclusion of gods in a world with nomadic societies that effect and are effected by these ancient beings. The main character Ashitaka is both high and low mimetic in the fact that he is a normal human being ( although he is a great warrior ) who is slightly more intelligent and physically capable than the average villager. When he is cursed by killing the very creature he stops from destroying his village he becomes both stronger and weaker at the same time. He is now high-mimetic in the fact that his strength has been increased by the curse and he is also an ironic and helpless character in the fact that the curse will kill him in time and there is no cure. The story then turns to his futile search for his salvation and where that leads him. As you can see, all of Frye's modes have been portrayed in this badass story.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
DQ continued
With our hero's latest hallucination he is seen to attack a group of "giants" which are actually windmills; lets just say it doesn't turn out well. The magnitude and potency of his hallucinations have steadily increased over the days of his quest for knightly valor. These "giants" symbolize the pure forms of evil and vulgarity which Don Quixote has so sworn to punish with his valorous retribution. His new sidekick seems to play the dumb commoner and just goes along with the vision in a certain way. He suspects his master of being insane, but honestly he doesn't care all that much; at least he is not bored.
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