How would you feel when your values conflict with the values of those around you? The movie ‘Princess Mononoke’ invites us to reflect on this question. Its story is rich in its imagination and compelling in its message. While it leaves us to reflect on the morally ambiguous nature of our usually good values, it does not give us any easy answers. Yet, this is one of the greatest strengths of the movie. It invites us to sit with the discomfort of ambiguity and allows us to think a bit more deeply about the choices we would make when conflict arises, not between good and evil things but between two equally good things. Do we abandon our own values, or do we find a way to honour the values of other people while remaining committed to our own? Let’s dive into the movie to find out.
The story is centred on the journey of a young Emishi prince, Ashitaka. After saving his village from a rampaging boar demon, a god cursed by hatred, Ashitaka is himself afflicted by the demon’s curse, which grants him immense strength but will ultimately kill him. Seeking a cure, he travels west to uncover the source of the boar’s anger. He arrives at Irontown, an industrial settlement led by the ambitious Lady Eboshi. The town thrives on iron production as Eboshi trains the people to mine the land and cut down trees for building a livelihood for themselves. She cares deeply for the people, offering refuge to outcasts like prostitutes and lepers, but her exploitation of nature causes devastating harm to their environment. Her acts provoke the wrath of the forest gods and spirits.
Meanwhile, San, a young woman raised by wolves and known as Princess Mononoke, leads the gods of the forest in a war against the humans, led by Eboshi. She is fiercely loyal to the wolf goddess Moro deeply despises humans and is always prepared to fight at any cost to protect the forest. Ashitaka becomes entangled in the conflict between Irontown and the forest. Though he sympathizes with both sides, he seeks a peaceful resolution. He saves San during an attack on Irontown, earning her trust, but the tension between them rises when Eboshi plans to kill the Forest Spirit, a god that sustains life and death.
Eboshi succeeds in cutting off the head of the Forest Spirit. However, the Spirit takes its vengeance by spreading its energy across the land, which destroys everything in its path. Ashitaka and San work together to return the head to the forest Spirit and harmony returns to the land. Though the land begins to heal, the forest’s divine presence diminishes. Seeing this transformation, Eboshi vows to rebuild Irontown with greater respect for the forest gods and spirits. San, however, remains in the forest, unwilling to reconcile with the humans despite her bond with Ashitaka. However, Ashitaka chooses to live near the forest, as he continues to connect both with San and the humans in Irontown, holding them together with his friendship.
The movie is an excellent tale depicting the idea of value conflict between people who are bent on doing good. Tensions between them arise not because some of their moral inclinations are bad but solely because all of their values and actions for their own people are good. While San is loyal to her wolf pack, the gods of the forest, Eboshi has a compassionate heart for her fellow humans, who are looked down upon in society. Their commitment to their own values led them to develop bitterness and hatred towards each other’s values. However, Ashitaka is driven by the desire to not let hatred take root in their lives. Although he values the safety of his own village, his desire to let love reign in their midst dominates his commitment to both the forest gods and the humans of Irontown. And for the sake of letting their love and friendship grow, he commits himself to upholding the values of both San and Eboshi.
Throughout the movie, we see how Ashitaka wisely perceives how San’s loyalty and the drive to protect her own tribe could serve to enhance Eboshi’s compassion towards her fellow humans for the sake of their progress and flourishing. Although the forest gods and Irontown go to war against each other, Ashitaka’s friendship and commitment to both enable them to recognise the beauty of conjoining their forces to rebuild their scarred relationships. His commitment and power in upholding the values of both, despite the conflict, enable them to navigate through their differences and let harmony emerge from within it. San and Eboshi remain true to their distinct values, but their hostility towards one another softens in the face of Ashitaka’s commitment to love and peace. His heart unites two seemingly irreconcilable worlds, demonstrating that achieving harmony necessitates a readiness, not only in valuing the perspectives of others, but also in recognizing how we could integrate them with out own.
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Written by Roselina Vundi
