Cardiff-Japanese Webinar Series - Interpreting Studio Ghibli: Using Japanese language sources to unpack Japanese animation’s myths and legends

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Public lecture / talk by Rayna Denison, University of Bristol
Online
Open to all

The Cardiff-Japanese Lecture Series explores sociocultural aspects of Japanese language learning. The event is funded by the Japan Foundation, London.

Recordings of the Cardiff-Japanese Lecture Series are available to watch on our YouTube channel.

About the series

Students of Japanese as a Foreign Language have fewer opportunities to grasp relevant contemporary information or understand cultural contexts because they study outside Japan. Furthermore, recognising Japanese society in a broader sense and considering how their own Japanese language ability may be applied to their own futures are challenges for such learners.

It is therefore essential not only to learn the target language but also to know the multifaceted aspects of the country. Moreover, teachers involved in Japanese language education outside Japan need support in obtaining and sharing up-to-date information reflecting many of the current trends and norms in contemporary Japanese society, in order to provide a more authentic learning experience.

The Cardiff-Japanese Lecture Series aims to explore and understand sociocultural aspects of language learning for those studying Japanese language and culture at Cardiff University, as well as various learners, teachers and researchers with an interest in Japan.

Abstract

In the age of instantaneous access and streaming platforms, it would be easy to believe that we know (and can see) all there is to know about Japanese animation. However, for more than a decade now, Rayna’s work with original Japanese language sources has revealed obscured worlds of meaning, different understandings and outright falsehoods being parlayed as truths in our increasingly fluid online discussions of Japanese animation.

This is perhaps surprisingly even true of one of Japan’s most discussed and understood studios: Studio Ghibli. Though home to some of the most-translated and highly publicized animation from Japan, online fan discussions have struggled to engage with this studio on its own terms and in its own language when viewed from the outside. This has caused a series of myths to begin to circulate around Studio Ghibli’s animation.

From Totoro’s reimagining as a “shinigami” death god, to misunderstandings about the studio’s attitudes to technology, to myths that persist about its foundation, translating Studio Ghibli for audiences outside of Japan continues to be a challenging task. This talk seeks to redress some of these myths, but also to discuss some of the specific issues pertaining to translating the audio visual across borders.

Biography

Rayna Denison is Professor of Film and Digital Arts at the University of Bristol, where she is also Head of Department for Film and Television.

She has written two monographs: Anime: A Critical Introduction (2015) and Studio Ghibli: An Industrial History (2023). She was the Primary Investigator and researcher on the AHRC-funded project Manga to Movies, looking at contemporary Japanese franchising and adaptation practices across a wide range of media forms.

Rayna has also edited several academic essay collections, including the Eisner Award-nominated Superheroes on World Screens (with Rachel Mizsei-Ward, 2015) and Princess Mononoke: Understanding Studio Ghibli’s Monster Princess (2018).

Her work can be found in a wide range of world leading journals, including Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, Velvet Light Trap, Japan Forum and the Journal of Japanese and Korean Cinema.

Event format & recording

The event will take place online as a Zoom webinar and will be recorded for publication after the event.

Simultaneous Translation The event will be delivered in the medium of English. You are welcome to ask questions in the medium of Welsh during the Q&A session. If you intend to do this, please contact mlang-events@cardiff.ac.uk by Wednesday 22 November to request simultaneous translation. Please note that 10% or more of those planning to attend will need to request this provision in order for it to be sourced and will be subject to resource availability.

Registration

Please register for the event.

We apologise that the entire registration page is not available in the medium of Welsh.  Unfortunately, the platform we use does not offer this service.

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