Tag: Folklore

Peaking into the Layers of Folklore in Pixar’s Coco

coco_282017_film29_poster

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Despite reports of Disney•Pixar having a troubled start in the development of Coco, the movie I saw in all its charming glory and the reveal of how many anthropological experts were acknowledged in the movie credits certainly put any concerns to rest. The fact Hispanic illustrator Lalo Alcaraz was one such person hired on to ensure accuracy made this animated take in what Día de Muertos is about all the more enjoyable. As a group, these people insured this animated film is culturally relevant. Together, with director Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 2 & 3) and writers Adrian Molina, Jason Katz and Matthew Aldrich, they made a film that’s true to the spirit of many past Pixar films, where keeping family ties is important.

Not everyone is fully aware about what the Day of the Dead represents. As a film about young Miguel Rivera (Anthony Gonzalez) wanting to be a musician instead of a cobbler — against his family’s wishes — just what he has to face in his journey is an adventure. From the land of the living to the city of the dead to find his great-great-grandfather, all he wants is someone’s blessing for what he wants to do for the rest of his life. Upon stealing a guitar in a mausoleum, he inadvertently enters the afterlife and pretty soon, he meets his deceased relatives. They are, pardoning the pun, aghast and side with his great grandmother’s desire to keep the family away from ever enjoying music. None are allowed to listen to it or perform.

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Reading Mokoto Shinkai’s “Your Name” as a Monomyth

Your NameBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Plenty of praise and examinations have been given to Makoto Shinkai‘s Your Name since its debut last year. Although this film is essentially a romantic comedy, I was more enamoured with the mythic elements. This filmmaker took the best from other cultural traditions and wrote a Twilight Zone style story which I liked. This movie has an East clashing with the West attitude. It shows when Mitsuha Miyamizu (Mone Kamishiraishi), a young girl from a rural part of Japan, yearns for a life in modern Tokyo and makes the mistake of wishing upon a falling star.

She wanted to shirk cultural traditions and from there, I knew where this film was going. Since classical times, spotting such a fireball was often feared more than regarded as divine intervention. If a prayer is said upon seeing it, just what happens can go any which way. In this film’s case, both are considered!

Comet Tiamat is getting closer to the Earth and it is the raison d’être for how this tale comes together. She’s not always a creation goddess but is also representative of primordial chaos. This chunk of rock and ice could have been given any name, and some viewers may wonder why this Babylonian figure is used? My theory is that this name was chosen to make viewers of this anime aware that this film is a shōjo product through and through. Her essence is everywhere. From the Earth to the Heavens, in the offerings at the shrine and coming visible at twilight, a sense of omnipotence can be felt as she comes closer to Earth affecting the main character, Miyamizu-chan.

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[Vancouver Fringe Festival ’15] One Otaku’s Pick: Kiss Around Pass Around, A Review

11235244VENUE:
Revue Stage
at Granville Island
1601 Johnston St.
Vancouver, BC

Thurs, Sep 17 6:45 pm
Sat, Sep 196:30 pm
Sun, Sep 203:40 pm

One part Banana Splits, two parts Japanese Folklore and three parts variety show make for a very quirky show called Kiss Around Pass Around. Yanomi Shoshinz (better known as Miss Hiccup back in Victoria Fringe Festival 2010 and 2012) created this act which blends a lot of traditions into a kaleidoscope of fun. But just what is a Kesaran Pasaran? Not many Fringe show attendees will want to research this name prior to or after seeing this production during the Vancouver Fringe Festival. As this event hits mid-way, perhaps its time to demystify this creature.

According to one online source, it’s the name of a spirit of good fortune. It’s essentially a white ball of fluff that’s evolved from a plant. When the material flies around like the white parts of a dandelion after a strong gust of wind, the joy it brings is often a delight to anyone running through a field of them. That’s what this show is like.

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[Victoria Fringe Festival ’14] Finding Transcendence with the Selkie Tales, A Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Selkie Tales GraphicWritten and Directed by
Voice Box Theatre Company

With Artwork from Roween Suess

Music by Sink

Through the power of myth, a cultural discourse of any country can be found in the stories of yore. Some legends may inspire a transformative change of the self whereas others look deep into a collective experience that many readers can find, if not relate to. In other cases, they serve to explain the power of a greater cosmic force at work. In folklore, traditions are explored, and sometimes what is experienced is more of a sensory exposition.

In Selkie Tales, grief and loss are explored in a whimsical journey of what the seal-folk of Scotland (a type of faerie) have contributed to the richness of this bonnie land’s mystique. These creatures are similar to mermaids/mermen. But they appear as seals when in the ocean and when they shed their skin upon reaching land, will look just like another human.

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[Victoria Fringe Festival ’14] This Oni is For You! A Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Oni

Mochinosha Puppet Company
Written/Created by: Seri Yanai

In Japanese folklore, the Oni are demons from Buddhist tradition who have become part of popular imagination in media and it’s an apt name for the play featuring them at the Victoria Fringe Festival. More often than not, these supernatural creatures are not necessarily evil. Instead, they are simply seen as wild and uncontrolled elemental forces who have no love for mortals. When these humans come to them to beg for favours, that’s when the tale of Issun-bōshi emerges — to which this play creates much of the narrative from.

The literal translation is One Inch Boy. A better translation is The One Inch High Samurai.

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