Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle touches the sublime. - Slate Magazine

This upcoming Sunday is the last of our series of classes on the sublime in film and Howl’s Moving Castle is our last movie.  We’ll also show/discuss clips from Wings of Desire, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away.

This film and faith class has been more of a challenge to co-lead than the last one we taught (on images of Jesus in film).  Still, I’ve enjoyed it.

I believe that fantasy in the meaning of imagination is very important. We shouldn’t stick too close to everyday reality but give room to the reality of the heart, of the mind and of the imagination. Those things can help us in life. But we have to be cautious in using this word fantasy. In Japan, the word fantasy these days is applied to everything from TV shows to video games, like virtual reality. But virtual reality is a denial of reality. We need to be open to the powers of imagination, which brings something useful to reality. Virtual reality can imprison people. It’s a dilemma I struggle with in my work, that balance between imaginary worlds and virtual worlds.
Hayao Miyazaki, on the necessity of fantasy in children’s stories. (via stayforthecredits)

(via stayforthecredits)