Graphic provided by Japan Foundation, New York

The Japan Foundation, New York will start a special “Studio Ghibli series” as part of their Pop Culture Series!

During the first episode on Studio Ghibli, participants will take a closer look at the life of Hayao Miyazaki, the director of Studio Ghibli, and how it influenced his work, especially the children characters he created.

Please join Japan Foundation, New York for a discussion with two anime experts, Susan Napier and Helen McCarthy. Napier will introduce everyone to the story of Miyazaki’s life and works based on her latest book, Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art, taking a closer look at how children characters guide people to deal with an increasingly uncertain future. Following the presentation, there will be a live discussion between McCarthy and Napier about their perspectives on Miyazaki’s various characters.

The discussion will be followed by a live Q&A. If you have any questions about Miyazaki’s worldview and characters, now is your chance to ask the experts. Please ask your question when you register for the event via Eventbrite. Live commentary will also be enabled on the YouTube stream, so you can participate in the Q&A session on air as well.

This event is free with registration. Registrants will receive the link to the stream via email. Click the button below to register:

About the Speakers:

Dr. Susan Napier is the Goldthwaite Professor of Rhetoric and Professor of Japanese Studies at Tufts University. She teaches courses on Japanese culture, including a seminar on Miyazaki, and also on comparative film and literature, including a course on “The Cinema of Apocalypse” and one on “Fantasy in World Culture.” Napier has written five books. Her first two books were on Japanese literature. In the early 1990’s she became interested in comics and animation in general and in Japanese manga and animation in particular and has published two books on Japanese animation and numerous articles and book chapters. She is now considered one of the leading authorities on Japanese animation in the world and in 2018 published Miyazakiworld (Yale University Press), a study of the great Japanese animation director, Hayao Miyazaki. The book came out in paperback and is being translated into 10 languages.

Helen McCarthy is a feminist, writer, artist, poet, and independent scholar. An ardent science fiction and fantasy fan, she has been active in organising conventions and creating and performing cosplay since 1974. She founded Britain’s first professional anime magazine in 1991, published her first book on anime in 1993, and has since written 13 books, translated into eight languages. Her most recent work is as co-editor with Dr. Darren-John Ashmore of an essay collection on mangaka Leiji Matsumoto. She has written award-winning works on Hayao Miyazaki and Osamu Tezuka, and co-authored The Anime Encyclopedia, the leading English language reference work on anime, with Jonathan Clements. As a speaker, she has presented on topics including the history of cosplay in Japan, the history of Japanese dress, the development of 2.5D theatre, and the work of many distinguished manga creators and film-makers. She has also worked on a number of exhibitions and projects, including Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s dance drama TeZukA and the British Museum’s 2019 blockbuster Manga! exhibition.

Biographies and images provided by Japan Foundation, New York