“We have a score to settle!” Cries the woman. And she truly believes this, for Moro and her pups killed her husband. This statement really shows how much humans can hate, going as far as murder to exact revenge.
Yet this statement also shows the selfishness of humans in the movie Princess Mononoke.
Princess Mononoke is a very deep movie, showing the true nature of many humans: utter self-centeredness. Throughout the movie, one can see how selfish humans can be.
The woman who cries for revenge is a perfect example. She believes that she has a score to settle, because her husband was killed. Yet what she’s not even thinking of is all of the animals, not to mention the forest itself, which she has helped to murder. She is so self-centered, that she is thinking only of herself, and what she has lost. She’s not even realizing that she’s the one that moved in on Moro’s territory. She’s the one that cut down trees. She’s the one that helped kill the boars. She is oblivious to all of these things, thinking only of her own pain and suffering, like a typical selfish human.
Jiko is another example of the selfishness of humans. His whole reason for being at Lady Eboshi’s town is so that he can get the Deer God’s head for the Mikado, in hopes of getting a great reward. He doesn’t care that he’s killing a God. He only cares about the idea of a reward. He only cares about ways in which he can make his own life better. He helps massacre the boars, with no care whatsoever, other then that they may be slowing him down. While the boars are fighting for their lives, as well as what they believe to be just, Jiko is merely fighting for what he wants. He could care less that he basically causing genocide. He only cares for the distant hopes for a reward, no matter what the cost.
Ashitaka is a human, and while he is one of the smarter, more caring humans, he is not exempt from this selfish natural quality that occurs in our species. For instance, after he was revived, he asked Okoto if he knew how to get rid of the curse. Why would he ask that? He should be happy that his presence is even being tolerated! True, if he doesn’t get rid of the curse, he’ll die anyway, but really, what he’s doing sounds incredibly selfish in the ears of the Gods. Another part was when he is talking with Moro. If he had been more understanding, then he and Moro might’ve even been able to get along for a few minutes, and have an interesting discussion! But, like a human, he thought only of his own species, and angrily told Moro that she should let San free, since she was a human. Ashitaka did not seem to think about the fact that San wanted to help the forest. She was wholly dedicated to it, so why would she leave, just because Ashitaka came around? His self-centerdness blinded his normally insightful reasoning as his discussion with Moro was pursued.
All in all, this amazing movie does a great job of showing a very prominent side of humans. We all are selfish. We all think greatly about ourselves, even when we may not realize it. It is a natural part of our species, one that may ultimately lead to our own destruction. If we cannot cap this characteristic of ourselves, according to Princess Mononoke, we will eventually do something that may be irreversible. We may destroy this wonderful planet, and the beautiful nature contained within. We are already on that path. We are Lady Eboshi’s village. We have already long begun destroying the forest of our planet. We are now looking to the deep of the Deer God’s forest. There are many Ashitaka’s in our world; many people that are already been affected by this pollution, by this deforestation, by this utter destruction of nature. And very soon, if not already, we shall all feel the effects of this. We shall kill the Deer God, yet this time, there will be no one to save us. Brought to the massive scale of the world, there will be many more Jikos then Ashitakas and Sans, and they will not be able to triumph. The Deer God will not get its head back. It will fall, and not long after, we humans will too. For nature, just like the Deer God, has the say on life and death. And if it dies, everything will follow.
So who are you going to be? Are you going to be an Eboshi? Are you going to realize your mistakes afterwards? Are you a Jiko, one who has no care whatsoever for the beauty of nature? Or are you one of the dedicated, truly virtuous Sans and Ashitakas, who care for our home and its other inhabitants, and that want to live in a world where there will be a peace between nature and mankind? Make your choice. Choose which character you want to be. Choose, whether or not you want to help.
Or are you just another selfish, self-centered human?
