Overview
In your Breakout groups, choose person for each role:
- note-taker (create a post called Mononoke notes, copy the following questions, add your group member’s names, then answer with specific and concrete bullet points presenter can use in discussion)
- presenter ( present the group notes from above post to the class)
- questioner (ask the group these following questions & try to prod the best answers you can–you can also add to answers)
Group 1–The Departure
World-Building: What is the curse that strikes Prince Ashitaka? Where did it come from? How does it affect him? Why is he not killed? What do we learn from Nago? How does Prince Ashitaka greet and interact with Nago?
What kind of community does Prince Ashitaka come from? What are its values (and how do you know this–ie, what story elements SHOW vs telling this info)?
What does Prince Ashitaka do when he encounters a group of Samurai attacking a village? Does he attack them? Does he want to fight? (This may have more than one answer).
What are the main areas of the story world?
Group 2–Opponent/Ally
Characters: Describe Prince Ashitaka’s first encounter with San. What do we learn about each of them and how do we learn this? A few action convey lots of info that each uses to study the other–name these choices (gestures, words, etc)
Describe Ashitaka’s encounters with Moro–she threatens to kill him; why? Why does Moro end up helping him in the final scene?
What role does Jigo play? With both Ashitaka & Lady Iboshi? What is Jigo’s final line in the movie &how do you interpret it?
Group 3–War & Peace
Plot: Describe the causes and the scenes of war in the movie:
1) Lord Asano’s samurai killing first villagers,
2) Lady Iboshi’s war on forest spirit & its animals ,
3) Lord Asana’s attack on Iron Town,
4) The attack on the wild boars & Iron Town men.
How is each war triggered by events in the story? What is the reason for all these wars? Do the wars between people seem similar or different than the war against nature?
What examples of peace do you see in the movie? Who are the peacemakers?
Group 4–Beyond good and evil
Theme: What do the Amishi wise woman’s words “To see with eyes unclouded by hate” mean? List all the examples of this phrase in the movie & describe why they are important to each scene and how they impact the characters and action.
What is there a relationship between these words and the forest god? Why does the Forest God kill Okotto and Moro instead of rescuing them? Why does he spare Ashitaka & San when they return his head? What is the point of having flowers grow on Lady Iboshi’s rifle? Which is more powerful, the rifle (and all it represents) or the flowers? Explain.
