{"id":3351,"date":"2022-02-22T19:05:09","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T03:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test-inside.ewu.edu\/willowspringsmagazine\/?p=3351"},"modified":"2024-12-12T10:55:48","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T18:55:48","slug":"princess-mononoke-hits-differently-now-by-ann-barngrover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test-inside.ewu.edu\/willowspringsmagazine\/princess-mononoke-hits-differently-now-by-ann-barngrover\/","title":{"rendered":"“Princess Mononoke Hits Differently Now” by Anne Barngrover"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Willow<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Found in\u00a0Willow Springs 89<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to Author Profile<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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“Princess Mononoke Hits Differently Now” by Anne Barngrover<\/h1>\n\n\n\n\nhttps:\/\/test-inside.ewu.edu\/willowspringsmagazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/332\/2022\/02\/Princess-Mononoke-Hits-Differently-Now.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n\n\n\n
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The first time I watched it, I remember being floored<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that Iron Town\u2019s ruler, Lady Eboshi\u2014who I actually<\/p>\n\n\n\n

kind of liked, even though I maybe wasn\u2019t supposed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to, because she wanted what she could name\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

really shoots off the Forest Spirit\u2019s head. I didn\u2019t believe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

she\u2019d follow through with it once she sees him<\/p>\n\n\n\n

with her own eyes. Now I\u2019m like, Seems about right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I suppose we all want to show everyone we know<\/p>\n\n\n\n

how to kill a god of life and death. We can all be<\/p>\n\n\n\n

short-sighted sometimes, and we\u2019ll do anything<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to feel in control. I thought about the Night-Walker,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the Forest Spirit\u2019s nocturnal form, the other evening<\/p>\n\n\n\n

when my boyfriend and I went a little wayward<\/p>\n\n\n\n

on a nature trail after we lost track of time. The sky<\/p>\n\n\n\n

was violaceous. The sky was amaranthine and studded<\/p>\n\n\n\n

with bats flying more like moths than any bird until<\/p>\n\n\n\n

it darkened suddenly as though from under a spilled glass<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of wine. Neither of us cared. My legs ached pleasantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweat drizzled between my breasts. We were alone<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in our own minds, in the memories we translate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to each other that\u2019ll always remain slightly mythological,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

as in both a solace and a warning. The whole point<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of stories. I thought about why the Forest Spirit changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was young I perceived him as the night sky<\/p>\n\n\n\n

within a body that reflects and guards. He was the God<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I believed in, watching over us, and I felt righteous<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and secure. Now I wonder if he wasn\u2019t doing anything,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

just walking around. During the day plants burst<\/p>\n\n\n\n

fern-like from his steps. His body, a deer\u2019s with a great<\/p>\n\n\n\n

furred chest. Instead of antlers, his head\u2019s a tree<\/p>\n\n\n\n

with many branches. His face, a mask with direct eyes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and an omniscient smile. His blood cures wounds<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but won\u2019t lift curses. Some acts even a god can\u2019t amend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lady Eboshi, I\u2019ve been meaning to ask you for years<\/p>\n\n\n\n

now: What did you think was going to happen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you really kill a god? Dark on darkness<\/p>\n\n\n\n

surrounding us almost makes us light. A rabbit sounds<\/p>\n\n\n\n

larger than it is. Lavender wildflowers glow against<\/p>\n\n\n\n

their eclipsed field. I believe a god is every generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like people, his search destroys everything he touches<\/p>\n\n\n\n

until they give him back his head. I thought about<\/p>\n\n\n\n

how the forest grows again but is never going to be his.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are we supposed to feel comforted? Are we supposed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to feel afraid? Maybe the whole point is to feel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

neither, to surrender to the story\u2019s end. Movement<\/p>\n\n\n\n

even within shadows. We watch deer leaping into night.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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