Amzad Hossain & Fu (2014) Young Girls and Flying Images: A Semiotic Analysis of Hayao Miyazaki’s Animations

Uses semiotics to analyze meanings in nine Miyazaki films (1984-2008) – Nausicaa, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo. Studies recurring images and representations and how they connote meaning in regards to female characters, as well as proportions of speech between male and female characters. Explores the Shojo genre, especially the prototypes of Shojo protagonists in Miyzaki’s films. Repeated themes such as flight and environmentalism are also highlighted and linked to the representation of female characters. This article would be useful for those interested in gendered representations of young female characters, the Shojo genre and the role of semiotics in creating meanings surrounding girl’s agency.