Week 4: Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli

Modest Heroes
The short about the boy with the egg allergy was my favourite. I like the way the author showed us what it felt like form both the boy and the mothers point of view. This is something that someone who doesn't have a food allergy would be dismissive of and maybe not even think about as they don't need to, but i'm glad this was made as we really could see how it made the characters feel. He is just a young boy and we see him suffer because of his food allergies, as a child, he reacts with his initial reaction of being in pain and uncomfortable as we all would.

But overtime we also see him wanting to fight his allergies and have a fiery passion to lead a life overcoming his allergy. From his mother's point of view, we see her lost and confused as she didn't know how to deal with the situation but she worked hard to do what she needed to and really stepped up to taking care of her son. I really enjoyed that the author showed the mother have a learning curve with the situation where she would cheer her son on and also get overwhelmed and stressed out because she is worried about him. Like in any relationship between humans, we learn to manage these many feelings and find a balance between them both.

The part where the boy accidentally ate the cookie when he wasn't paying attention and his mother rushed over to slap it out of his hand as she was afraid he would die really showed the intensity of the situation. How do you protect your child when you have to tell him he needs to be on his toes about a simple thing like enjoying a cookie. Something so normal and as a child, you really wouldn't think twice about these things. This moment was so special to watch in their parent child relationship. They both had to learn how to cope with this situation and also learn how to lean and support each other ultimately. The way his mother supports him by taking care of him and teaching him what to do and avoid, is the same way her child supports her by having a pure sense of passion to overcome his situation and fight it enduringly. It seems fulfilling to watch them support each other this way. I think it really turned a hard situation into a very inspiring one to have passion and strength to overcome difficulties.