Porco Rosso

In Cohen’s lecture we discussed the film being a homage to Casablanca. The film is placed in Italy rather than in Japan like in some of Miyazaki’s other films. This film shows playful characteristics of a Porco Rosso, who seems to be a rather serious character. Even though he seems to dislike himself, whenever he is in the presence of a woman he treats her with respect and blushes whenever women show him any form of affection. Porco Rosso and other men in the film become weak in the presence of a woman or when women show them signs of affection. Gina’s life reflects life in the real world. In other words there is hardship and death in reality but the other characters that Gina associates with are part of the fantastic world. Porco Rosso embodies the realm of the fantastical because he is a humanoid pig.