Japanese Film Director: i-Pad Use is “Disgusting,” Sin of Onan-like
Ouch.
Filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, the force behind the magical Japanese movie Spirited Away, has some harsh words for Apple's latest business coup. Via the HuffPo:
"For me, there is no feeling of admiration or no excitement whatsoever," Miyazaki reportedly said about the iPad, which he dubbed a "game machine-type thing" that people use by "stroking with strange gestures". "It's disgusting. On trains, the number of those people doing that strange masturbation-like gesture is multiplying."
While I wouldn't go as far as Miyazaki, I definitely don't like using "book-readers" like the iPad, the Kindle, or even my blackberry and laptop to read. But I guess I’m in the minority on this one. For me, there is something romantic in the tactile ink on a page that connects me to the near and distant past of writing and writers. Electronic and metal devices can’t compare. Although, according to Miyazaki, it's really the grotesque gesture that counts anyway.
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Jun '10
Re: Japanese Film Director: i-Pad Use is “Disgusting,” Sin of Onan-like
A lot of people didn't like the new horseless carriages, because they were noisy. This contest will end the same way.
May '10
Re: Japanese Film Director: i-Pad Use is “Disgusting,” Sin of Onan-like
I read my electronic Weekly Standard (sorry, Conor.... Kristol and all that, yep, I'm a big-spending PNAC neo-squish) by printing out the non-ad pages and sitting in the recliner. And I'm not buying any iPad. I don't believe that electronic readers will ever completely replace books and magazines- too many impulse airport/newsstand buys, the distribution channels simply won't ever shut down completely.
But everything has its place- I borrowed Rubber Duckie's Kindle (gift from daughters) on a recent trip to Asia, and it was a life-saver, because I could carry along about 15 pounds in books compressed into a 7 x 9 few-ounce package. The tradeoff for that situation was worthwhile.
A place for everything and everything in its place.
Re: Japanese Film Director: i-Pad Use is “Disgusting,” Sin of Onan-like
Mr. Miyazaki needs to get his mind out of the gutter.
Jul '10
Re: Japanese Film Director: i-Pad Use is “Disgusting,” Sin of Onan-like
Maybe it's not his fault because it was hard to translate an innocent word like "iPad" correctly into Japanese without some sort of subversive meaning.
May '10
Re: Japanese Film Director: i-Pad Use is “Disgusting,” Sin of Onan-like
I prefer paper and printed material (and have made a good chunk of my living working with printers for the last decade or so). I have a library of hundreds of books (politics, biography, scifi, travel (Paul Theroux style), and tech-related), and I spend well past $100 every month on a similar mix of magazines. But I'm also a slave to convenience and recognize where technology makes things better.
As more magazines become available, I will prefer to read them on my iPad. If you read the Zinio version of National Geographic as compared to the print version, you might start to understand why. It isn't just a pdf version of the magazine--the formatting is a bit different, the way it handles photos is different. It's done quite well.
For travel, it saves me space and time (the less I carry through airport security the happier I am).
It's not a laptop and I don't treat it as such, but it handles books, music, games, video, spreadsheets, reports, email, Internet, sketching out layouts, and even tech support (with TeamViewer) like a champ.
May '10
Re: Japanese Film Director: i-Pad Use is “Disgusting,” Sin of Onan-like
Well, at least we're moving away from using books like fig leaves when we fall asleep.
May '10
Re: Japanese Film Director: i-Pad Use is “Disgusting,” Sin of Onan-like
The irony of his publishing that in the Huffington Post is too good. If 0.001% of iPad users use it to watch his undoubtedly fine, but completely obscure film, he might actually increase 10-fold the number of folks interested in his opinion.
May '10
Re: Japanese Film Director: i-Pad Use is “Disgusting,” Sin of Onan-like
I'm with Diane on this one. His interpretation of these "gestures" would seem to tell us more about Mr. Miyazaki's mind-set than those of the iPad users.He assumes that what's in his head must also be what is in theirs. A common mistake.
This being a political blog, let's put a political spin on it. Is this not similar to the way some will see "racism" wherever they look? These comments always reveal more about the viewer than the viewed.
May '10
Re: Japanese Film Director: i-Pad Use is “Disgusting,” Sin of Onan-like
I can't say I'm really surprise... The "strange gesture" comment is odd and disturbing but many of Miyazaki's films (some of the best animated features ever) have a strong anti-technology theme running through them.
My friend made a comment after watching Avatar that the blue people film reminded him very much of Miyazaki's flicks.