The University of Idaho’s AsiaPOP! event celebrates Asian culture and media each fall. This year’s AsiaPOP! has most of its events this week, beginning with entertainment and ending with evaluations of Studio Ghibli’s work. All events are free to the public.
“The goal of AsiaPOP! is to encourage Idahoans – university students, but also the community at large – to both appreciate East Asian pop culture [and]… to study it critically,” Jeff Kyong-McClain, director of UI’s Habib Institute for Asian Studies, said in an interview with The Argonaut. “That’s why you’ll see, in all our AsiaPOP! [events], a kind of blending of some academic discussion and some entertainment, sort of all mixed together. We hope people go in and enjoy and partake in both.”
The “Ghibli and the Natural World” Exhibit
This exhibit opened on Aug. 25 in the ISUB and focuses on how nature is addressed in Studio Ghibli films. It will remain open until Friday, Sept. 12.
Totoro Origami (Monday, Sept. 8)
UI’s Japan Club is hosting Totoro origami in the ISUB from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“Pom Poko” (Tuesday, Sept. 9)
“Pom Poko,” a 1994 Studio Ghibli film, follows the Tanuki as they plot to protect their forest homes from human encroachment. It will be shown at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m.
“From Nausicaä to Manga Aesthetics” Lecture/Workshop (Wednesday, Sept. 10)
Lien Fan Shen, a professor of animation at the University of Utah and successful manga artist, will be delivering a lecture on Studio Ghibli co-founder and director Hayao Miyazaki’s impact on manga. The lecture will be coupled with art instruction, to which students may bring their own drawing supplies and follow along. The event will take place in the ISUB Clearwater-Whitewater Room at 3:30 p.m.
“The Music of Studio Ghibli” (Wednesday, Sept. 10)
The Sixth Station Trio, a group of musicians based out of San Francisco, will perform music from Studio Ghibli films in the Administration Building auditorium at 7 p.m.
“’Miyazaki is My Religion’: Studio Ghibli and Spirituality” (Thursday, Sept. 11)
Kaitlyn Ugoretz is an instructor at Nanzan University in Japan. She studies Japanese popular culture and its relation to the international spread of Shinto, a religion most commonly associated with Japan. She will deliver this lecture in the ISUB Clearwater-Whitewater Room at 2 p.m.
“Studio Ghibli: Who’s the Audience?” (Thursday, Sept. 11)
Steve Alpert is a former executive of the company and author of the memoir “Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man: 15 Years at Studio Ghibli.” While there, he worked to get Studio Ghibli content out on an international scale. Alpert’s lecture will be delivered in the ISUB Clearwater-Whitewater Room at 4 p.m.
Cal Torres can be reached at [email protected]