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There's one line from Porco Rosso that stayed with me
Ever since my childhood
"Better a pig than a fascist"
It's kinda wild that the word "fascist" is in a children's cartoon
Of course, as a kid, I had no idea what that means
Other than it sounded important
But as I grew up, this quote would occasionally pop into my head
Each time, revealing new meanings to me
The film and its story transformed as I age
What was once a simple comedy about a flying pig
Has since turned into a melancholic masterpiece
Warning us about the future
Today, let me reintroduce to you
One of the most underrated films from Studio Ghibli
Let's look beyond the pig, the flying machine
And the romantic scenery
And understand the hidden theme:
The loss of humanity
The nature of war
And the looming darkness that is fascism
This is Porco Rosso
[Better a Pig than a Fascist]
[Chapter One]
Set in 1929 Italy, Porco Rosso is a slice-of-life comedy
About a WWI ace pilot named Porco
For reasons unbeknown to anyone
After the war, Porco turned into a pig
"Porco, why did you turn into a pig?"
"Who knows"
From then on, Porco spend much of his post-war days
Living an apathetic life as a bounty hunter
Not caring for most things
"Laws don't apply to pigs"
Or so it seems
Unlike most other fantastical films from Studio Ghibli
Porco Rosso has a real-world historical and geographical setting
Masked by only a thin veil of whimsy
Writer-director Hayao Miyazaki
Took the relatively peaceful period between the two world wars
And painted a beautiful yet subtly somber world
"I told him I married 3 pilots already"
"One died in combat, one in the Atlantic"
"The third died in Asia"
There is an oppressive undercurrent
Hidden beneath the film's tranquility
As Porco flies over the Adriatic Sea
The water is still
But the clouds are dark
It's calm before the fascist storm
By 1929, Benito Mussolini and his fascist party
Had already taken control of Italy
It was 7 years after the Coup d'état
3 years after all oppositions parties were banned
Political opponents were assassinated
Blackshirts terrorize any and all potential dissonance in the country
Italy was, without a shadow of a doubt
A fascist state at that point
So, what *is* fascism?
Scholars have been arguing over its definition for over a century
One commonly agreed-upon characteristic
Is the subordination of the people
For the, quote-unquote, good of the State
"How about helping your fellow people with a Patriot Bond?"
Under this regime
The nation is a machine
The people are its components
Individuals may suffer or even be replaced
But it is each citizen's duty to endure
For the sake of the country
When viewed with this information in mind
The meaning of Porco Rosso changed
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[Chapter Two]
After being ambushed by a bandit
Porco has to sneak into Milan to get his machine fixed
There, Porco receives a warning from his former brother-in-arms
"There are warrants out on you for insubordination to the state"
"Illegal entry, decadence, posession of pornography"
"And being a sleaze pig"
As a kid, this scene painted Porco as a cool rebel
Someone who works outside the law
As an adult, though
I realize everything listed here is a victimless crime
What is decadence?
It's a common tactic for an oppressive government
To create vague laws that can be applied to virtually everyone
And selectively enforce the law on "undesirable" people
Loitering is one such example
Porco didn't cross the line
The line crossed him
Now, there are two reasons why Porco is targeted this way
The first one is Porco's ability to use violence on his own term
"The pig's not a killer."
"If he shoots now, he'll hit the American"
If fascist Italy is a war machine
Porco, the ace pilot, is the gun
In this case, a gun that follows its own sets of morality
A set that is at odds with the absolute obedience
Demanded by fascism
Porco violates the fascist aim of monopolizing the use of violence
Making him a danger to the powers above
The second reason, however, is a bit more metaphorical
"Piggy! Hi piggy!"
Throughout the film, Porco is depicted as this charming fellow
A man of the common people
"Porco, tell us a war story."
He is, in a way, a populist
Someone who strives to fight for the ordinary people
And has a strong distaste for the authorities
Through him, we see people as human beings
Not just a part of a greater machine
If not for his distaste for war
He could've been a revolutionary
Post-WWI, Italy was marred by socioeconomic troubles
Political instability, unemployment, and rapid inflation
Led to civil unrest
Such circumstances made socialism and communism
Very appealing to the masses
It all led to Biennio Rosso
Literally "Two Red Years"
When Italy saw intense social conflicts
Such as mass strike
The fascist movement in Italy emerged
In no small part, as a violent reaction to this movement
Porco isn't just any pig
He's "Porco Rosso"
A red swine, commonly used as an insult
To socialists and communists
We see an image of him walking in front of a wall
Plastered with tattered posters
Specifically, anti-fascist and pro-worker posters
The posters are torn up
Because by 1929
Fascist Italy had already crushed these populist movements
And since Porco, in some way
Represents the populist identity
The fascists want him dead, too
[Chapter Three]
In one stunning sequence
Porco retold a story from WWI
During a horrific battle that led to many deaths
Porco, who was still human at the time
Found himself ascended above the clouds
There, flying machines of all nations flew in unison
Beautiful, yet haunting
It reveals what this melancholic mood of the film really is:
The tranquility of death
Early on, we met Gina, Porco's long-time friend and love interest
"I told him I married 3 pilots already"
"One died in cmobat, one in the Atlantic"
"The third died in Asia"
Porco refuses to confess his feeling for her
"If he visit me in this garden"
"I'll confess my love to him"
"But the fool only comes to the club at night."
No doubt, Porco is afraid he may also die
Causing Gina even more pain
That's how Porco acts throughout most of the movie
He withdraws himself from human affairs at every corner
"A pig who doesn't fly is just a pig"
He puts up a chauvinist front
To keep women out of his life
"Lady, I'm bounty hunter, not a tour guide"
So he may not bring harm to anyone
He is, after all, being targeted by fascists
But then comes Fio
A young aircraft designer who forcefully enters Porco's life
She earns Porco's trust through her talent
"Did you work all night?"
She shows that she knows how to protect herself
"We'll tell the police you forced us to help you"
"That'll be our excuse"
And she forces Porco to opens himself up to her
"So we are partners?"
Fio becomes the first person Porco can rely on
As a result, she also becomes the first person
To see him as a human
Porco is pig
Because he lost his humanity in the war
He shuts himself off
As the film comes to a close
A squadron of aircraft flew over the Adriatic sea
Draping it in a curtain of fascism
And the last bit of humanity must find refuge elsewhere
With historical hindsight
We know that fascism would lead to another devastating war
And the price we paid
Is countless more deaths
And more people who came home without their humanity
[Conclusion]
Before we go, let's address one final thing
It is sometimes said that the depiction of Italy in the film
Looks less like Italy
And more like generic Europe
Seen through the eyes of a Japanese tourist
It's a world drowning in booze and money
Hardly resembling the country that was struggling economically
But that's because, in my opinion, this isn't really Italy
This is 1980s Japan
Aka, the bubble period
1980s Japan was a period of unprecedented
And unsustainable economic growth
Charactered by excessive consumerism
Drowning in material excesses
The film may have reflected Miyazaki's fear
That this complacent Japan has forgotten the horrors of war
"Boss, what's the difference between war and bounty hunting?"
In recent years
There is a rise of Authoritarian idealogy around the world
Leaders fan the flames of nationalism
It all eerily mirrors scenes from Porco Rosso
Soon, the last living memories of WWII will fade
And what is left will be history
Hopefully, just like how this film stayed with me throughout my life
It'll stay with our world for the foreseeable future
And always remind us that
It's better to be a pig than a fascist