3 Comments

Lovely commentary!

I think Porco is ultimately about a man reckoning with his war guilt. Porco views himself as selfish and subhuman because he survived the dogfight while his fellow seaplane fighter pilots died.

When any other character tries to drag him into any human endeavor (love, politics,etc.), he responds with “I’m just a pig.” Whenever Porco saves anyone from pirates, he denies that he is doing something good and insists that he is only doing it for the money. When he’s not working, he lives alone on isolated island by choice, spending his days eating and bathing in the sun. At the end of the movie, Porco is shocked that both Gina and Fio feel affection for him.

No other character believes that Porco is actually “bad,” and no character treats Porco more like a pig than himself. For these reasons, I think Porco is a tale about how guilt can isolate you from your humanity.

Expand full comment

I love your analysis and thanks for reading!! I agree that Porco is a man wracked with survivor’s guilt, and I’m interested in how the movie doesn’t really “resolve” this so-called negative *thing* in Porco’s life. Instead, we’re just hanging with a pig who remains a pig, where guilt isn’t something you get over like the resolution of a cinematic plot, but something you carry.

Expand full comment

I hope you keep up the great work and I am glad to see you have gotten subscribers from Pucioasa :)

Expand full comment