The movie revolved around the oft-used premise that prostitution stems from desperation. Sen seeks employment because she's told that there is no other way for her to live. However, as we all know, prostitution is much like gambling- its the last thing you want to involve yourself in at a time of desperation. If Sen's employment parallels this type of desperation, has she been tricked or do you think its really the only way for her to live and hope to rescue her parents?
Japanese animation takes a much more creative approach than what I've found of Western animation. For instance, many of the characters were not only incredibly detailed, but also oddly creative. In fact, I noticed that many of the characters resembled some of the characters in Japanese plays, art, and film. In my Japanese Literature class, we've seen various masks, paintings, and sculptures that resemble the animated one's in "Spirited Away." Seemingly, some of the supernatural beings, particularly the demonic characters, are portrayed in the same way throughout their culture.
Before watching this movie, I had never really seen a full japanimation movie before. I never really thought that I would like it, but after watching this movie. More questions arose in my mind than were answerered after watching this film. How are the character descriptions related to Shintoism or are they random depictions of the gods? There seemed to be an influence on animals in the movie. Many of the characters in this movie were depicted as animals and it seems as if in Shintoism there is an influence on animals. I wonder how the animals are revered in that religion. Also, the animation in this movie was very well done. What is the difference between the ghosts that appear at night and the other characters in the bath house? Anyway, I enjoyed this movie and it has sparked my interest in such japanimation films.
Like others, I found this movie to be quite amazing but strangely unfulfilling. While I have never really gotten into "japanime", this movie made me want to look into it further. The animation, which was as hot as Megan Brooks, really made me pay attention to the story, even though I did not quite understand it or where it was taking me. For example, what did the huge slime mold represent, and why did Sen have such luck with it in the big bath? Also, what did the huge baby in Yubaba's care have to do with the story at all? Either way, it was a great movie with quite a visual display.
Also this is totally off the present topic, but there is a short article in the Washington Post about Karaoke. It was in Sunday's Style section and it discussed "noraebang" which is a Korean pastime and literary means "singing room". It mentioned how these noraebongs, private karaoke rooms, are located in areas with large Asian populations and serve a predominantly Asian clientele. Anyway, maybe this could help Bob's karaoke project. It can be found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11901-2004Nov25.html
Like others, I also have many questions about the movie. Questions about Yubaba and her twin sister/other half who Chihiro called "granny", Chihiro and Haku's relationship, the man with the multiple arms and who he was before, etc. Despite my confusion, I enjoyed the movie. I liked that Chihiro, the child, was the one who realized that eating the food would lead to negative consequences and that in the end she was the one to save her parents. I also found it very interesting that taking away their real name was like taking away their true identity. Whenever someone wakes up from unconsciousness or loses their memory, the first question that he or she is asked is "Do you know your name?". So I liked the fact that their name was connected to their identity.
I thought this film was very good but also had some questions about it. Why were some Gods allowed into the bath house and some not? Why was No-face nice to Sen but wanted to eat everyone else? I also thought about the issue of prostitution. To me, I saw some instances that prostitution could be occurring but it never seemed like this was in any way Sen's job.
Is it me, or did that movie leave a ton of things completely unresolved? I expected some explanation about the guy with all of the arms being Chihiro's grandfather, but nothing ever came. I also thought that maybe at some point we were going to figure out why Len treated Chihiro so nicely when everyone else seemed to despise her at the start of her working career. Again, that must not be too important, because nothing ever really came of it. These are a few of the things that bothered me most.
I am also puzzled about the Kami in the film. Most of it can probably be attributed to the fact that we are only halfway through the movie. However, the various forms that the Kami in the film take is confusing. Some have enormous heads while others appear as ghosts and others look like humans. There seems to be a hierarchy among the Kami since Yubaba is the head sorceress. I also have questions about the origins of the Kami, since they seem to have human characteristics such as anger, frustration, sympathy, etc., does this mean they were human at one point? I suspect we will soon find out. Lastly, are the "working soot" Kami as well or are they only a biproduct of magic performed by the man with many arms working in the boiler room? Perhaps he is the work of some magic as well.
Miyazaki's movies have always had underlying critiques on japan's new economy goals... with Spirited Away... you see a modern japanese family go into a place they arent supposed to be... if they were truly shinto believers they would have noticed the guardian stones that serve as warnings... Chihiro even gets scared by one... Then they assume they are in an old amusement park... a relic of the time when japan tried to imitate the United States by rushing their economy... a great commentary on the globalization of Japan and the harm it caused its own culture is Dogs and Demons. When they enter the spirit world, her parents steal from the kami and turn into hogs... this is very interesting because in Japan there aren't that many hogs and they do not eat that much pork... I think this is Miyazaki's way of showing how the japanese are wanting to be like the western civilizations... Yuma Baba, the sorceress of the bath house is a commentary on State shinto which failed miserably after the WWII... i believe she is the adaptation of Amatarasu... Miyazaki has always been very critical of State Shinto because, as far as i can tell, he thinks it was create so the rich could gain more power... to support this conclusion all you have to do is wacth Princess Mononoke where the emperor (state shinto) tries to kill a wonderful kind forest spirit (natural shinto)... In spirited away you will see Miyazaki's hope for the future... if japan trains its children in the traditional ways, they have a chance of saving the past, but thats later on in the movie.
I am also a bit confused by the Kami in the film. Why do some appear to be human? And why are the others depicted as non-human? If they represent different things, then why do some of them look the same?
Furthermore, I am puzzled by the role of Yubaba. I have seen this film before, but I do not quite understand how she fits in, and what her cultural significance is. Does she represent an "evil" kami, and are they common? Or is she just made up for the film?
As for the comment Carlos posted, I agree that it is difficult to see any reference to prostitution in the film, but I do agree with Prof. Blackmer that much of what we see is lost in translation. For example, the Tomohiro Machiyama article explains this:
In this movie, the spa workers are called "Yuna" in Japanese. If you happened to have a Japanese dictionary, please refer the word. Iwanami Dictionary of Japanese defines "Yuna" as "a female spa worker who provides massage, and sex". And Haku tells Chihiro that the only way to survive there and get back her parents is to work there like the other girls
I think if you look at ideas like that keep in mind that the concept of the bathhouses is foreign to use, it may be more understandable that it is difficult for us to see the subtle clues infused in the movie.
I'm not sure if anyone else felt like they had seen a movie before where several people had consumed something and it caused them to turn into something awful, but this situation seemed very familiar. After thinking hard for awhile, I remembered that Pinocchio almost turns into a donkey after being corrupted by his new friend Lampwick. These types of situations inevitably involve someone encouraging a friend (in Sen's case a family member) to do the wrong thing. Pinocchio smokes the cigar but doesn't drink the beer, which explains why he only turns into part donkey. Sen doesn't eat anything and therefore never turns into a pig. Pinocchio critics are careful to applaud Disney for keeping Lampwick's human clothes on as he turns into a donkey, in order to maintain the suspension of disbelief. Similarly, Sen's Dad possesses a pig-like body shape at the start of the movie, and both the Mom and Dad keep their clothes on after turning into pigs. Some of you may also be familiar with the horribly construed yet hilarious movie Troll 2. In the movie, evil goblins disguised as humans persuade mortals to eat a green liquid, also disguised in many forms, that poisons them and turns them into cholorophyll (the goblins favorite food). "Spirited Away" shares the same disgust with humans that the goblins do.
Question-who is the giant white blob that takes Sen to Yabuba? Is he a guest, oblivious to the humans, or is he escorting Sen? Also, what is the signficance of the guests' animal costumes? Are they the gods of that animal?
...which makes it a bit chancy to REPLY. A few comments on the three posts from yesterday, giving my takes on the subjects raised. These aren't the last word, just what I think at the moment:
Matt says that Sen/Chihiro "distressed the Kami simply by being in a certain place", but I think it's the bathhouse attendants who are distressed, and they're not kami (just what they are is a bit mysterious, but certainly the human-looking ones like Lin aren't really human). The guests (i.e., the kami) are mostly oblivious (except for that giant radish-person who helps Sen/Chihiro in the elevator), and bent solely on pleasure. The rest of what Matt says about kami is entirely in keeping with what I know...
Kristin wonders about what lies behind the animation, and it's Miyazaki his own very, very self. The DVD has a second disk with "making-of" stuff that's pretty interesting, and anybody who'd like to watch that is welcome to borrow it from me.
Carlos says of one of the commenters: "I have to wonder if I watched the same film..." Always an interesting problem, with just about any material: are there subtexts, hidden meanings, alternate takes on significance, or is the thing what it appears to be? What a wonderful question for Anthropology. Sometimes the realities are hidden from us by language barriers (e.g., the question of which kind of bathhouse this one is...), or cultural elaborations/nuances that we're not equipped to appreciate. What do others think?
I found the behavior and the costumes of the kami to be very strange. Is it part of shintoism that the kami can only come out at night? It seemed that the whole atmosphere of the abondoned amusement park changed. Once it became dark, the street lights started to illuminate and the presence of the kami was very clear. The environment seemed to become very hostile to humans. Is this a part of the kami culture to haunt and dislike humans? Another part that I thought was different was the portrayal of the kami. For the most part, the kami seemed to resemble animals and I thought that this might be a part of their culture. Other figures were pretty much indescribable. Overall, I found this film the most ineteresting that we have seen yet. The cartoon style in addressing the kami is a great way to describe it in my opinion. Look forward to seeing how Sen deals with the kami and if she is reunited with her parents.
-tim