3 ms·

this is a decent take, but i think you're missing a crucial centerpiece, which is the child's direct connection to the past, as represented by the kami (spirits

this is a decent take, but i think you're missing a crucial centerpiece, which is the child's direct connection to the past, as represented by the kami (spirits) and her own parents. the bulk of chihiro's journey is discovering where she fits in within that past, so that she can then uncover her own sense of self within it, and thereby ultimately find the resolve to take action (find her agency). without this base understanding of eastern social/philosophical tradition, much of the journey seems like senseless obstacle-jumping, and that sounds like the context that the GP is missing to appreciate the movie.

Dracophoenix 4y ago
Admittedly, I've only ever seen the dub and the last time I watched the movie in full was nearly a decade ago, so there may have been some elements that were lost in translation and others lost to memory. With that said, I don't think Chihiro needed to know where she fit in the past, because, as she and practically every spirit knew, neither she nor her parents belonged there. Her parents, in the context of the story, weren't her connection to the past either, but to the future. At the beginning of the film, her parents were much more enthusiastic about the future (i.e. moving) than she was. Rescuing them wasn't about keeping her progenitors alive out of filial duty, but about rescuing her and her parents' collective future to live freely as human beings. The only direct connection to Chihiro's past (established through a beautifully done albeit unconvincing Deus ex machina) is Haku and he's the one who later tells her to move forward. I'm not sure what class of spirit Haku is aside from being a river spirit, but almost everyone who operates the bathhouse, including Yubaba, are yokai and it seems they're lot in life/death is to keep the bathhouse running for eternity without change or reprieve. The yokai either don't have agency to begin with or trade what agency they have to remain perpetually employed. Chihiro, on the other hand, possesses and develops her agency as she tries to find a way to rescue her parents. In addition, "senseless obstacle jumping" an apt description for what Chihiro had to go through . Various mythologies often depict the gods and spirits of nature as capricious as they are mighty and skillful. I suspect that Japanese kami/yokai are no different: to be revered but also cautiously interacted with, if at all, lest you invite their more "playful" nature.
- clairity 4y ago
  that's great detail to add, but i'd still contend chihiro's journey is squarely about placing the self without the context of family and tradition, which is a super common theme in eastern cinema and literature. the spirits together form her past and come together to shape her (future) identity, something she's not even aware of before her journey. her self discovery is certainly initiated by an uneasy transition point in her life (moving), but i'd argue that geting beyond that discomfort is not the main point of the movie. and for sure, the spirits are mischievous, but they all carry their own baggage that they try to dump on her (sometimes literally), which is what she's directly and figuratively resisting via all the hoop jumping. she's picking and choosing who she's going to be based on what her ancestors (loosely speaking) are trying to foist onto her. the yokai[0] are stuck in the past but she's not, and she must move beyond her ancestral past to escape back into her real life (which is symbolic of her forming the kernel of self identity). this is where your point about the future (and moving forward) dovetails nicely. in that way spirited away is a story about a young human going through the process of realizing that they are a self-aware and self-actualizing person destined to become an adult (who much couch themselves in family and tradition), and not simply a child who can play and not care about the world (and her parents especially) anymore. [0]: it's neat to see the parallel with yaoguai, which is the chinese version of these little demons/goblins, as i've more recently been watching wuxia/xianxia dramas.

Dracophoenix 4y ago

Admittedly, I've only ever seen the dub and the last time I watched the movie in full was nearly a decade ago, so there may have been some elements that were lost in translation and others lost to memory. With that said, I don't think Chihiro needed to know where she fit in the past, because, as she and practically every spirit knew, neither she nor her parents belonged there. Her parents, in the context of the story, weren't her connection to the past either, but to the future. At the beginning of the film, her parents were much more enthusiastic about the future (i.e. moving) than she was. Rescuing them wasn't about keeping her progenitors alive out of filial duty, but about rescuing her and her parents' collective future to live freely as human beings. The only direct connection to Chihiro's past (established through a beautifully done albeit unconvincing Deus ex machina) is Haku and he's the one who later tells her to move forward. I'm not sure what class of spirit Haku is aside from being a river spirit, but almost everyone who operates the bathhouse, including Yubaba, are yokai and it seems they're lot in life/death is to keep the bathhouse running for eternity without change or reprieve. The yokai either don't have agency to begin with or trade what agency they have to remain perpetually employed. Chihiro, on the other hand, possesses and develops her agency as she tries to find a way to rescue her parents. In addition, "senseless obstacle jumping" an apt description for what Chihiro had to go through . Various mythologies often depict the gods and spirits of nature as capricious as they are mighty and skillful. I suspect that Japanese kami/yokai are no different: to be revered but also cautiously interacted with, if at all, lest you invite their more "playful" nature.

clairity 4y ago
that's great detail to add, but i'd still contend chihiro's journey is squarely about placing the self without the context of family and tradition, which is a super common theme in eastern cinema and literature. the spirits together form her past and come together to shape her (future) identity, something she's not even aware of before her journey. her self discovery is certainly initiated by an uneasy transition point in her life (moving), but i'd argue that geting beyond that discomfort is not the main point of the movie. and for sure, the spirits are mischievous, but they all carry their own baggage that they try to dump on her (sometimes literally), which is what she's directly and figuratively resisting via all the hoop jumping. she's picking and choosing who she's going to be based on what her ancestors (loosely speaking) are trying to foist onto her. the yokai[0] are stuck in the past but she's not, and she must move beyond her ancestral past to escape back into her real life (which is symbolic of her forming the kernel of self identity). this is where your point about the future (and moving forward) dovetails nicely. in that way spirited away is a story about a young human going through the process of realizing that they are a self-aware and self-actualizing person destined to become an adult (who much couch themselves in family and tradition), and not simply a child who can play and not care about the world (and her parents especially) anymore. [0]: it's neat to see the parallel with yaoguai, which is the chinese version of these little demons/goblins, as i've more recently been watching wuxia/xianxia dramas.