The movie Spirited Away
was an amazing movie of love and growth. The movie is centered on a 10 year old
girl named Chihiro who is stuck in the spirit world. Chihiro is trapped in the
spirit world because of her parent’s gluttony and greed. Her parents ate all
the food that was meant for the spirits; because they did this they were turned
into pigs. Greed is an element that
shows itself a few times in this movie. One of the greediest people in the
movie was Yubaba, the witch who was in charge of the spirit bath house. Several
times we see her counting money or looking at jewelry. No-Face, a client that
causes lots of trouble, keeps passing out little gold nuggets. Everyone in the
bath house tends to his needs so they could get more money. In the end all the
nuggets turn to dirt. To me it shows money cannot buy happiness.
While working in the bath house one of Chihro’s first jobs
was to take care of a sludge monster that was large and smelly. Chihiro was the
only one who noticed something was wrong with him. She pulled on a handle and
all this garbage came out. Turns out that he was a polluted river spirit. To thank
her, the river spirit gave Chihiro some kind of healing ball which she later
used to heal Haku.
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Another element that Chihiro has to deal with is tradition and
religion. The movie is about how humans should behave when entering the spirit
world. They have to show respect or there will be consequences. Another example
of religion and tradition in the movie is the bridge that Chihiro has to cross
with Haku. Because Chihiro is a human she must hold her breath to cross. There is also a lot of water in this movie
which goes along with Shinto religion. Water can mean birth, and Chihiro is not
the same girl that was at the beginning of the film. Chihiro went from being a
little girl who with no self-confidence to a strong independent girl. She didn’t
just help save her parents; Chihiro helped Haku remember his name, found a place
for No-Face, and showed Yubaba that she shouldn’t underestimate people.
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You brought up one point that did not think of at all, and that was how money cannot buy happiness. I can’t believe how much that plays a role in the movie. When no face was at the bath house, he was making all of them filthy rich, and everybody loved it, until he started to become a problem, and then they didn’t care about the gold anymore, and wanted him gone. Once they got rid of him, all the gold ended up turning into dirt. It really does show that money isn’t the answer to everything, because no amount of money would have made everyone happy, because they just wanted him gone.
ReplyDeleteIn your blog, you also mentioned that humans should behave when entering the spirit world, and they need to show respect or there would be consequences, but is this really the case? I do not believe that humans are what are bad in the spirit world, because it seems that the spirit world has many of its own problems and is corrupt itself. Look at the dispute between everybody and Yubaba, and the river spirit, and no face. They all created problems in the movie and they are part of the spirit world. Why must a human act extra respectful while in the spirit world? Especially if they didn’t even intend on being there?
I like how you mentioned that greed was a theme in the movie and that it negatively affected some characters, such as Chihiro's parents and Yubaba. It had an impact on the workers of the bathhouse, who kept trying to please No Face so they could get the gold that he was handing out. No Face even learned that giving out lavish gifts won't always get someone companionship.
ReplyDeleteReligion is also another important factor that you mentioned and it's true that this contributed to Chihiro's spiritual growth. At the beginning she was someone who knew nothing about the spirit world and how to interact with it, and by the end of the film she has learned about respect and hard work through her time spent with the spirits and gods. Even though as a human she was not wanted there at first, Chihiro managed to help many people throughout her time there. Overall, it was fun reading your blog!