Afterthoughts: Spirited Away
- The Contemporary Curators
- Mar 28, 2021
- 2 min read
Spirited Away is an exceptional film because each character are represented with layered and complex personality. The world setting of Spirited Away intends to point out multiple major contemporary issue within Japan society. Those who watched Spirited Away in their childhood have a lot more to discover when rewatching it after growing up. The nostalgia feeling this film brings never fails to entertain the audience.
The only critic in this movie is Miyazaki's tough stance on capitalism and evil.
"The evil that is in the world almost alwats comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harma s malevolence if they lack understanding." - Albert Camus
This quote indicated that evil is inevitable in human society, it does not resonate within one particular cause. Miyazaki portrays the bathhouse as a capitalist hierarchy in which all the bad things can be avoided if leaving the bathhouse, however, this is where he forgets that evil is everywhere. The critic here is if Miyazaki let the protagonist deal with the evil (No-Face) within the bathhouse rather than luring him out of it, this film would bring the concept of society to the next level. We as human can never escape "evil", however, if there are no evil, then "goodness" will not exist as well. The coexistence of good and evil helped to build the society with justice and laws.
The fantasy world created by Miyazaki whisks the viewer into a magical world that is unlike one we've seen before. Contrasting to most Disney's animation, the world is presented with a layered and complex social issues throughout the film. Spirited Away is truly a gift from Miyazaki to the Japanese people.
Written by Shu Qi, Shu Han, Sean
258 words
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