Miyazaki's Treasure: Spirited Away, A Love Eternal

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<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">It is definitely no secret that the popularity and general acceptance of various forms of film has risen in more recent years, and one of the best examples on a global scale is the film from Hayao Miyazaki, Spirited Away. Released as </span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Sen to Chihiro no </em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000080"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikakushi"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Kamikakushi</em></span></span></a></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">, or "The Mysterious Disappearance of Sen and Chihiro"</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">in 2001, it immediately broke the international boundaries and was showcased world wide. It has since had many DVD releases and various language recordings and keeps it place amongst the greatest animated films of all time. This was in no small part due to the classic elements of Japanese folklore told through a new medium, using amazing techniques and execution. As it is one of the quintessential examples of Japanese cinema and its message of unconditional, familial love told with astonishing color and vibrancy definitely earn Spirited Away a slot for preservation.</span></span></p>
<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> Rising to fame as “Miyazaki's best work” Spirited Away began simply as a tale for “young friends (Suzuki) .” Miyazaki considered what a little girl held dear to her, and with that thought alone, shed off the ideas of crushes and romanticism. He knew that a family was the most important aspect of their life.</span></span></p>
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<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> The story revolves around the 10 year old, Chihiro, who is moving to a new city, away from all of her friends. Her family decides to take a stop at what appears to be an abandoned amusement park. Through a series of magical events, Chihiro is set to the task of rescuing her parents from the Witch who runs a spirit-realm bath house. Chihiro trades her name for the ability to work in the bath house and meets a boy, Haku with whom she feels a strange connection. Chihiro works her time in the bath house, but must take on the quest of returning the stolen son of the Witch that has her parents in exchange for their return. Upon completing this task, she is granted her name again and leaves the park with her parents. </span></span></p>
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<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> Now, this is quite the shortened version of the tale, and I highly encourage everyone to watch. The emotion cannot be captured at all by that of a paragraph. Miyazaki uses the events and scenes perfectly to depict the passage of time in such a way that you truly feel for Chihiro's plight more and more with each day she remains working.</span></span></p>
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<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> Spirited away broke the mold in many ways, but also had some similarities to the rest of its time. It was most assuredly one of the first Anime films to break out of the culture of Japan and into the mainstream for other countries, but even with that, we can see some elements of the time present in the film. We see elements of classic cultural folk stories retold for a brand new audience, a trend that was actually gaining popularity world wide. (Lu) Disney had been doing it for years with their classics and remakes, and we even had many new live action films revisiting old stories. Digital animation was gaining serious ground and Spirited Away was at the forefront of that movement. Using CG cells to animate was a way that artists could focus on incredible detail and beauty without needing to devote the time to the intricacies required by good animation. Specific to Japanese cinema, we see a distinct lack of “reluctant heroism” that has become so popular with Western Cinema. Chihiro simply understands her duty and does it, without complaint or whining about the unfair nature of it. </span></span></p>
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<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> This is also a key difference, and one of the reasons the film is so special amongst international audiences. Instead of having a masculine or sexualized female lead that has been burdened with the “curse of awesome” ( Tv Tropes) and must fight to save the world, we have a just a girl. Chihiro has no super powers or special abilities, she just knows what she needs to do to save her family and does this with barely a whimper, even when alone in another world. Even though CG animation and digital techniques were being used, Spirited away also stood apart from the rest in its level of detail and specialization. The use of color and scenery, even in background elements is incredible and intense. Instead of simply animating the action and drawing all focus to a central point, a common technique in cinema, Spirited Away has vast scenes and landscapes that can be absorbed and reflected on. We also see a step away from the romantic love between lead characters. Chihiro is not burdened by a crush or a soul mate, but driven by an unconditional love for her family.(Crow) Most films of the time, especially in Western Cinema contained elements of romance and love, even when about younger characters. It is very representative of the differences in culture, where one values family over self, especially when it comes to love. </span></span></p>
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<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> As evidenced by its immediate globalization, the initial reception was completely positive. I have looked very hard for a negative review from any reputable source and they simply cannot be found. Audiences, critics and other artists saw the beauty of the film right off the bat, and it was a resounding success, monetarily and artistically. This combination is not often found among film, and most films that have attained artistic credibility along with a decent dollar total did one long after the other, and most of those follow the trend of the former leading the way. Spirited Away came out in an age of the internet and reviews being widespread, and this simply helped it along to a great degree. The flurry of positive reviews, being backed by a community of people who had seen and loved the film, kept pushing it forward into what many people consider “Classic” status. (Tomatoes)</span></span></p>
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<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> This is still true today. As stated earlier, the film has had numerous releases and continues to sell DVDs, soundtracks, art books, figures and nearly any form of media remotely related to the work. It has been rated 9</span></span><sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">th</span></span></sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> and 10</span></span><sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small">th</span></span></sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> in two separate “Top 100 Films” lists and has received the award for “Best Animated Film” from several different agencies (Tomatoes). Having been around for 10 years now, we are seeing this be a film that parents are showing their children as one of the films that influenced their lives. It has been hailed as a new Bambi or Wizard of Oz, a film that a child simply must see to understand the beauty and previous generations. The age of the film has also given time for many people to look into some of the deeper connections that it offers, to an era long past. Being able to leap frog back to a time when animation was still relatively new, we can see the true importance of the things selected to be in the movie. This was not a summer Hollywood blockbuster intended to make money, but a story that was supposed to show strength and love. Being able to see that, now, after so many other films have come out, we can also see the messages about older times that Miyazaki wished to communicate. </span></span></p>
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<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> Finding a comparison for this film was rather difficult for me. I was considering several different options, because it would have been easy to find something that was quite the opposite of the elements presented in Spirited Away. I settled with looking at Late Spring, a Black and White film from the Japanese director Ozu. The story is of an aging professor and his daughter who cares for him, and the pivotal moment of their relationship where she must marry and leave him to face the remainder of the world alone. Immediately we see some very contrasting stylistic differences between the pieces. Late Spring is incredibly minimal, and focuses heavily of the characters and their reactions and expressions, an artistic format granted by live film. Spirited Away is a tale of beauty, and thus the environments of the film are all beautiful and majestic. Both films achieve a similar goal however, using the very different techniques. The lush beauty of scenery, and the stark lack of environment both serve to enhance the audience's connections to the characters. (Lu) It is very interesting to watch these films back to back, and accept that the level of emotion drawn out by each is remarkably similar. Spirited Away also uses a very minimal form of dialogue, digging things to deeper than their core, and making the audience learn about the characters by making assumptions about them. Late Spring uses a less minimal form of dialogue, but one never has to make any assumptions. The characters are brief in their words, but everything is said exactly how it is meant to be heard.</span></span></p>
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<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> The two films however, share a likeness that is truly wonderful. Both films focus on familial love, an unconditional love that displays the power and sacrifice one person can experience through this love. Both have an element of connection to someone other than the family, but these relationships only serve to enhance the familial connections that our leads experience. In both of these films, international audiences can see a picture of love and strength that is not normally present in film.</span></span></p>
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<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> Spirited Away is one of my favorite films ever released, as I am sure is obvious. I was 14 when I saw the film, merely two weeks after it released in Japan. A theater in Austin had two of their employees translate the film and began airing it with the permission of Studio Ghibli, the production company. Seeing this film was very amazing for me, I realized I was making a role-model out of a 10 year old girl. This film was so different than anything I had ever seen, and made me reconsider many of the ways I saw the world and my relationships.</span></span></p>
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<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif"><span style="font-size: small"> Spirited Away is one of the best depictions of the priorities of an entirely unique culture. Much of what will be preserved in the time capsules will be of a European or Western lineage, and Spirited Away is one of the best ways to show the other side of the same coin. Humanity has multiple forms of love, and the unconditional, familial type of life, shown with wondrous color and style that we get from Spirited Away is amazing and powerful. A story of a girl, whose strength is only from herself and love, landscapes and scenes that take the breath away, characters that embody the human condition entirely. This piece of film should be preserved to teach future generations about the capabilities of a person without any elements of the classic hero, someone who is only driven by something more for their family.</span></span></p>
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<p align="CENTER"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">Works Cited</span></span></span></p>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">Crow, The. "Spirited Away: Film Review &amp; Analysis." </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Associated Content from Yahoo! - Associatedcontent.com</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. &lt;</span></span></span><span style="color: #000080"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2604687/spirited_away_film_review_analysis.html"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2604687/spirited_away_film_review_analysis.html</span></span></a></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">? Cat=40&gt;.</span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>A very good analysis of the film, done by a student for a similar project. A summary as well as some insight into the preservation perspective. I used this considering how to phrase my own thoughts.</em></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">"Cursed with Awesome - Television Tropes &amp; Idioms." </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Home Page - Television Tropes &amp; Idioms</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. &lt;http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CursedWithAwesome&gt;. </span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Article on the common tropes of heroism in Western Film and art. Helped differentiate between the two cultures.</em></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">"Elements in Spirited Away by *tenshichild on DeviantART." </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Tenshichild on DeviantART</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. &lt;</span></span></span><span style="color: #000080"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://tenshichild.deviantart.com/art/Elements-in-Spirited-Away-194112988"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">http://tenshichild.deviantart.com/art/Elements-in-Spirited-Away-194112988</span></span></a></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">&gt;.</span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>A brief analysis of some of the elements and older themes present in the film. Used to grab some of the thematic information.</em></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">"Film Analysis - Spirited Away." </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Global Anime</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. &lt;</span></span></span><span style="color: #000080"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://bountyhuntr3.tripod.com/id11.html"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">http://bountyhuntr3.tripod.com/id11.html</span></span></a></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">&gt;.</span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Another brief analysis, by a student. Very good for understanding an Eastern perspective on the film.</em></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Late Spring</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">. Dir. Ozu. 2010. DVD. </span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Film used for comparison. Absolutely amazing,</em></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">Lu, Alvin, and Hayao Miyazaki. </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>The Art of Miyazaki's Spirited Away</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">. San Francisco, CA: Viz Communications, 2002. Print. </span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>A fantastic commentary and explanation of the art used in the film. Used for much of my arguments based on artistic value.</em></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">Saporito, Jeff. "A Hero's Journey: Spirited Away." </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Associated Content from Yahoo! - Associatedcontent.com</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. &lt;</span></span></span><span style="color: #000080"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1050072/a_heros_journey_spirited_away.html"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1050072/a_heros_journey_spirited_away.html</span></span></a></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">? Cat=38&gt;.</span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Examination of some of the more heroic elements of Chihiro. Used for a comparison between eastern and western heroes.</em></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Spirited Away</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. 2002. DVD. </span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>The film itself, a masterpiece.</em></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">"Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro No Kamikakushi) - Rotten Tomatoes." </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Movies | Movie Trailers | Reviews - Rotten Tomatoes</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. &lt;http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spirited_away/&gt;. </span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>Critical reception of the film. Used for how the film was and is received. </em></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">Suzuki, Ayumi. "A Nightmare of Capitalist Japan: "Spirited Away" by Ayumi Suzuki." </span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>JCsplash</em></span></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. &lt;</span></span></span><span style="color: #000080"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc51.2009/SpiritedAway/index.html"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc51.2009/SpiritedAway/index.html</span></span></a></span></span><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small">&gt;.</span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times"><span style="font-size: small"><em>A good article on the thematic elements of the film, more related to breaking away from Western influence. Used more of a guide to steer me away from getting “righteous” about it.</em></span></span></span>
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