kavi-veera
kavi-veera
Undecided (open to suggestions lol)
1 post
The poet is a soldier against mundanity and a king of their own mind
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kavi-veera · 2 months ago
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What We Lose, and What We Remember: Spirited Away as a Mirror of Modern Life + Small Commentary on A Place Further Than the Universe
TL;DR:
This post is a class assignment that explores my thoughts on Spirited Away — from how it critiques consumerism and labor exploitation to how it celebrates kindness, spiritual reconnection, and the rediscovery of identity. I want to try and break down key symbols and characters like Chihiro and No-Face. Ultimately, I believe the film quietly asks two big questions:
What have we lost in the pursuit of wealth? And how do we reconnect with what truly matters?
Additionally, I would also like to touch on a second anime assigned, A Place Further Than the Universe, which I believe to be more than just a cute adventure; I think it's about breaking free and truly living
Spirited Away
Released in 2001, Spirited Away came in the wake of Japan’s economic collapse, a time of disillusionment and stagnation known as the “Lost Decade.” I believe it to be no coincidence that Chihiro’s journey begins in an abandoned amusement park, an explicitly mentioned relic of the "bubble-era" excess, or that her parents, upon indulging in unpaid for food, are transformed into pigs. These aren’t just simply fairy tale metaphors to drive forward the story; they’re clear, symbolic commentary on overconsumption, materialism, and spiritual loss.
Throughout the film, characters lose themselves. They lose their names, their values, their sense of connection. Haku forgets who he is. Workers in the bathhouse become nameless cogs in an oppressive system. No-Face, once silent and gentle, turns monstrous under the influence of greed and attention. Even the mighty river kami becomes a “stink spirit” until Chihiro helps cleanse him of garbage, including a bicycle, which apparently is a direct reference to Miyazaki himself one time pulling out a bicycle out of a polluted river when participating in a clean-up of it.
Yet, this is not a hopeless story.
Chihiro doesn’t overcome her obstacles through force or clever trickery. She wins by remembering, caring, working, and staying true to herself. She chooses slowness over speed, nature over greed, humility over excess, and inner growth over external success. By the end, she walks away from the spirit world changed for the better; wiser, calmer, and stronger, Chihiro leaves with lessons forged through empathy and struggle.
I think that Spirited Away is not just a fantasy movie or simply a personal project; I think it’s a soft protest. A quiet plea by Miyazaki to reconnect with our values, to remember our names, so to speak, and to slow down and tread lightly through a world that’s forgotten how to listen and feel.
I would like to do another post, sometime soon, with a couple more reflections I've had, but I'll stop here for now.
A Place Further Than the Universe
I didn't have many expectations going into this anime, but I'm glad I kept an open mind. Watching the anime made me feel like I was looking at a partial reflection of myself through the four main characters. Each one, in their own way and for their own reasons, desires to break free from their current lives and routines and discover something meaningful. And that's exactly what their journey to Antartica represents; it is less about the destination and more about finding courage, friendship, learning lessons, and living life to the fullest, or "get the most out of youth" as Kimari puts it in her diary. As someone who's always played it safe, I resonated deeply with this anime, taking away this: don't wait for life to come find you, go look for and define it yourself.
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