Cultural Motifs In Spirited Away

The author throughout the whole essay attempts to give an interpretation of “Japanese sociocultural values and common universal themes embedded in these folkloric motifs and religious subtexts.” To strengthen his argument, he uses a lot of examples of actual scenes with possible folkloric motifs. For example, he argues that “one of the most frequently featured motifs of myths and legends is magical food,” and that the foods in Spirited Away vary in their motifs. One of the most striking features of foods’ motifs is shown through Chihiro’s parents transformation into giant pigs after they eat deliciously looking food that were prepared for kami. Since they ate food that were dedicated to kami, their actions can be interpreted as a sacrilege