Spirited Away Myths
The Japanese animated film, Spirited Away, directed by Hayao Miyazaki has gained an immense fan base since its release in 2001. With its unique storyline, Spirited Away has garnered attention not only in the Japanese culture but also in the Western culture. However, the primary point being discuss is not a celebration of the film's success by extensively regurgitating a list of awards and recognitions. It is trivial to converse about the film's achievements because it is merely grazing upon the superficial beauty of it. Spirited Away stretches beyond a good-rating film for entertainment, it is an example of a modern myth. As an overview, the story revolves around 10-year old Chihiro who winds up in a fantasy world full of spirits. While
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driving to their new house, Chihiro and her parents got lost. They find an abandon amusement park and decided to explore it. Little did they know, they are entering into the spirit world. Under certain consequences, Chihiro's parents are transform into pigs. Chihiro's adventure unfolds as she is force to find her place in this peculiar place. Struggling for her parents and her own survival, she seeks out ways to endure and adapt to her new surroundings by obtaining a job at the local bathhouse. Along her journey, she encounters several characters that help and hinder her goal toward escape. (__) From the summary above, Spirited Away seems like the simple adventure of a young girl fighting for survival. The question arises of how can this animated film live up to the exquisite label of "myth". To accurately answer this, an important issue to address is what exactly is a myth? Myths are "sacred tales that explain the world and man's experience" (___). That is exactly what myths do ---- they exist to explain. Why do humans perform certain actions? How does society and culture intermingle with an individual's personal pursuits? Myths answer these question. With each passing generation, myths are constantly being revise and add on to reflect the evolving world. Classical myths reveals the ideology of the ancient world. Modern myths are create to disclose today's principles. And this is what exactly Spirited Away does, bringing light on modern concerns. Before dissecting into the film, the structure of the film itself is also contributes to its mythological element. Myths are told in a narrative style because they were frequently verbally passed down. Spirited Away encapsulates this by illustrating Chihiro's adventure through animation ---- the modern method of storytelling. In a film review, Peter Bradshaw stated that Spirited Away "actually [has] many western influences and resemblances." He specifically compares the film to Homer's Odyssey. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is on a journey to return home to his kingdom of Ithaca. Similarly, Chihiro must do everything in her power to return home to the human world. By utilizing the narrative style, both stories become alive. Narrative paints a picture of the hero/heroine and his/her experiences. This appeals to the greater masses because it evokes emotions. Chihiro's primary goal is assimilating into this strange world in order to survive. When she first arrive, she meets a boy named Haku who helps her. He told her in order to stay alive, she must eat food from the spirit world and quickly find a job. Parallel to the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, the intake of food from a different world indicates the individual's connection to that world. Persephone consumes the pomegranate seeds of the Underworld, therefore she is binds to live in this world for six months every year. When Chihiro eats the food given by Haku, it links her existence with the spirit world. According to the functionalist theory of myth by Bronislaw Malinowski, myths serve as a "charter for society". Myths mold and reaffirm the structure of society by providing examples of how people are suppose to "function". In this case, the food is the entry ticket into society. Chihiro's parents were turn into pigs because they ate the spirit food without prior permission. They trespassed in the spirit society and soon received severe punishments for their crimes. In society, there are rules and regulations to follow. If an individual disobeys rules, they are given consequences. To govern society, everyone must have a specific role. Haku advises Chihiro to obtain a job which is deem crucial for her survival. The importance of having a job is equivalent to an individual's value in society. This is clearly emphasized when Chihiro meets the sootballs in the boiler room. Sootballs are tiny creatures made of soot that carry coals to the burner. If they wanted food, they had to accomplish their tasks. Like the sootballs, to find her value in this world, she had to acquire a job in the bathhouses. Her worth becomes comparable to her usefulness. Spirited Away embeds these ideas to showcase the influence of society's structure on its members, which is an essential element of myths according to the functionalist theory. Chihiro's job in the bathhouse connects with the functionalist theory, but it is also related to the Cambridge School theory of myth. People like James Frazer believes myths exist to explain of the significance of ritual. Ritual is essential because it defines and gives insights to the cultural values that are important to the people living in the time period when the myth was created or passed down. For example, in Homer's Iliad, when Achilles prevents Hector's body from receiving a proper burial, this is seen as blasphemous. In Ancient Greece, a burial is a necessary ritual "to honor the dead and ensure immorality" (___). This showcases the Greeks and Trojans' values that immorality is the ultimate ideal even after death. From this perspective, in Spirited Away, the spirits who go daily to the bathhouse is following a ritual. The bathhouse is an elaborate and luxurious building filled with several floors and nicely decorated. The bathhouse is equal to the place of ritual process in religious cultures. Every day, spirits pay to come cleanse themselves. Chihiro interacts with a River spirit when he comes in as a customer. Tainted with dirt and slime, the River spirit is initially unrecognizable. After taking an herbal bath with Chihiro's aid, the spirit regains its vitality and appearance. This cleansing is like the purification process in some religious cultures (___).Rituals like the ones in Spirited Away and the Iliad hint to the readers how rituals connect the culture with the people. The polluted River spirit previously mention serve as a correlation to the next theory --- the externalists theory of myths.
Externalists seek out myths as a method to explain the natural phenomena. In ancient myths, writers wanted to explain how the natural world function. However, in modern myths, the goal is a bit different. Since people are able to explain natural conundrum through scientific methods, externalists theory must evolve to suit modern problems. The decaying of the environment is a modern problem. In Spirited Away, environmental pollution is a vital theme dotted throughout the plotline. The River spirit is so dirty that it was beyond recognition. When Chihiro cleans the spirit, she pulls numerous pieces of trashes out of the spirit's body. The paramount example of pollution, however, is actually represent through the character of Haku. Later in the story, Haku is reveals to be a River spirit in the past. Due to the human construction, his home was destroy and he lost his memory of his past existence. His inability to remember symbolizes how humans often forgot the impacts of their actions on the environment. In the eye of externalists, Haku is the metaphor to explain the phenomenon of the gradual prolonging death of
nature. Besides being a paragon for pollution, Haku employs the duality of good and evil. This align with the ideas of the structuralism theory of myths. Structuralists explore the underlying patterns of human desires and behaviors. In reality, the boundary between good and evil is not always clearly define. This ambiguity is exhibit in several characters in the film. For example, while Haku deliberately assists Chihiro in time of her distress; he also has evil qualities as the right-hand man of the antagonist. The most qualify example of good and evil is the main antagonist Yubaba. As the owner of the bathhouses, she is greedy for wealth and is usually unsympathetic if it is not related to her business. However, she demonstrates her kind motherly side when it comes to her baby Boh. These characters are manifestation of the realistic and true human qualities. In the world, there are spots of grey areas. Good and evil are only temporary assign labels in certain situations. A person cannot be wholly good or wholly evil. The complexity of human behavior is a feature of myths because it forces the readers to explore their own motives and intentions as to why they perform certain actions.
driving to their new house, Chihiro and her parents got lost. They find an abandon amusement park and decided to explore it. Little did they know, they are entering into the spirit world. Under certain consequences, Chihiro's parents are transform into pigs. Chihiro's adventure unfolds as she is force to find her place in this peculiar place. Struggling for her parents and her own survival, she seeks out ways to endure and adapt to her new surroundings by obtaining a job at the local bathhouse. Along her journey, she encounters several characters that help and hinder her goal toward escape. (__) From the summary above, Spirited Away seems like the simple adventure of a young girl fighting for survival. The question arises of how can this animated film live up to the exquisite label of "myth". To accurately answer this, an important issue to address is what exactly is a myth? Myths are "sacred tales that explain the world and man's experience" (___). That is exactly what myths do ---- they exist to explain. Why do humans perform certain actions? How does society and culture intermingle with an individual's personal pursuits? Myths answer these question. With each passing generation, myths are constantly being revise and add on to reflect the evolving world. Classical myths reveals the ideology of the ancient world. Modern myths are create to disclose today's principles. And this is what exactly Spirited Away does, bringing light on modern concerns. Before dissecting into the film, the structure of the film itself is also contributes to its mythological element. Myths are told in a narrative style because they were frequently verbally passed down. Spirited Away encapsulates this by illustrating Chihiro's adventure through animation ---- the modern method of storytelling. In a film review, Peter Bradshaw stated that Spirited Away "actually [has] many western influences and resemblances." He specifically compares the film to Homer's Odyssey. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is on a journey to return home to his kingdom of Ithaca. Similarly, Chihiro must do everything in her power to return home to the human world. By utilizing the narrative style, both stories become alive. Narrative paints a picture of the hero/heroine and his/her experiences. This appeals to the greater masses because it evokes emotions. Chihiro's primary goal is assimilating into this strange world in order to survive. When she first arrive, she meets a boy named Haku who helps her. He told her in order to stay alive, she must eat food from the spirit world and quickly find a job. Parallel to the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, the intake of food from a different world indicates the individual's connection to that world. Persephone consumes the pomegranate seeds of the Underworld, therefore she is binds to live in this world for six months every year. When Chihiro eats the food given by Haku, it links her existence with the spirit world. According to the functionalist theory of myth by Bronislaw Malinowski, myths serve as a "charter for society". Myths mold and reaffirm the structure of society by providing examples of how people are suppose to "function". In this case, the food is the entry ticket into society. Chihiro's parents were turn into pigs because they ate the spirit food without prior permission. They trespassed in the spirit society and soon received severe punishments for their crimes. In society, there are rules and regulations to follow. If an individual disobeys rules, they are given consequences. To govern society, everyone must have a specific role. Haku advises Chihiro to obtain a job which is deem crucial for her survival. The importance of having a job is equivalent to an individual's value in society. This is clearly emphasized when Chihiro meets the sootballs in the boiler room. Sootballs are tiny creatures made of soot that carry coals to the burner. If they wanted food, they had to accomplish their tasks. Like the sootballs, to find her value in this world, she had to acquire a job in the bathhouses. Her worth becomes comparable to her usefulness. Spirited Away embeds these ideas to showcase the influence of society's structure on its members, which is an essential element of myths according to the functionalist theory. Chihiro's job in the bathhouse connects with the functionalist theory, but it is also related to the Cambridge School theory of myth. People like James Frazer believes myths exist to explain of the significance of ritual. Ritual is essential because it defines and gives insights to the cultural values that are important to the people living in the time period when the myth was created or passed down. For example, in Homer's Iliad, when Achilles prevents Hector's body from receiving a proper burial, this is seen as blasphemous. In Ancient Greece, a burial is a necessary ritual "to honor the dead and ensure immorality" (___). This showcases the Greeks and Trojans' values that immorality is the ultimate ideal even after death. From this perspective, in Spirited Away, the spirits who go daily to the bathhouse is following a ritual. The bathhouse is an elaborate and luxurious building filled with several floors and nicely decorated. The bathhouse is equal to the place of ritual process in religious cultures. Every day, spirits pay to come cleanse themselves. Chihiro interacts with a River spirit when he comes in as a customer. Tainted with dirt and slime, the River spirit is initially unrecognizable. After taking an herbal bath with Chihiro's aid, the spirit regains its vitality and appearance. This cleansing is like the purification process in some religious cultures (___).Rituals like the ones in Spirited Away and the Iliad hint to the readers how rituals connect the culture with the people. The polluted River spirit previously mention serve as a correlation to the next theory --- the externalists theory of myths.
Externalists seek out myths as a method to explain the natural phenomena. In ancient myths, writers wanted to explain how the natural world function. However, in modern myths, the goal is a bit different. Since people are able to explain natural conundrum through scientific methods, externalists theory must evolve to suit modern problems. The decaying of the environment is a modern problem. In Spirited Away, environmental pollution is a vital theme dotted throughout the plotline. The River spirit is so dirty that it was beyond recognition. When Chihiro cleans the spirit, she pulls numerous pieces of trashes out of the spirit's body. The paramount example of pollution, however, is actually represent through the character of Haku. Later in the story, Haku is reveals to be a River spirit in the past. Due to the human construction, his home was destroy and he lost his memory of his past existence. His inability to remember symbolizes how humans often forgot the impacts of their actions on the environment. In the eye of externalists, Haku is the metaphor to explain the phenomenon of the gradual prolonging death of
nature. Besides being a paragon for pollution, Haku employs the duality of good and evil. This align with the ideas of the structuralism theory of myths. Structuralists explore the underlying patterns of human desires and behaviors. In reality, the boundary between good and evil is not always clearly define. This ambiguity is exhibit in several characters in the film. For example, while Haku deliberately assists Chihiro in time of her distress; he also has evil qualities as the right-hand man of the antagonist. The most qualify example of good and evil is the main antagonist Yubaba. As the owner of the bathhouses, she is greedy for wealth and is usually unsympathetic if it is not related to her business. However, she demonstrates her kind motherly side when it comes to her baby Boh. These characters are manifestation of the realistic and true human qualities. In the world, there are spots of grey areas. Good and evil are only temporary assign labels in certain situations. A person cannot be wholly good or wholly evil. The complexity of human behavior is a feature of myths because it forces the readers to explore their own motives and intentions as to why they perform certain actions.