"This film also set in a view when a child faces a change in their life, such as moving to a different city, going to a different school, and meeting new friends."
When mr. Sutherland searched for movies, this was the one that really caught my eye. The quote is from Nancy Tieu's blog, and goes over the movie Spirited Away. Now Spirited Away is a beloved movie and I've loved it ever since I was little; the animation is amazing, the ideas are creative and fun, and it manages to hold both a frightening sense and an enlightening one. However I feel the need to point out that there's a lot more to this movie than we choose to see.
When people see the title Spirited Away, they think of a child friendly animated film about a little girl escaping from a magical world. Hayao Miyazaki had deeper intentions to it though, and they were finely engraved in the movie as a whole. The underlying lesson that was trying to be portrayed in the film is actually the devastation of human trafficking. Now that just SOUNDS out there, I know, but it's been proven. Once you learn all the details of the movie, you find why it made so much of a subconscious impression on so many people.
Basically, Chihiro went through what a girl goes through when they are taken from their parents and made to work in a brothel. They have their name taken from them (like Chihiro being turned into Sen) and in order to maintain their life in the hopes that they will one day see their parents again, they have to work. Naturally, the movie didn't go in-depth with what girls who are trafficked really have to do, but it glazed over a few of the strong points.
"…I read interviews with Miyazaki. This was all put in intentionally. Miyazaki’s stories are filled with underlying themes and metaphors. He said he was tackling the issue of the sex industry rapidly growing in Japan, and that he felt children being exposed to it at such early ages was a problem."It seems uncredible, but the only sources I could find aside from my own assumptions were this and this.
2 comments:
You just pointed out one of my favorite things about Miyazaki's films. I saw Nancy's post too, but blogger wouldn't let me comment.
I'm hesitant to believe this, you should definitely give us some sauce!
That said, it's an interesting stand-alone theory. I thought it was definitely a commentary on sexism, or at least indentured servitude/slavery. I love Miyazaki's films because they have such complex meanings- my favorite has to be Nausicaa though.
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