Animation at the time of Spirited Away had a very clear distinction between east and west. Companies were no longer contented in the money they were earning from making films for children, the focus was to get a larger audience. Shrek was released roughly the same time and took what we considered to be a revolutionary step, it's split haired humour was purposely designed to have a hidden meaning that would fly over the heads of children. This had been the direction most western animated films have been taking since then, excluding the oh-so-fantastic Pixar.
This direction is one that is patronising to children and I consider not in good taste. Hayao Miyazaki and Pixar decide to tackle universal problems such as age (UP + Howl's Moving Castle) and the environment (Princess Mononoke + WALL-E) a sign of respect to people of all ages. A quote from Miyazaki states who his target demographic was 'For the people who used to be 10 years old, and the people who are going to be 10 years old.'
But ANYWAY, enough about childhood outside the film more about childhood INSIDE the film. Firstly, a popular technique in children films is in viewing the story from the perspective of a child. The beauty comes in the amount of faith Miyazaki puts in his character, it being the viewpoint of a 10 year old Japanese child coming from a very interesting period in Japanese history only adds to the interest.
The first scene is one of countless fairy-tales, a wrong turn into the realm of spirits. The first spiritual clues are the grinning shinto figures. To an elderly Japanese person these are benign, however, when seeing it through the eye's of Sen they are just creepy looking. We enter through a shinto gateway, pass through a dark tunnel, all the usual symbols for going into a different world. If you have seen many studio Ghibli films you'll note that they take place in very distinct locations; Kiki's Delivery Service being an idealised western city etc. etc. Japan is clearly the setting of Spirited Away. This has very strong cultural significance with the Japanese, as since the occupation of Japan by America it had undergone a certain 'cultural cleansing.' Younger generations were unfamiliar with their heritage and traditions, clearly symbolised by Sen's oblivion to her surroundings. The shinto spirits are viewed by her as being monsters, the bath house is seen as exotic wonder as opposed nostalgic beauty. Miyazaki's intended purpose was to revitalise and spark interest from the younger generations in Japan to the richness of their traditions. It is ironic that as a western viewer we are very much in the position of a Japanese child.
Jesus, that was a long paragraph.
We are ultimately in a child's world I think it would be difficult for a western creator to stick faithfully to that decision. Miyazaki's choice in doing so would be the main critical targets of many. By that I mean if you look at the story it is fragmented and incoherent (BUT NOT IN A BAD WAY.) Sen goes to the bathhouse, her parents are turned into pigs, she finds work, looses her name, befriends no face, has to save a stink spirit, no face runs rampant in the bath house, falls in love with Haku, befriends Yubaba's identical twin, has to stop No Face, goes to Zenibaba to save Haku from dying, Haku remembers his name, saves her parents, goes home. Do you get what I'm saying? I'm not even including the bird thing that follows her round or the gigantic baby/mouse. It is like a breathless child trying to retell a story. We are kept at Chihiro's level never knowing what comes next. Magic for the sake of magic, why does it have to have an explanation?
We are in a child's world so we have to follow a child's laws. Her parents were greedy so they turned into pigs, it's oh so reminiscent of Aesop's fables. A quote from spider-man a.k.a. Kamaji 'if you do not work you'll be turned into soot,' like something a parent would say to their children. Perhaps the biggest childhood conceit is when she falls in love with Haku a mystical power propels the plot onwards, 'story is a greater force than gravity.' The topsy-turvy logic follows closely, when Chihiro finds herself in this new world and repeats 'it's all a dream' she slowly fades away. I digress, to the next paragraph!
To keep us so attached to the character Miyazaki employs a technique of the quintessential anime face he has been trademarked for. Chihiro has an androgynous face which we are able to relate to. She is not particularly developed as a character but serves her purpose exquisitely. Remember, it is not a character study it's the basking in Japan's former glory.
Ok, so I was going to talk about the other two themes but this is going on WAY to long. Once again I apologise for typos and grammatical errors.
No comments:
Post a Comment