1 / 15

Japanese Identity as Represented in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away

Japanese Identity as Represented in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. Aliza Belcourt and Eve Rabinowitz. Japan: Facts and Figures. 2 nd largest economy 4 th largest importer 5 th largest exporter 1639 – 1854 - Closed Country period, ended with US navy forced entry, led to Meiji Restoration

page
Download Presentation

Japanese Identity as Represented in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Japanese Identity as Represented in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away Aliza Belcourt and Eve Rabinowitz

  2. Japan: Facts and Figures • 2nd largest economy • 4th largest importer • 5th largest exporter • 1639 – 1854 - Closed Country period, ended with US navy forced entry, led to Meiji Restoration • 1868 – rulers wanted to use Western style free market • 1940 – invaded French Indo-China, frowned upon by rest of world, resulted in US placed oil embargo

  3. Japan: Facts and Figures Cont. • 1941 – attack on Pearl Harbor, declared war on US, UK and Netherlands • 1945 – US atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, later that year Japan agreed to unconditional surrender • 1947 – Pacifist constitution; renounced right to declare war • 1960-1980 – period of economic growth • 1990s – decline in economy, “lost decade”

  4. Western Influence and References in Spirited Away • Character appearances • Audi, Adidas • Western Architecture • “Finish what you started, human” • Live pigs and dead fish • Time cards

  5. Western Representations through Yubaba • Top of hierarchy, called “Head Honcho” • Watches over the bathhouse • Office is decorated in Western style • Very greedy • Spoils her oversized child

  6. Loss of Identity • Chihiro turns invisible • “Sign your name away” • Chihiro becomes Sen • Koreans in Japan forced to take Japanese names • Haku does not know his real name • Job becomes identity • Human smell from food

  7. Loss of Identity: No Face • No name, masked face • Unable to speak until transformation • Manipulated by surroundings • Overtaken by greed of bathhouse • Tries to make Chihiro greedy • Upon leaving bathhouse, returns to former self • Warning for Japan

  8. Greed • “Don’t worry, you’ve got Daddy here. He’s got credit cards and cash” • Willingness to take what is not theirs, thought they could as long as they had money • Gold is Yubaba’s top priority • Stink/river spirit • “Something precious to you has been replaced” • Mayhem at prospect of gold • Chihiro is only not greedy character

  9. Closed Country mentality Fear of things that are different Took outside influences to realize its problems and to change After seeing error of his ways, became a pacifist Only communicates through threats Fear of things that are different Wants to make everyone the same as them Spoiled Oversized Baby as Japan Baby as US

  10. Japan and the Environment • Environmental issues include: • Air pollution • Waste management • Poisonings from industrial waste in 1950s and 1960s • Chronic arsenic poisonings in 1970s • Largest importer of fossil fuels • Leaders in developing environmentally friendly technology • 5th largest emission emitters in the world • Under treaty obligations to reduce CO2 emissions and to take other steps to curb climate change

  11. Pollution and the Environment • The bathhouse is a place where spirits come to be cleansed • The Kohaku River was destroyed leaving Haku homeless and confined to spirit realm • Leads to questions about other spirits in the bathhouse - how they got there, where they came from • Polluted river spirit thought to be stink spirit

  12. The Confused National Identity of Japan in Spirited Away • As a result of being a closed country for 200 years, Japan does not know where it fits in with the rest of the world • Freud: you have to identify who you are not in order to identify who you are

More Related