Spirited Away


Spirited Away is one of my favorite movies. Seeing it again after this class allowed me to notice more of the symbolism shown throughout the movie. Water is relevant throughout the whole movie in one way or another. When Chihiro tries to run back to the car, she steps in water which represents her being trapped in this unknown world. She then works at a bathhouse where water is the source of the income. There are two river spirits in the film as well (don’t want to give too much away. Also when Chihiro travels to see Yubaba’s sister, she must walk along the train tracks in the water. Here the water symbolizes her freedom and potentially being closer to escaping this alternate world. Gold is another symbol in the movie. There is a spirit that hands out gold to everyone, but Chihiro declines to take any. Yubaba take some of the gold and eventually it distracts her from realizing that something very precious to her has been taken away. When she realizes her baby is gone, the gold turns to soot. How certain characters responded to the gold is representative of how “rich” they become in life.

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