Mridula Anand | Week 13: Remembering Who We Are
In my all-time favorite movie Spirited Away, among the many themes that Hayao Miyazaki crafted within the plot, one main takeaway is the importance of memory. The movie starts off with a girl, Chihiro, and her family who enter into the world of spirits which they encounter in a new town that they are moving to. While her parents get infatuated with the tons of food that is presented in front of them, Chihiro explores the spirit town and when coming back to her parents, she sees that they have turned into pigs. The only way she can turn them back is to ask help from the spirits themselves, who do not let her leave until she can fulfill the requests they have for her.
In the midst of the plot, something a new friend emphasizes to her is that she should never forget her name, or else she will be trapped in that world forever. He even gives her a slip of paper with her name on it to make sure that she does not forget. This is because he was once like Chihiro, captured by the spirited world, but forgot his human name.
What we can all take from this is that whenever we are going through life, we should never forget who we are. The memory of our humble roots should always coexist with our successes, just as Chihiro was able to remember her name until she finally found her way back home. It is also important to realize the importance of people such as Chihiro’a friend who will help us maintain the memory of our true identity no matter what we go through. Overall, with the combination of the life lessons present within the movie as well as the extremely interesting plot, one thing I can say for sure is that I recommend all of you to watch this incredible movie.
Hi Mridula! Spirited Away is my cousin’s favorite movie too, and she’s been begging me to watch it for the longest time, so reading your blog convinced me that I finally should. The way you connected Chihiro’s adventures with the theme of self-discovery and staying true to yourself was incredibly moving, and I can definitely tell how much you love the movie. I found your discussion of her name being a very integral part of her identity particularly interesting, because I think humans often overlook just how significant our names can be when it comes to both individuality and others’ perception of us.Your point about the importance of people who help us remember who we are was especially fascinating to me since I often think about how we rely on our friends, family, and even certain experiences to remind us of our true selves when we feel lost. A lot of the time, our identities aren’t just determined by our own memories, but also by the people who surround us, just like Haku did for Chihiro. Overall, I thought your writing beautifully expressed the essence of the movie, and I’m really looking forward to watching it!
ReplyDeleteWhatsup Mridula! I absolutely am in love with the connection you made between this movie and the lesson you learned! I think Ghilbi movies are the cutest (although a little too slow paced for me, I will admit), but I have not seen "Spirited Away." Considering that "Howl's Moving Castle" was too good to pass on, I'll definitely give this movie a try! Your message of never forgetting one's origins and identity is a crucial aspect that a lot of people struggle with. When people make many new friends and coworkers and undergo various situations in the process, they sometimes lose sight of themselves because of all the factors that influence them. There's a huge social and cultural conformity problem that inhibits people from finding more about themselves and ways to express creativity and the true self. In psychology, a big part of adolescence is finding individuality among the difficulties in navigating through role confusion. As people grow up, finding comfort and love within oneself is the most important thing because it leaves to a fulfilling life for all. I also agree with your point on having others help us in finding ourselves because sometimes we just need external help to point out the flaws needed to be addressed for the continuation of growth. This is such a philosophical topic and I am so happy you tied it in with something you are really passionate about. Kudos to you!
ReplyDeleteHi Mridula! As soon as I saw Chihiro on your blog's cover, I knew I had to comment on your post. I love Studio Ghibli, and “Spirited Away” is my favorite Ghibli movie, too! I remember the scene where Chihiro remembers her name once more, but I never thought about the deeper meaning of that scene. I love how you use this scene as a lesson to never forget where we come from. No matter how high we go in life, no matter what levels of success we attain, we must never forget, as you say, our "humble roots." I also love how you mention Chihiro's friend helping Chihiro maintain her identity; other people form so much of who we are that without the grounding company of loved ones, it's very easy to forget our fundamental selves. Overall, I loved your analysis of the movie's message, and I look forward to reading more in the future!
ReplyDeleteHi Mridula!
ReplyDeleteI have had "Spirited Away" on my Letterboxd watchlist for as long as I can remember but I've never got around to watching it. I have heard nothing but good reviews about the movie from family, friends, and even random people. This blog post is nothing short of consistent with these past testimonials of those who watch it. I also really enjoy how you connected the movie to a lesson you learned and I have tried to do that in the past with other movies in my blog posts and I think it's one of the most interesting forms of blog posts. I truly enjoyed reading what you had to write this week and look forward to your next post!