Spirited Away
What was Miyazaki's message?
TLDR; Contains spoilers for Spirited Away, just in case you haven’t seen it.
If you’re of a certain age, you’ll know the movie Spirited Away, in Spanish, Chihiro’s Journey, or in the original Japanese, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, made by Studio Ghibli. It tells the story of Chihiro, who is pulled into an alternate world, one where magic is real and spirits go to the bathhouse to replenish themselves and retreat from the world.
But like all Ghibili’s, there is what you see and the hidden story.
I watched Spirited Away again a couple of days ago, for about the thousandth time. Having worked on Earthstream for nearly a year now, the story started to make sense to me differently.
The Disruption
The family in the Audi takes a shortcut through the woods.
Chihiro's family is moving house, and everything is in flux. It's a reluctant transition for her, and her sense of identity is thrown off balance. She gets a card and a bouquet for moving, but it's not much of a consolation.
We're in a massive climate and energy transition that is disruptive, and we're struggling to change our identities.
Chihiro's parents lead her into an abandoned amusement park, and she reluctantly follows them. She's scared, but they tell her it will be OK. They start helping themselves to the food that's been prepared: "Don't worry; I've got credit cards and cash."
We are misleading the next generation, and they will have to inherit our mistakes. We don't know the dynamics of an energy transition; we can't. The system is too complex, but we do think we can buy our way out of it—if we're wealthy enough. The billionaires are building bunkers. We also think we have the right to do whatever we want, provided we can pay for it with money. But what about the externalities?
Her parents keep eating the food of the spirits and get turned into pigs. They can't hear or see her anymore, and she's terrified.
This is a dark scene for some people because it's difficult to take. How did the story take this turn? But isn't this representative of consumer capitalism? This week's rumor is that Amazon wants a low-cost goods division to compete with Temu and Shein, and we're in a buy-whatever-you-want-right-now economy that leaves us longing and lost.
Entering the Unknowable
Crossing the river and meeting Haku.
Chihiro is overwhelmed by now and in a strange world. She meets Haku, who tells her to run back across the river before it's dark. She doesn't make it. Lost in the spirit world, she eventually starts to disappear and fade into nothingness. Haku tells her to eat something from the spirit world so as not to vanish.
This is interesting: If we're going to have substance, we need to participate in the world.
Next, Ubaba (the quasi-villain) is looking for Chihiro, and her legs don't seem to work anymore. Haku uses his magic to unbind her, "By the power of the water and the wind within me…"
Isn't this wonderful? Elemental magic fighting off a swooping overlord? It's nature fighting back. I visited an old airport a couple of years ago, and the trees were growing through the buildings; the place looks derelict from a human perspective, but seeds find a way, water finds a way, and wind finds a way to break out.
Next they need to cross the bridge to the bathhouse. Chihiro is told to hold her breath while they cross the bridge. Otherwise, she will break the spell and be recognized as human. She almost makes it to the end before a frog spots her.
There's some magic in being invisible and private. It's the introvert's protection from other people's energies and judgments. Chihiro is a lost kid in a strange world, being helped by a kind stranger amongst enemies. Being visible in an alien world is a double-edged sword. Aren't we all in an alien world? To a greater or lesser degree?
Gold from Oil
I won't ruin the movie if you have seen it. But if you check it out on Netflix, you'll notice that the flags as she crossed the river translate as "Oil" and a spirit called "No Face" that gives people what they want…? Sounds familiar? Isn't this the big machine in action?
There is a beautiful innocence and naivety in not knowing, in not being an expert, and in figuring it all out as you go along with a sense of deep wonder and trust.
There is a beautiful innocence and naivety in not knowing, in not being an expert, and in figuring it all out as you go along with a sense of deep wonder and trust. In the end, Chihiro figures it all out by being true and getting the help she needs when she needs it.
This is the magic of Spirited Away: This is Chihiro’s journey.
It’s how we’re approaching the complex problems of loss, environmentalism, and humanity at Earthstream.