Abstract
One of the international leading figures in contemporary children’s literature with a primary focus on environmentalism is Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎 駿). In this paper, I investigate the interconnectedness between ecology, environment and the human psyche in Spirited Away (2001), Miyazaki’s highest grossing Oscar-winning movie among his oeuvre, which is once again presented as an internationally collaborated stage production to children of this generation in 2022.
Taking a Lacanian perspective, I explore the crux of identity crisis and anxiety as represented by, first, Chihiro’s (千尋) loss of symbolic identity and her renunciation of her proper name to Yubaba (湯婆婆); and second, No-Face’s (顔無し) insatiable, id-driven desire to fill up the Lack (). With reference to Lacan’s Seminar XX (1999) and Schema L (2006), I argue that these two characters signify the positions of the ego and the unknowing Lacanian Subject, altogether constructing a dynamic which undermines the foundation of identification as misrecognition (méconnaissance).
Then, via the application of the stylist-linguistic approach (Hunt, 1999), close-reading and critical analysis of the film with an emphasis on the use of literary elements, i.e., plot and characterization, cinematic compositions, and language use is conducted, demonstrating a series of parallelism between Chihiro/Sen (千) and Kohaku (コハク), the deity of the destroyed river, which highlights the fundamental connection between human and nature as implied by the profound association between identity crisis and environmental pollution.
To summarize, Spirited Away is both a Bildungsroman and a cautionary tale. With this masterpiece, Miyazaki interrogates how the environment functions as a major impact factor of the psychological health of human beings and invites his audience, both children and adults, to re-examine the dynamic between the environment and human wellbeing.
Taking a Lacanian perspective, I explore the crux of identity crisis and anxiety as represented by, first, Chihiro’s (千尋) loss of symbolic identity and her renunciation of her proper name to Yubaba (湯婆婆); and second, No-Face’s (顔無し) insatiable, id-driven desire to fill up the Lack (). With reference to Lacan’s Seminar XX (1999) and Schema L (2006), I argue that these two characters signify the positions of the ego and the unknowing Lacanian Subject, altogether constructing a dynamic which undermines the foundation of identification as misrecognition (méconnaissance).
Then, via the application of the stylist-linguistic approach (Hunt, 1999), close-reading and critical analysis of the film with an emphasis on the use of literary elements, i.e., plot and characterization, cinematic compositions, and language use is conducted, demonstrating a series of parallelism between Chihiro/Sen (千) and Kohaku (コハク), the deity of the destroyed river, which highlights the fundamental connection between human and nature as implied by the profound association between identity crisis and environmental pollution.
To summarize, Spirited Away is both a Bildungsroman and a cautionary tale. With this masterpiece, Miyazaki interrogates how the environment functions as a major impact factor of the psychological health of human beings and invites his audience, both children and adults, to re-examine the dynamic between the environment and human wellbeing.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2022 |
| Event | International Conference on Environment & Human Health: Challenges & Opportunities in the 21st Century - Online, Hong Kong, China Duration: 18 Aug 2022 → 19 Aug 2022 https://airtable.com/shr8xRu6PWvJujc6E/tblA43553XrWoZgVr (Conference abstracts) https://www.sce.hkbu.edu.hk/en/upcoming-event/international-conference-on-environment-human-health-challenges-opportunities-in-the-21st-century-sc-translation-en-translation/ |
Conference
| Conference | International Conference on Environment & Human Health |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | ICEHH 2022 |
| Country/Territory | Hong Kong, China |
| Period | 18/08/22 → 19/08/22 |
| Internet address |
User-Defined Keywords
- children's literature
- miyazaki
- film analysis
