On Friday 13 September, the first in-person event of the School’s East and South East Asian (ESEA) Heritage Month celebrations got underway with a showing of the iconic Studio Ghibli classic Spirited Away.
A packed crowd, drawn by the promise of a great film and great food to accompany it, filled the Egerton Theatre’s seats in anticipation of the Oscar-winning story of Chihiro, a ten-year old girl who is inadvertently drawn into the world of kami, the spirits of Japanese Shinto folklore. The stunning hand-drawn animation was the first of its kind to be honoured with an Academy Award and has more than stood the test of time. This was evident on the big screen, accompanied by the legendary composer Joe Hisaishi’s musical score.
Made on a budget of under $20 million, Spirited Away grossed over $395 million at the global box office upon its 2001 release, becoming the highest-grossing Japanese film ever until 2020, when it was surpassed by an adaptation of the popular anime Demon Slayer. It remains the only ever foreign-language feature to win the Best Animated Feature gong at the Oscars, a testament to its universal appeal and impeccable style.
More than 20 years on, it had boys laughing, recoiling and pondering in equal measure, unconfined by language or borders. The movie is a giant in the world of Japanese cinema (with good reason) and has served as a cultural ambassador for centuries-old Shinto beliefs that have shaped the Japan that we know today. In this capacity, its opening up of millions-strong audiences to Shinto folklore has had an invaluable impact on interest in Japanese culture and anime.
Anime is indebted to Spirited Away for lots of reasons. One precedent that the film set was to place a heroine at the centre of the story, and not a hero. It also normalised introducing elements of traditional mythology into Japanese filmmaking that continue to pop up in series and movies today. Hayao Miyazaki, the writer and director, was reportedly fastidious in his creative process, labouring for hours over clips that are seconds long in the final cut. It was perhaps this care that led to the most lasting impact of Spirited Away – the reconsidering of animation as an art form, not solely a children’s medium as it was perceived by many at the time.
Whatever its legacy may be, the film’s magnetic pull and resonance was obvious to anyone watching either the film or the crowd. Through the rustling of snack packets and the breaks for delicious pan-Asian food, it was this that kept people sitting, watching and losing themselves in the wonderful world of ghosts, ghouls and Ghibli.
We are very much looking forward to further events put together by the ESEA Society as we celebrate the remainder of ESEA Heritage Month at Eton.
