Every depravity has a origin and I believe most of them came from their avaricious desires. Vampires thirst for blood, Dragons thirst for gold, Witches thirst for babies and Humans thirst for money. No face thirst for attentions. Before Chihiro talked to him, he didn't know the feeling of being take cared of, he didn't have desires of attentions, he never had it so he didn't want it. Even he had powerful magic tricks, he had no where to use. When Chihiro triggered his desire, she triggered his monstrous at the same time. No face started turned mud into gold to trick the frog and then he ate him, so he had the frogs voice. He keep giving out more and more gold to attract peoples attentions and to make everyone came to serve him. His appetite became bigger and bigger, he kept asking servants to bring him food and finally he turned into an enormous monster.
His desires were stronger and more desperate than anyone else which urged his evilness to grow. Desires turned him into a monster and his power advanced his depravity.
In reality, we see money as the magic power that no face has in the movie. Money can bring anything we want and achieve any of our desires. It is not money but our desires that bring out the evilness. Greedy is our nature and absolute power corrupts absolutely. If Chihiro never payed attention on No face, he would never turn into a monster. If Prospero had never been banished, he would never use his power to trap Ariel and try to revenge. They all had power and money, but they didn't turn bad because they didn't have any desperate desires until they got exposed to the corruptive thoughts.
Miyazaki wrote the story referring to the society of Japan at that time. The economic bubble in Japan from 1986 to 1991. The bubble was characterized by rapid acceleration of asset prices and overheated economic activity, as well as an uncontrolled money supply and credit expansion. Miyazaki tried to use this story to document that age and to disenchant the society form avarice.
I think it is also interesting to parallel this sense of greed and money of No-Face to the main setting of Spirited Away: a bathhouse. Bath houses at the time in Japan the movie is loosely based on, the Edo Period, often times doubled as brothels. Where the strictly male customers would be cleaned and seen to in other sexually explicit ways by the strictly female workforce. This allegorical move between bath house and brothel is further perpetuated by the act of Chihiro signing away her name and past identity and assuming a new name under the power of the bath house. A ritual common in Japanese Brothels at the time and is still relevant with the 'Candy Canes' of the world dancing on stripper poles today. This makes No-Face's greed and assertion of his money to get to Chihiro or now Sen, even more monstrous. Miyazaki has even been quoted saying that, "I think the most appropriate way to symbolize the modern world is the sex industry. Hasn’t Japanese society become like the sex industry?" Marxist thought would agree, the selling and the exploitation of the proletariat in order to fulfill the needs of the upper classes is easily related to the direct selling of ones body that woman are succumbed to in instances of prostitution.
ReplyDeleteI think it is also interesting to parallel this sense of greed and money of No-Face to the main setting of Spirited Away: a bathhouse. Bath houses at the time in Japan the movie is loosely based on, the Edo Period, often times doubled as brothels. Where the strictly male customers would be cleaned and seen to in other sexually explicit ways by the strictly female workforce. This allegorical move between bath house and brothel is further perpetuated by the act of Chihiro signing away her name and past identity and assuming a new name under the power of the bath house. A ritual common in Japanese Brothels at the time and is still relevant with the 'Candy Canes' of the world dancing on stripper poles today. This makes No-Face's greed and assertion of his money to get to Chihiro or now Sen, even more monstrous. Miyazaki has even been quoted saying that, "I think the most appropriate way to symbolize the modern world is the sex industry. Hasn’t Japanese society become like the sex industry?" Marxist thought would agree, the selling and the exploitation of the proletariat in order to fulfill the needs of the upper classes is easily related to the direct selling of ones body that woman are succumbed to in instances of prostitution.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that monsters all come from an avaricious desire is a very interesting perspective, and it's certainly appropriate in the case of No Face. But it isn't only desire that drives these monsters; there's a desire to keep something, to maintain its possession. It isn't until they fulfill their dark desires that they become monstrous. A monster needs some sort of power to be considered a beast.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that Spirited Away was rooted in the Japanese economic upturn of the late 80s. It's sad to think that an era of prosperity is symbolized by monstrosity. Can people maintain success while still remaining moral? It's a tough thing to consider.
You mention that the power was there the whole time, just not unlocked. That's frightening in and of itself. Monstrosity can remain dormant until it's unlocked by shock, power, greed, or something else entirely.
I am also very intrigued at the idea that all monsters are born from some sort of desire, or hunger. It reminds me of the insatiable monsters born from emotions such as greed. When you have greed for something it becomes a desire that cannot be sated. As you stated in your blog, the No face monster in the animated film Spirited Away started of with nothing. No attention, no friends, and no real motivation to do anything at all in the spirit world. He was just a lingering spirit wandering around aimlessly in the vast world of the dead. He hides his face from everyone and therefore is known by no one, and essentially becomes no one. However when the protagonist of spirited away Chihiro gives him the slightest bit of attention he hungers for more and more and more attention. His greed for attention was multiplied due to the fact that he never had any attention before. I would say that the no face monster is the perfect embodiment of the emotion greed itself. Like greed it has no face, it has no preference. Anyone can be taken by the emotion greed and everyone has probably felt greed before. The purpose of the no face monster having no face is that it can literally be ANYONE. Perhaps it is this very notion that makes no face a fascinating yet truly scary monster. He is the greed that lies dormant in all living beings. He is everyone and also no one. He is greed.
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