Spirited Away
It feels unusual to look at a childhood film with academic eyes but here goes nothing.
The way this film handles identity is really interesting to me! For Chihiro and Kohaku, this takes the form of names. By having your name forcibly taken from you or forgotten, you lose your sense of self and become vulnerable to other people. Not only do you lose yourself but you lose your home as well. Although signing the contract is essential for her to continue existing in the spirit world and find her parents, it also means giving away her name and sense of self. She now needs to keep safe her identity and keep a hold of herself as much as she can. To me, this also manifests as the need to be confident in one's self. Kohaku tells Chihiro she needs to keep asking for work and Chihiro does persist even when Yubaba is in her face. In other words, Chihiro must learn how to look confident, stand her ground, and remain dedicated to her goals. And she does the whole film through! Kohaku does much the same especially when he takes hold of himself again after the bug controlling him is squashed, revealing to Yubaba the disappearance of her precious baby. About the being unable to go home part, I'm not sure what to make of it but only that losing your name cuts your connections to your previous life. I guess in that sense you no longer remember home or where it is.
No Face is another example of identity too. Without a face, do you have an identity? Not only for us humans but the creatures of the film are each unique in some way. If not by face, then by personality but how do you express personality? Generally it is by speaking. No Face has no mask and constantly struggles to speak unless he's stolen someone else's voice (like the frog's). In that sense, No Face is unable to express his identity and therefore has no identity at all. Chihiro must interpret by his actions, by his few words, and by her own sense of kindness. The scene where she notices No Face following her to the bus, she asks him if he is and he doesn't really reply. But she is happy to use one of her tickets for him. I think that's why he gets along with Zaniba at the end of the film. She is also kind and gives him a home and good work to do.
Identity is also sort of tied to form at least in other people perceive someone's identity. Yubaba and Zaniba share an appearance so that Bo and Chihiro are caught off guard by Zaniba's appearance and actions. However, the two are so obviously different from each other. Chihiro must stand up to Yubaba but she is grateful and hugs Zaniba. Bo is spoiled by his mother but then stands up to her. He is at first bullied and taught a lesson by Zaniba but it is because of Zaniba that he learns to stand by himself and enjoy moving on his own four (two?) feet. Identity doesn't have to be set by one's form but it is dictated by one's name and one's actions.
Oh! And also one doesn't need to secure one's self alone. Throughout the film, Chihiro is always relying and being helped by people in order to get along in life. I do think that this film is part of Chihiro's coming-of-age journey but she does not become self-sufficient or independent and confident through her own efforts alone. She is grateful to Kohaku for all her help. It is he who tells her to remember her own name and he also remembers it for her too. And it is Chihiro, helping him in many ways in return, who remembers his name for him.
There is also an environmental message in the film. The most obvious example is Kohaku losing his name because his river was forced underground by humans. There is also a shot of the bathhouse too. From a side shot, we see that the front of the bathhouse is colorful, luxurious and bright. However, the back of it is dark and full of crude machinery. This should be just the same side that Chihiro had to make multiple dangerous trips through to get her job, go see Kohaku, and also return the seal to Zaniba. In other words, people try so hard to make things look pretty and structured but are just hiding ugliness behind it. Comparing Yubaba's beautiful, ostentatious palace to Zaniba's peaceful country home reveals how much more greedy and materialistic Yubaba is. Although… I mean Yubaba's hut is actually pretty luxurious going by country standards? Lots of space, cabinets, beautiful furniture… but it's a bit unfair to judge because how "frugal" or "minimalistic" should one be in order to not look greedy, huh?
I love the points you made about identity in this movie. I talked a lot about how capitalism changes people, and your points on names and faces is perfectly aligned with that. The changing of names of having different names in the bathhouse vs. outside of it encapsulates perfectly how the characters are affected by capitalist society. Zeniba's ultra-greedy, power-hungry name is Yubaba, the Kohaku river being filled with apartments and controlled by Yubaba is named Haku, and No-Face, not really having an identity, like you said, takes on an insatiable hunger and careless throwing around of wealth inside the bathhouse, speaking for the first time there. Chihiro's name is interesting though, because while she works at the bathhouse and therefore plays along in society, she doesn't forget her real name, and is therefore still able to do good there, saving the river spirit that was plagued with pollution and leading No-Face out of the bathhouse so that he couldn't consume anymore people. Great analysis!










