This video got me thinking about an aging controveryβ¦. I saw Spirited Away in the theater and was deeply disturbed by it. I was encouraged to see it based on reviews that promised me something akin to Alice in Wonderland, but what I got was a much more obvious sexual allegory. A few minutes of searching the internet revealed the full original Premir article translated from the French interview with Hayao Miyazaki and his producer, Toshio Suzuki.
That was back in Apparently the idea that Spirited Away is an allegorical condemnation of parents in Japan who sell their children into prostitution and my recollection is that Miyasaki mentioned it as a problem in many other Asian countries as well has become an urban legend. So this quote sounds like a denial:. And this quote has been explained away as a mistranslation :.
In an interview for the Japanese edition of Premiere magazine, he confesses that Spirited Away is about the sex industry. Now, the sex industry is everywhere in Japan. And the number of young girls who look like whores is increasing. But what I remember about the full English translation available in was that Miyasaki was very clear about his intentions and his disgust with the prostitution industry.
This quote, sometimes passed around, came from an article commenting on the French interview, also no longer online:. He offers her money though she declines. Not me! Kaonashi is a metaphor for the libido that everybody has secretly has. I would really like a link to the original interview again. If anyone can find it for me I would love to clarify in my mind what I actually read.
What really confuses me is why in the years since the film and interview came out so many people get so defensive when this subtext is brought up. I got it from watching the film in the theater and reading the subsequent interview. Which I would really like to read again.
