Anna Backens - Spirited Away

I thought that this film had some great, underlying lessons. One most particularly that stood out to me was the way gluttony was portrayed. The huge, dirty-filled spirit that visited the bathhouse to be cleansed originally was tired and appeared to be hurting but after the main character, the hero, found the plugged in his side, an incredible amount of garbage came out and the spirit returned to its' natural state. This appeared to portray the idea,that hording eventually leads to destruction of the self and possibly to others. After the spirit was "cleansed" by the bath and was relieved of the weight of the garbage that was weighing it down, the bathhouse was seen as a place of refuge for it. The main character throughout, was struggling to find her parents, eventually finding that they had turned into pigs because they had feasted too much. Again, the idea of gluttony and the lack of self control was a theme. The artistry and imagery was fascinating to see. The creativity and colors were brilliant as well. Japanese anime is an interesting combination between providing a venue for imagination and and a platform for learning important parts of life. As the main character continued in faith to find her parents, she endured temptation and danger, teaching that worldly treasures, can have disastrous results. The character refused gold offered on many occasions by one of the spirits, whom she showed kindness to. Others took the gold and sometimes lost their lives to it. I saw here that the indulgence to greed does not reward.