life moves forward

Sitting down to right this, it strikes me that I have no idea what to write about. Writing, for me anyways, is never what I would call a "voluntary" exercise. When you have something to write,there's nothing that can stop you from writing. It just happens. When I feel motivated to communicate some idea, either because I've thought of a great way to do that or it's just important to me, writing is easy. It flows. I don't even have to think about.

Otherwise, it's like forcing yourself to love someone. Which, while possible (see: siblings), is very difficult. And being lazy, I won't attempt it.

So I'm going to start a little series of writing about something I really want to write about: art. Specifically, art that has somehow deeply affected me over my life. Lying in bed last night, thinking desperately about what aspect of my life I want to flesh out for this blog, it occurred to me how much certain pieces of art have changed or altered my perception of the world, and I'd like to share them. Starting with...

Spirited Away

Hiyao Miyazaki is, as far as I'm concerned, a total genius. And in many ways far exceeding his western animation counterparts in terms of depth, style, and substance. This movie in particular, for me, was so affecting, that to this day I can remember when I first watched it.

I was sitting at home, it was raining I believe, and I was flipping around the movie channels looking for something good to watch. I saw that Spirited Away was about to start and, having a bit of an unexplored affinity for quality anime, thought I might give it a shot. My thought-process reaction to the film is shortened and transcribed as follows.

Well, this is really interesting. Kinda slow...it looks pretty though. Man, this girl is kind of a brat.

Old amusement park...creepy.

Wha...what? Okay, so...why do the parents keep eating? I guess that's...HOLY CRAP THEY'RE PIGS HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

What's going on here? Where is she?

...

Sen is kind of annoying, but Haku...that kid's awesome.

...

*small tear in the eye as they fly away*

...

That was...

...fantastic. And the film stuck with me...I couldn't stop thinking about it. So many brilliant aspects of it, so many themes which surprised me, because they're things that the western animation shies away from.

Most telling for me, and a common theme for Miyazaki, is the lack of any clear "bad guy". Any evil character is revealed by the end to be misunderstood, cursed, or just weird. The plot moves forward with a shifting antagonist, until you realize that the antagonist is Chihiro's own issues. Her own insecurity and selfishness are what is holding her back, and not until she conquers those does she finally get to leave, though in the end she doesn't necessarily want to. That's part of her maturity.

Further, the film banks on this entire notion of growing up, part of which is acceptance. This idea that, as an adult, we need to accept things we don't like, and just work through them anyways. It sounds simple, but it is so beautifully played out that it resonates deeply with the viewer: Chihiro must accept her circumstance in order to move forward. And in moving forward, help herself, and help everyone around her.

Other things come into play, of course: Miyazaki's wonderful obsession with flight, environmental concerns, even a bit of pacifism here and there (I only let that bias me towards him a little). All in all, a stunning piece of art.

But what did it mean for me, in my life?

Good art does one of two things: it either affects how you live, or comments on how you're living. Great art does both.

Spirited Away made me realize that life is a progression - we're not merely sitting in one place, standing still in a thundering river. We're flowing forward, whether we want to or not, and on some level we have to accept that. It's the transition to adult-hood. It's also something the Bible speaks on (see Ecclesiastes 1:1-11) - we're quickly fading. We're a speck in life, and the sun will rise and the sun will set (never a miscommunication...you can't explain that*), regardless of who we are or what we do. Life moves forward without us, so we had better learn to be ready for it.

That's just one of countless things to get out of this movie. Obviously I highly recommend it.

Next Time: Watchmen? Or maybe Hamlet? Tune in to find out!

*Lol, Bill O' Reilly.