Abstract

This essay deals with the recent animated film Spirited Away by the foremost Japanese animator, Miyazaki Hayao. It examines Spirited Away as a representation of "cultural boundedness," a reaction to globalization in which cultural products are used to reinforce notions of local culture as a form of resistance to perceived outside threats. It goes on to query the success of this attempt, arguing that Spirited Away undermines its overt agenda, ultimately expressing a culture beset by polluting and transgressing forces.

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