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Matter Out of Place: Carnival, Containment, and Cultural Recovery in Miyazaki's Spirited Away
- The Journal of Japanese Studies
- Society for Japanese Studies
- Volume 32, Number 2, Summer 2006
- pp. 287-310
- 10.1353/jjs.2006.0057
- Article
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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.