This is a static copy of In the Rose Garden, which existed as the center of the western Utena fandom for years. Enjoy. :)

#1 | Back to Top02-18-2015 05:03:09 AM

Yams
Nest Boxer
From: Crystal Millenium
Registered: 02-13-2007
Posts: 973

Spirited Away Question ::Spoilers Within::

Okay, this is quite random but I wanted to throw it out there:

Towards the end of Spirited Away how exactly does Chiharu know that her parents are not among the pigs on display?


This has always bugged me about the movie and almost prevented me from liking the movie the first few times I watched it. I don't have a problem with ambiguity or characters/themes with multiple interpretations (No-Face, for example, I have read many interesting essays on this character, you can accept any or all of them, leaving you with a nice sense of satisfaction). But there's something really concrete about Chiharu's final test. In a moment like this in a traditional movie, the character would use a lesson they learned or a skill they picked up to pass the final test. But she just...knows her parents aren't there. Boom. Am I over-thinking things? Is it just that she's grown as a person and isn't the same whiny little girl from the beginning of the movie? Even if that's the case, how does that help her tell pigs apart?? school-sherlockschool-sherlockschool-sherlock


http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i232/YamPuff/im%20holllowz_zpsx9ddh2gp.png~original

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#2 | Back to Top02-23-2015 03:35:35 AM

Internal Clock
Wakaba Wrangler
From: Canberra, Australia
Registered: 06-30-2012
Posts: 15

Re: Spirited Away Question ::Spoilers Within::

I thought of it as thus:

Chihiro's character arc has brought out a confidence in her sense of self, such that her love for her own parents is clear enough that she would be able to recognise them no matter what form they are in. So, as Yubaba poses her test to Chihiro at the climax of the film, Chihiro does not identify her parents among the other pigs presented by Yubaba, and concludes that they must not there. It's crucial that this should happen in the fashion that it does, as for the audience it confirms Chihiro's confidence / sense of self as coming from the right place - her heart.

Last edited by Internal Clock (02-23-2015 03:38:39 AM)

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#3 | Back to Top02-23-2015 09:26:02 AM

ShatteredMirror
Yaoi Pet #1
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: 10-22-2006
Posts: 8858

Re: Spirited Away Question ::Spoilers Within::

I don't think she recognized the pigs, she just knew Yubaba would try to trick her. If her parents had been among the pigs she was directed to choose from, then even if she chose at random there would have been a chance of her getting it right. So Yubaba made sure that no matter which pig she chose, it would be the wrong one.

It's like the Giant's Drink scene from Ender's Game when Ender realizes that no matter which glass he chooses it's always going to be the wrong one, so he knocks them both over and kills the giant.


Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source.

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#4 | Back to Top02-23-2015 05:15:48 PM

Arale
Sunlit Gardener (Prelude)
From: collective human consciousness
Registered: 12-07-2014
Posts: 174
Website

Re: Spirited Away Question ::Spoilers Within::

I watched this movie several times in one day when I was little because I was sick, but I haven't seen it recently at all. To my memory, though, I'm pretty sure that, yeah, she just realized that she was being tricked.


im a shadow play girl irl

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