The meaning of "name" – the name in Spirited Away

"From now on, your name is 'Qian'", Granny Yu grabbed the contract with her fingers in the air, and the words "Di", "Ye" and "Xun" floated into her palm. This scene, I believe those who have watched "Spirited Away" are no strangers. The topic of "name" probably runs through the whole movie, and the trace of "name" is everywhere. When I watched this movie when I was a child, I had this doubt: "Why is the movie called "Spirited Away"? The protagonist is obviously called Chihiro." When I grew up a little, I began to understand that this is talking about "Spirited Away" and "Spirited Away" "The story, "Thousand" is exactly the new name, or a new identity, after Yuba took away Chihiro's name. The original name of the movie is "Spirited Away", "Sacred Hidden" refers to the ancient Japanese explanation for the sudden disappearance of someone. The missing person is like being hidden by the gods, so it is called "Sacred Hidden". As for "Spirited Away", in addition to referring to the fact that Chihiro's physical body has indeed entered this other world full of gods and monsters, my personal interpretation is that the name "Chihiro" is hidden by the gods - namely Yu Po Po. There are some clues about the movie "name" that I want to add, although many people have written it before.

The scene in which the owner of the oil house, Granny Yu, signed a contract with Chihiro. I think that scene is not only exploiting Chihiro's personal identity, but also reshaping her role in the oil house. Granny Yu said to work for those who want to work, so Chihiro wrote her name on the contract and she could get a job. She filled in the words "Ogino Chihiro", which is an official name and identity given by her parents, and Yuba said it was a luxury name (meaning that people who work do not need complicated names). She grabbed it lightly with magic, and Chihiro's name floated up and ran into her palm. "From now on, your name is Xiaoqian." With a single sentence, she deprived her paternal surname and the name given by her parents, leaving only the simplest character "qian" with the fewest strokes. The exploitation of the superiors is evident. The most primitive self is left, and only the side required by others (or bosses) remains. At the same time, Granny Yu called her "Thousand" because she believed that her role and work in the oil house was the lowest level of labor. Names represent not only a title, but also a person’s status in society. Most of the names of those in the upper ranks are complex and contain different meanings; the names of the lower ranks are the simplest words, which can address and identify this person. The naming process is completed, just like in ancient times, the children of poor families were all named after animals, such as cows and dogs. In short, the simpler the better. The only thing that Granny Yu left for Chihiro is "Thousand", who also went through the naming ceremony. Any name will have to be thought through and then appear in the text. No matter how low the status is, there should always be a title that represents oneself and others at the same time. in your eyes. In the eyes of Granny Yu, Chihiro is an annoying girl, and she has arranged for her to be engaged in labor, so she will not give her a name that is extravagant and complicated and has beautiful meanings.

After that, Granny Yu called Bai Long to come in. Bai Long pretended not to know Chihiro and asked her name. Chihiro was about to blurt out the original name: "Chihiro (Japanese: chi...)", but immediately realized that she wanted to work here. She was about to change her name, so she changed her mouth and said, "Sen (sen)", and she began to consciously obey the rules of the name change. When she obeys this rule, it also means that she will forget her original appearance. The next day, Bai Long took Qianxun to see her parents, and Qianxun walked through the gorgeous flowers. The colors in the picture changed rapidly, as if she had passed through this bizarre world of eroticism, growing from an ordinary ten-year-old girl who followed her parents to facing herself alone. Colorful seductive female.

Chihiro sees her parents turned into pigs and blurts out that she is "Chihiro", not "Chihiro". At that time, her parents had forgotten that she was human, and Chihiro began to forget her real name. The part of the movie that depicts Chihiro's self-forgetfulness is excellent. In just one day, she throws away her original identity and forgets it, and this is not her original wish, but anyone who is controlled by Yuba Po is like this, and it is also a metaphor for entering society. People involuntarily change their nature and true self in order to integrate with social rules, and eventually lose their true self. Especially in Japanese society, they are repressed and reserved, and in order to adapt to the strict unspoken rules, they do not hesitate to give up their original self. Later, Bai Long gave Chihiro her original clothes, which was her only connection with the original world. Inside the clothes was a farewell card from her classmates. The top of the card was written "ちひろ (chihiro: Chihiro)". Chihiro asked, "ちひろ?" Bai Long pointed out that Granny Tang was controlling people by taking other people's names, reminding Qianxun to think of herself as Xiao Qian first, but to hide her real name well. I think his words also reminded him not to forget himself (although he had already forgotten himself name and identity). Qianxun suddenly realized, "My name is about to be taken away, I just thought I was called Xiao Qian." It could be seen that she was about to forget herself, but fortunately, Bai Long reminded her. If it weren't for Bai Long to help her, Chihiro would probably have forgotten her identity and worked in the oil house until her death. Bai Long also pointed out that "Once your name is taken away, you will not be able to find your way home. Like me, you will never be able to remember it." The scene of them squatting on the side of the road continued to sound the music of "The Name of Life" (いのちの名前), the song name also echoes this scene.

In the latter part of the movie, Granny Tang's sister, Granny Qian, once again reminded Chihiro, and even the audience, to cherish her name. It can be seen that the film attaches great importance to the "name", and the repeated appearance is intentional. When Chihiro and Bailong were flying in mid-air, Bailong also used Chihiro's memories to finally find his name: "See the Amber Lord early." He is no longer lost in finding his name. Grandpa Boiler once pointed out that after Bai Long became Granny Tang's apprentice to learn magic, he also lost himself, became more and more vicious, and his face became more and more ugly, which was not the case when he and Bai Long first met. However, Bai Long also pointed out that he couldn't go back, so he insisted on learning magic. I think he couldn't go back to mean that the river he used to live in has been filled up and turned into a high-rise building. He no longer has a place to live. Forced by reality to go to the oil house to follow Granny Yu. Although the movie did not express the ending of Bai Long at the end, I think that he will have the advantage to bargain with Granny Tang after finding himself, and maybe he will meet Chihiro again later.

Since movies are associated with names, they also have unnamed characters. "Faceless Man" is not an official name, it's just that people call him "faceless man" by his characteristics to distinguish what he is (願なし). As mentioned above, names often carry the blessing or consideration of the person who gave them the name. Calling people purely by their characteristics feels more like an alias than a name. Therefore, the discussion of the nameless person in this article includes the faceless man. I saw a comment that the faceless man has no name, not even his original self. So I want to explore the meaning of his "nameless" state. In the movie, many scenes were used to portray the character of the faceless man. From the moment when Chihiro crossed the bridge and entered the oil house, he once flashed. My understanding of him is like a soul like an earth-bound spirit. He used to be a translucent, semi-black body that has been attached to the bridge leading to the entrance of the oil house. He has no desire or desire, and has no sense of existence. He might even be called a monster. not on. It wasn't until he sensed on the bridge that Chihiro, another alien in this world, had feelings for her, and it could even be said that he regarded Chihiro as a redemption, so he wanted to enter the oil house to get close to her. When watching the movie, the character of the faceless man had a great impact on me. He entered the "big dye vat" of the oil house, and quickly changed from an ordinary soul body to a terrible and discontented monster due to desire. Because there is no ego, he still needs to rely on others to speak for him, so he swallows the frog and uses the frog's voice to speak his desires. Then he began to live by the rules of the game in this world: he knew that with gold, everyone could obey him, so he conjured many false gold particles out of thin air. This power was illusory and short-lived. He tried to please Chihiro with gold, but Chihiro refused him many times. And the more he eats, the more and more he eats. In the movie, his body is already huge and scary, but he still seems to devour everything endlessly.

The Faceless Man is empty, he has no ego, so he still feels inadequate after three employees and a lot of delicacies. It can be interpreted that he kept adding qualities that did not belong to him in the oil house, and these qualities that did not belong to him made him more stressed and lonely. In fact, he knew that the food he swallowed could not resolve the loneliness in his heart, and thought that the appearance of Chihiro would solve his inner loneliness. However, when Chihiro did not appear, his loneliness rolled more and more like a snowball, and he was in pain and despair. Roaring: "So lonely!" His degeneration and mutation started when he saw Chihiro, but it wasn't Chihiro that made him like this, but that he ignored his own problems and just wanted Chihiro's attention. And let himself fall into a greater illusion, despair and anger. Later in the movie, Qianxun gave half of the balls that the gods gave her to the faceless man. After he swallowed it, he vomited, which also implied that the food he ate before was not suitable for him at all, and he did not need these. God's balls clean up the garbage in his body and pull out all the things that don't belong to him, and then he will find himself. Until he spit out the last frog, he changed back to his original self. "Nameless" refers not only to people who really have no name, but also to people who have no self. Until the end of the movie, we still don't know the name of the Faceless Man. The movie doesn't tell us what his name is, he probably becomes what he devours, but that's not the real him. Even so, he went from a soul that only stood motionless on the bridge to walking into the oil house, trying to contact the world, hurting others and hurting his own heart, and then becoming Granny Qian's assistant. He gradually found his own value. I think that's probably the message the movie is trying to tell us: don't give up on finding yourself.

Both the famous and the nameless have their own meanings. It is clearly stated in Spirited Away: those with names should not forget their own names; those who are nameless do not need to depend on others, and should strive to find their own meaning. After all, getting along with others is not with that Name (the name referred to here not only refers to the name, but also refers to the title, position, and all the labels attached to the outside world) to get along, but to look directly at the essence of the person, and then get along well (just like Qianxun can see clearly that the faceless man is there The oil house turned bad, knowing that his nature was not bad and he was willing to accept the same tram ride with him). Having become a social animal, I also keep reminding myself not to lose myself. Xu Jiaying has a song "Waltz" in which "she doesn't want to forget her name." . May you all stand firm in the midst of chaos.

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