Spirited AwayLessons 7 - 12

Link to Moviehttps://web.microsoftstream.com/video/933f1977-a2ca-43d0-8729-a65e9ee61907?list=studio

Lesson 7: UplevellingRead through the feedback sent to you by your teacher. Write your two targets below.

1)

2)

Read through the model answer below – highlight part of it relevant to your targets.

At the start of the movie, Chihiro is represented as a stereotypical teenage girl. This is most evident when she is in the car travelling with her parents to their new house. She complains about her flowers dying and acts insolent when he parents talk to her, this is stereotypical because teenage girls in the media are often represented as stroppy and disrespectful. Hayao Miyazaki was inspired by his own daughters friends being apathetic and reluctant to do anything and wanted to make a movie for teenage girls to show positive role models, but first of course he needed to demonstrate. This is evident through the cinematography which frequently pans to close-ups on the protagonists face in order to show her sulky attitude as well as the inclusion of the prop of flowers as a goodbye list which could represent he ‘girly’ characteristics. Viewers would understand her character very quickly to be a typical teenager because she conforms to stereotypical characteristics.

This stereotypical beginning is developed throughout the movie, and by the end Chihiro, going by the name ‘Sen’ is represented as a mature, indepdently young girl and is counter typical to how teenagers are often portrayed in film. This is most evident when…

Based on the model answer and your feedback, uplevel one perfect paragraph.

Make sure you are meeting your targets.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Write a short explanation of how you have improved.

I have improved my response by __________________________________________

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This can be seen when I write “__________________________________________

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____________________________________________________________________”

Lesson 8: Coming of Age MoviesWhat do you think it meant by the term ‘coming of age’? How might this apply to movies?

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Google ‘coming of age’ – how accurate were you?

Make a list of five famous coming of age movies based on your google search.

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

Other Examples

• The supportive teacher• The Love interest• A character that leads

the protagonist astray• The best friend• The homosexual best

friend• The controlling parents

Read through these notes on the conventions of the ‘Coming of Age’

genre

Watch one of the following movies, and bullet point how it fits into the ‘coming of age’ genre and how the protagonist is represented

If you don’t have access to these movies, then base it on a movie you have already seen in this genre

Recommended movies (in order of which Mr. Grace thinks is the best)

- Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

- Stand by Me (1986)

- Mean Girls (2004)

- Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)

- Inside Out (2015)

- Submarine (2010)

Your notes:

Lesson 9: Coming of Age in Spirited Away

List here at the ways that Spirited Away is a Coming of Age movie:

List here at the ways that Spirit Away does not conform to the conventions of a Coming of Age movie:

1) How does The director of Spirited Away blend realism with fantasy.

2) What life lessons does Chihiro/Sen learn from her experience?

3) Even though the setting is fantastical, what every day struggles does Chihiro face?

4) Pick out three conventions of Coming of Age films that are present in Spirited Away. Explain how they are used in the film

5) What message do you think director Hayao Miyazaki wanted to send to young girls?

In your book / on a separate sheet of paper, answer these questions in as much detail as

possible. Support with evidence from the film and subject terminology.

Lesson 10: The ElderlyBrainstorm how the elderly are normally stereotyped in the movies

(you can use google to help you)

The Elderly

Annotate how the following characters meet these stereotypes

Kamaji Akio

Yuko

Yubaba

Zeniba

How are older characters represented in Spirited Away?

Choose three characters from the previous sheet. And write a paragraph about each character, answering the question above.

Refer to specific scenes in the movie

Complete this in your books / on separate sheets of paper

Challenge: Link to the context of the making of the Film

Starter sentences:At the start of the movie ________ is represented as…This can be seen when…In this scene he/she conforms to stereotypes / goes against type because…In this scene (film technique) is used to…The director here wants to show the viewers…Hayao Miyazaki believed/ thought /wanted…

Review:

When you have finished create a key and highlight

• Subject terminology• Comments on representation• Analysis of film techniques

Lesson 11: Zeniba / Yubaba character study

From memory, write a description of each character.

Try to remember key scenes, things they said, what they wanted in the movie

Yubaba Zeniba

Watch the scenes either at these times or at the link below.

Take notes on how each character is presented.

Try to use some of the challenge vocabulary at the bottom of the page.

Challenge Vocabulary:

- Antithesis – complete an total opposites

- Juxtaposed – opposite qualities to highlight a characteristic

- Contrasting – opposite

- Antagonist – the bad character

Yubaba Zeniba

Scene 134:50 – 40:52

Scene 21:47:34 – 1:52:52

Link to Clip: https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/87512a43-47bf-46cc-a11e-4d079e1da876

How are the elderly witches represented differently?

• Using evidence from the scenes you have watched answer how Children would feel at the start and the end of the movie.

• Focus on how Children watching the movie would feel

• Make sure you link to stereotypes, directors intention, film techniques and a young audiences possible reaction

• Write at least two paragraphs in as much detail as possible

• When you have finished, complete the checklist below for your own response

Starter sentences:Yubaba, the ____ witch is represented as…This can be seen when…

On the other hand, Zeniba the ____ witch is represented as…This can be seen when…

I have… ✔

Referred clearly to a specific scene

Talked about how both characters fit/go against stereotypes

Identified a film technique used to present them

Explained why the director used this technique

Explored how a child would react

Compared the witches throughout my answer

Linked my point to the context of the film

Used some of the challenge vocabulary

Spirited Away is not only Hayao Miyazaki’s – and all of Studio Ghibli’s – most famous and acclaimed film; it’s also his most dense and layered. This fairy tale story, inspired by Alice’s Adventured in Wonderland is steeped in so much Japanese mythology and Shinto tradition that it’s impossible not to miss a theme or concept here and there, even after a few viewings.

Miyazaki himself places a lot of importance on the moral and philosophical weight of the lessons taught through Shintoism and passes these lessons onto his audience through his films. Japanese fans, who have grown up with a greater knowledge of Shinto than we in the West have, are going to have a far easier time unpacking the finer details of this film, and for us Westerners, there are these ten to get us started.

•Read the articles in this booklet

•Additionally read the presentation at the link below

•https://prezi.com/olgl3rx44cp9/the-relevance-of-spirited-away-and-japanese-popular-culture/

•Additionally, read the academic essay at the link below

•https://vocal.media/geeks/spirited-away-an-exploration-of-japanese-identity

Lesson 12: Traditional Japanese Culture

Read the following sources and take notes in your exercise books / on a sheet of paper.

You should aim to take two sides of well presented notes that you can refer to later

Exploring Japanese Culture Through Spirited AwaySarah McLaughlin

The director of this movie is Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki is a well-known Japanese director throughout the world. He is best known for this film Spirited Away.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary Anime is the process of photographing drawings or objects a frame at a time; by changing a drawing or moving an object slightly before each frame is taken, the illusion of motion is realized. To bring something to life.

Some examples of Anime features:• Colorful graphics• Vibrant characters• Fantastic themes

Where is this film set?Spirited away is set in Japan in a deserted theme park and a bath house for spirts. In this movie, it is set in two different worlds. A modern-day Japan where Chihiro and get family live and there is a parallel mysterious land where weird and wonderful creatures and spirits lurk.

What is the significance of the bath house in Japanese culture and in this movie?• Bathhouses are part of Japanese tradition• Customers pay for entry into bathhouses• Is seen as a way of not only washing, but being able to relax and be sociable with other

guests• In modern Japan, bathhouses are used for infrequently than they were in the past. The

bathhouse represents traditional Japan. Because it is set in an abandoned theme park this might suggest Japans abandonment of Japanese bathhouses hence the Japanese tradition.

• The bathhouse in this story is significant to Chihrio’s journey as this is where she learns more about her culture and also her responsibilities and independence.

Cultural UnderstandingBecause Spirited Away is written and set in Japan, this at times can be confusing to someone who is not familiar with the Japanese culture. This is why I decided to view and talk about Spirted away. So I could both discuss Japanese culture but also include a movie that uses many visuals of the Japanese culture. Hopefully this blog post will have you understanding Japanese culture more and maybe you can go watch spirited away after reading this post and understand what is going on in this movie.

Spirit Realm and ShintoIn Japan for thousands of years people have believed that gods and spirts live all around them in the rivers the trees and houses.

• Shinto is the original religion of Japan• It is centered on the belief that all physical entities have living souls called kami• Kami can manifest in multiple forms like rocks, trees, rivers, animals, places and even

people• Worshipers believe in Kami (spirts) that occupy the same realm as humans• Since 1945 it has been no longer taught in state ran schools

Now let’s get into all the different visuals of the Japanese culture in Spirited Away.

The very first thing I noticed in this movie was when Chihrio and her parents where driving in the car. Here in the united states we drive on the right side of the road so it was interesting to see and watch a movie where the driver’s seat was where the passenger’s side is here in the united states.

The next really beautiful image we get with the car scene is when they show the car driving on the road. Because they drive on the left side of the road you can notice in this picture below that they do drive on the left side and not the right like we do here in America.

Also, the use of the more modern cars in this movie represent that Japanese culture has embraced European/Western products.

Now let talk about the clothes used in this movie. Because this movie has both traditional and modern aspects about it. Here you can see that Chrihrio and her parents are wearing what you would call modern clothing.

However, when we get to the spirt world, where the bath house is we began to see more traditional Japanese clothing.

This is a photo that I found to give you a better visual of some of the traditional clothing that is used in Spirited Away.

The items od clothing that are used and shown in this movie are the Haori, Hakama, Tabi and Zori.

Now another thing that I noticed throughout this movie was bowing to each other. In japan it is considered to be respectful to bow to each other.