Miyazaki through Jameson: the allegory in Spirited Away

Abstract

I argue that the Japanese film Spirited Away by director Hayao Miyazaki is a national allegory in Jameson terms. This is so because, in the first place, the individual destiny of its protagonist represents an aporia between nationalism and globalization; second, the allegory is conscious and voluntary; thirdly, the form of representation constitutes a cultural alterity in the face of Western forms; fourthly, because the film is a symptom of an opposition between culture and Nature. I am doing this reading enrolling in the field of cultural studies. In addition, the quaternary model of allegorical explanation to which Jameson subscribes allows me to explain what sense it makes that a film designed for children can have these characteristics.