Spirited Away: The Working Class

Part 2:  The Working Class

The sootballs that many of us think are "cute" are the first representation of the working class: They are small, made of dust, heavily exploited when they have to carry oversized charcoal grates and face danger near the charcoal furnace, but the sootballs still work their asses off only to get some candy in exchange.  And when they think that their jobs are taken over by Chihiro, they are also ready to fight with her.  

The second representations of the working class are Kamaji and Lin, who are also exploited as much the sootballs are.  At first, we thought that they were a bit distant and not wanting to be troubled but behind their frankness is an enthusiasm for helping Chihiro in a place where most people just know how to exploit one another.  Unlike the sootballs, Kamaji and Lin both yearn for freedom and a return to their home worlds.  Kamaji has prepared the train ticket for 40 years.  Lin works hard to earn gold for the day to be redeemed ... but both lack determination and courage.  And no one other than Chihiro has proved to them that courage will help achieve what they want.  Perhaps because they realize Chihiro’s courage, they take care of her wholeheartedly while she is in the spirit world.  This is a symbol of the goodness in the working class.

The workers also have bad side, that is, the bathroom staff are not united against the common authority figure Yubaba, but attacking their allies themselves.  Only when seeing Haku and Chihiro fighting for freedom together do they really become enlightened and support her escape from slavery.  The scene at the end of the movie is an open ending for the staff, who will soon unite to get rid of their curse as Chihiro and Haku did.

The last metaphor is Zenniba's quiet place where she lives in harmony with nature, is self-reliant and does not exploit anyone.  She is happy with her work and enjoying her leisured life but is still rich.  Her house might give you an impression that Zenniba is poor, until you see her hand glittering with many jewels...  That is Miyazaki's dream for the working class.

That peaceful place is so far away!  The distance from the Bathhouse - the metaphor for life's flimsy reality - to the Swamp Bottom is an immense gap ...  But Miyazaki showed us that hope is alive:  He enabled Chihiro, Haku, Boh and NoFace to set foot there.  This represents the hope of the young generation who will escape the Bathhouse and create a Swamp Bottom utopia.  That hope has been around since the 1960s, the last century!

So the third meaning that we see from the movie is the multi-dimensional view of the working class: hardworking, united, jealous...  Even though they might not be the ones who will create revolutions but they still keep the fighting spirit of a continuous struggle.  And then… underneath it all is the hope that is placed in the younger generation!