No Face: Disconnection and Consumption
One of the most distinct spirits in Miyazaki’s Spirited Away is No Face, a disappearing black form wearing a Noh mask. Through Sen’s engagement with the spirit, and other characters in the movie, there is a detailed conversation around consumption, food, connection and disconnection. In this essay, we explore these dynamics in Spirited Away primarily through the character No Face.
Shadow Texts and the Ancient Magus’ Bride
This month's essay covers an aspect of pop culture and mythology that we don't talk about as often: the way that myths are sometimes used in popular culture in their storytelling. We talk about how mythology is used as a form of exoticisation in some narratives. But we also talk about how some narratives, like the Ancient Magus's Bride, use mythology as a shadow text which provides focus and legitimisation to the story.
Baccano and the Art of Nonlinear Storytelling
The interesting thing about Baccano is it's use of storytelling as an art itself. Baccano utilises non-linear storytelling to tell a complicated tale of a huge array of characters. While the characters are simplistic, the simplicity is part of the necessary exploration of storytelling in ways that are innately familiar to the viewer, calling on simplistic natures of folklore and myth to build archetypes which are both familiar and special.