Spirited Away - Why Work Is Toxic

Hidden in the fantastic otherwordly narrative of Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away is an allegory about society’s toxic obsession with work. The Studio Ghibli classic was released in 2001 and commented on Japan’s losing its soul to capitalism in the context of the country’s “lost decade.” Yet the film is eerily relevant to our contemporary idea of hustle culture. While Chihiro may think her liberation comes from 24/7 hustling, in fact this is what keeps her down. It’s something more intangible and more spiritual that provides her freedom. Here’s our Take on how Spirited Away pulls the mask off living to work, and shows us the need for another dimension to life.

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[kaitlyn__L]

I understand such an essay can’t cover every aspect, but I think there was a missed opportunity to discuss Baba’s twin sister, who lived a simple life out in the countryside and was a much nicer person for it. She literally represented how wealth corrupts, since she was identical to her sister to begin with.

[kaylynnanson]

I feel like Spirit Away was telling the audience that we should work for personal fulfillment and growth, not for wealth, which is empty. Hence why the gold the workers accumulated from No Face turned into dirt later on. When our work is meaningful, we will feel better about ourselves and what we do. Working ourselves to exhaustion is just a highway to early death and misery.

[milo_thatch_incarnate]

I think the saddest, most tragic part of this whole movie is when Lin says “I’ve got to get out of here. Someday I’m getting on that train.“
It’s the “someday” that gets me. If you don’t actually make plans for it… If you don’t actually bite the bullet and radically flip your life on its head, “someday” slips silently, unnoticed, right into “I never did it“.
And that is so, so, tragically common among BILLIONS of people out there. Everyone has a “someday I’m getting on that train“. It’s one of the biggest tragedies there is.

[garethgriffiths]

The toxic introduction to your new job: " Here we are like one big family."

[nexuscross]

"MAN"

"Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present;
The result being that he does not live in the present or the future;
He lives as if he is never going to die, a then dies having never lived."

-The 14th Dalai Lama

[konraddygudaj]

"Staying In This Room Is What Will Make You Sick!" Spirited Away

[siansteinbergevans]

I rewatched Kiki’s Delivery Service and it was one of the saddest portraits of how draining and brutal the service Industry is. Kiki lives away from home at 13 to begin her witch training, but there’s no magic training she just starts working, and she makes her job the one things she enjoys: flying her broom. And the work literally makes her so depressed, it’s a thankless job, she has no time for a social life, and she’s losses her belief in herself and so losses her powers. It’s only then that she has to take a break, and all is well. That film is a cautionary tale for why turning a beloved talent or hobby into your job ruins its fun/enjoyment.

[derrick.t]

The part where you talk about Chihiro and child labor, that part always effs me up, because in society in general, the unprecedented pressure upon children to dedicate their time and lives to getting well-paying jobs is abhorrent. We don't even teach children how to take care of themselves anymore. How to do taxes, budget their money, take care of their mental health, spot unhealthy/toxic relationships, safely navigate the internet, etc. We just focus near exclusively on dedicating ones life to nothing but work from an early age.

[michaellauritano]

While I agree that toxic work culture is a real problem, I don’t think Spirited Away is anti-work. It’s definitely anti-capitalist, but we as an audience are definitely supposed to value Chihiro’s perseverance through work. Every time that she engages in work, she is rewarded with good will. Even Yubaba’s baby takes on a bit of physical labor (in mouse form) to make Chihiro a gift. And as many others in this comment section have pointed out, Studio Ghibli insanely overworks its employees! Kiki feels like a more natural fit for this take

[pilouuuu]

Work is toxic when it's meaningless, menial, and when you don't see the results.

Sadly most people in this society think that taking time to smell the roses is being lazy.

[ontaka]

The irony is that Hayao Miyazaki is a workaholic and the employees working under him were expected the same. Although constantly working overtime is quite normal in Japan, the anime industry is extreme even by Japanese standards. However, Studio Ghibli may be less extreme because they mainly produce feature films instead of weekly TV series, where you would get constantly crushed by the deadline.

[jesustyronechrist]

I gotta use the generic proverb:

"We don't live to work. We work to live"

[Igorcastrochucre]

The scene where No Face offers her gold in front of the other workers and she looks at it, denies it and runs away stuck with me. So much could be read from that, she is humble, she does not care for money, he is trying to help but making everything worse.

[lordfreerealestate]

My parents placed these expectations when I was a young kid. "Not working makes you lazy", "depression and anxiety is just laziness", etc. Now I know it is okay to rest.

[asterinez]

“flying used to be fun until I started doing it for a living” this sentence from kikis delivery service will forever stick with me, if you don’t take care and turn a hobby into work, ur passion will eventually die…

[Space_Ghost_Hunter]

I always saw No Face as a symbol for our ego, how he desperately just wants to be noticed and accepted, giving gold away, but with an insatiable appetite and once placed in an environment of hedonism goes absolutely mad and becomes a monster, but once he's taken away, and more importantly, given a job to do and focus on, he becomes calm and useful. Something to be learned in that.

[Apricot]

I once tried to follow this hustle culture and it made me sick to death.. Now I have a chronic autoimmune condition and my life span is shortened.. thank you society

[sheilawidjaja]

When I was a kid, I used to dream of becoming a doctor or an astronaut, etc. Now, I just dream of making passive incomes so that I can be free!

[GIRRIG]

My take away from Spirited Away was NOT about the "hustle". It was about life lessons.
The protagonist learns to be resolute, resourceful and learns how to navigate dangerous situations by facing her problems head on, not shying away from them.
At first she was scared to approach any character or travelling alone.
Near the end of the movie she's fully independent and does what needs to be done for her friends and family.

The last lines in the movie were the most poignant for me, as her mother remarks on how scary it can be going to a new school and making new friends, and Chihiro responds saying she'll be okay.

[catherinecao]

Lin said that cleaning the big tub is “frog’s work.” Certain jobs are important, even vital to a business, but those jobs, and the workers who do them, are looked down on.