Spirited Away & The Limits of Perception

Spirited Away is another superb movie to view. If you like a little imaginative world-building, beautiful depictions of nature and philosophical inquiry, I recommend this entirely. When I first watched this, I thought I knew everything about the world. But as I got older and found out more about life, I realised how little I knew! I still know so little and learning more and more each day is completely entrancing.

This brings me to today’s topic: the limits of perception. Spirited Away is one of those movies that is transcending. A different dimension is born, one that feels familiar as a child and takes us to our child-like imagination that we once had. This movie reignites the creative sparks that were lost as society intercepts.???

Defining Self-Perception

The American Psychological Association (2020) defines it as the “process of how individuals come to understand and interpret their own thoughts, feelings and behaviours. The concept of self-perception has always been interesting to me and it is a curious idea - one of those ideas where if you think about it too much it can? get a little strange. However it is something that is constantly arising throughout life. How and what we perceive is everything to us. Literally, our whole world view.?

Relation To The Movie: Spirited Away (2001)

At the beginning of Spirited Away, we are greeted with a girl who is naive and knows little about the universe that beholds her. She enters the spirit world, confronted with magical creatures and otherworldly events that she struggles to comprehend. How we are raised and what we consume affects our outlook on life. It becomes more and more fixed and it is difficult to distinguish circumstances outside of this understanding. With no experience, we are much less likely to be empathetic towards a situation or person. But can we expect people to see it from others’ perspective because wouldn’t that be hypocritical too? When listening to a point of view, we hear it from their personal experiences and biases, and we evaluate within the limits of our own understanding.?

The girl, Chihiro, must learn to accept a new reality she is given and learn to see beyond the physical world that she knows of. Our perceptions are limited by our personal experiences and cultural conditioning. Chihiro initially finds difficulty in understanding a new language from the spirits, but she is able to learn and communicate better over time. This suggests that our perceptions are shaped by experiences, we can expand our knowledge of the world through exposure to these new experiences. We must challenge our perspectives to be able to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and others.?

Inquisition...

Furthermore, questioning initial perceptions of others is key to our personal development and to improve discernment. For example, there is a character called No-Face, a mysterious and shape-shifting spirit that appears harmless but later is discovered as a destructive and devious entity. Therefore, Chihiro’s perception of No-Face changes and shifts throughout the film as she learns more about his true nature and motivations. Much like people we first meet in our daily lives, we can be too trusting of another’s nature, when in reality we must learn to be cautious sometimes, to protect our peace. Therefore, it is essential to question our initial perceptions of others and recognise that our understanding of them may be limited.?

Through questioning and contemplating our outlook and biases, we can gain an expanded understanding of the Earth that we - little spectacles - inhabit, as well as appreciate on a deeper level of complexity and beauty.?

Psychology of Self-Perception (Some Sexy Science!)

The Self-Concept

The self-concept theory suggests that individuals have a mental model of themselves that consists of their beliefs, values, and attitudes. This mental model is shaped by experiences, interactions with others and it influences how individuals perceive and interpret events in their lives (D.J. Bem, 1972). In conclusion, we create a self-concept, to the way in which we view ourselves and our worlds. Swann (1983) argues that we are more likely to perceive and interpret events in ways that are consistent with our self-concepts. For example, if an individual sees themselves as competent and successful, they are more likely to interpret events as evidence of their competence and success. This also promotes more optimism and positivity, where situations that can seem awful on the surface, are able to be seen as positive in the end. However, this can also lead to discounting evidence for a need to change.?

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

The self-concept theory is similar to the self-fulfilling prophecy phenomenon. This is where an individual’s expectations about themselves or others can influence their behaviour in ways that can confirm those expectations (Merton, 1948). I admit my fair share of negative self-fulfilling prophecies. It is important to actively go against what your brain may say about you, and this is why positive affirmations and manifestations have become increasingly popular. I agree with them! They are fantastic. You are what you repeat to yourself.?

Self-Esteem

Another aspect of self-perception is self-esteem, which refers to an individual's overall evaluation of their self-worth (Rosenberg, 1965). Research has shown that individuals with higher self-esteem tend to have more positive self-perceptions and are more resilient in the face of setbacks and failures (Baumeister et al., 2003). Conversely, individuals with lower self-esteem may be more likely to have negative self-perceptions and may be more susceptible to depression and anxiety.

Hey! Thank you so much for reading until the end, it means a lot!

My goal for these blogs is to capture and explain sociological concepts in a simple, concise way — igniting a desire to reflect. My hope is to create a wholesome community for open-minded and curious individuals, where we can share ideas and points of view on various topics. I hope that this post can make you reflect on your own perceptions of the life around you, and to acknowledge that this is my perception on the concept of perception! :)