In Miyazaki Hayao's animated film, Spirited Away, Miyazaki features a young girl Chihiro visiting a park abandoned entertainment, only to become trapped in a fantasy world where spirits reside. Although most of these creatures are very unique and quite different from others, most of them have one thing in common: their body features are very disproportionate to their body size. This uncanny resemblance depicted by Miyazaki evokes strong feelings of fear and appreciation in the viewer in particular. While many characters have a menacing and eerie ghost-like appearance, they still have large eyes, bubble-shaped bodies, and make little to no noise. These three characteristics underline the helplessness, the sweetness, of these creatures. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. The characters' creepy exterior, however, quickly begins to clash more noticeably with their likable defining factors. In one particular early scene, Chihiro encounters a radish spirit: a large, round creature whose bodily shape resembles a radish. At first, the creature is threatening to the viewer, as it is large compared to most of the characters and its appearance is foreign and bizarre. But even though the spirit seems frightening, Chihiro remains around him briefly and the viewer is invited to observe his figure further. At that point, the roundness of the radish spirit's figure becomes more evident, and the viewer is led to see him as not only more menacing, but also cute. But cute objects are generally seen as attractive, while something threatening is generally seen as repellent. This raises the question: how can a creature be seen as scary and threatening yet cute at the same time? Furthermore, why does Miyazaki apply these opposite connotations to the radish spirit and also to other characters in Spirited Away? This tension between cuteness and menace can help us illuminate a dark but profound relationship between Miyazaki's film and consumer culture. The definition of “cuteness,” as defined by Sianne Ngai in her journal article “The Cuteness of the Avant-Garde,” is that “cuteness” comes from our instinctive desire to handle or have control over other objects (Ngai 816) . This is evident in the way people treat newborns or children who still have childish features, for example: a round face or puffy cheeks. Often, you can see people pulling children's cheeks, turning them at their disposal and meanwhile calling the children "cute". Furthermore, figures that appear “shapeless” and malleable, without many distinguishing features, are seen as cute, as they can easily be shaped to one's liking. Ngai calls these characteristics the factors that define cuteness. These factors demonstrate why the radish spirit in Spirited Away appeared cute despite his strange appearance; he was very round, had indistinct facial features, and looked like he could be easily transformed and manipulated. But these factors don't answer the question of how the radish spirit and many other characters in the film can be seen as scary and cute at the same time. Although Ngai's definition of cuteness is applicable to many cases, it is important to remember that the radish spirit in Spirited Away appeared both scary and cute at the same time. Ngai argues that just as there are defining characteristics thecharacteristics of cuteness, there are also characteristics that are completely contradictory to cuteness. He gives the example of glamour, which is always seen as something edgy and untouchable. Models are beautiful and pleasant to look at, but people generally feel helpless in the face of such perfection. But on the other hand, objects that look cute seem to be able to be easily controlled, as stated above. Because of this direct contradiction, Ngai states that if cuteness (or weakness) were ever imposed on any type of model, it would “immediately break the Schein of glamour” (816). Furthermore, Ngai defines cuteness as something that is “subjectively imposed” (816). But in the case of glamour, it is a menacing realm that cannot be violated by those below. And therefore, sweetness cannot be imposed in the realm of glamour. The fear of a strange, hideous creature is the same fear that places glamor in a realm of its own, above ordinary people. So if glamor can't be associated with sweetness, why can radish spirit be considered cute? We can answer this question by delving deeper into Ngai's article, particularly in the sections that discuss Japanese culture, as Sprittied Away is primarily based on Miyazaki's Japanese background. At one point in the middle of the article, Ngai states that the word “kawaii” is used in Japanese culture to embody sweetness, but has “a sonic closeness to kowai, meaning 'scary'…” (822). This similarity should not be considered a coincidence, since it is highly probable that these two words derive from one; this similarity could imply that Japanese culture associates sweetness with fear or threat. So, it makes sense that Miyazaki would combine cuteness with menace in many characters in Spirited Away. For further evidence of the connection between cuteness and threat, we can look to Ngai's opposition to the idea that "cuteness traditionally involves an absolute lack of anything threatening..." (823). Ngai states that because observers see cute objects as easily controlled, a violent desire for control is "always implicit in our [recognition of a] cute object..." (823). And this violence that observers direct towards cute objects affects the observer, creating an appearance of aggression or threat. Therefore, as Ngai states, “it is possible for cute objects to be both helpless and aggressive” (823). Looking at the tension between sweetness and menace in Spirited Away through the lens of Ngai's paradoxical definition, we can see that purity and corruption in consumer culture are represented in the film; this is essential to recognize Miyazaki's underlying caution towards economies based on greed. We can therefore see that Japanese culture presents a relationship in which cuteness can very well be associated with threat; however, why does Miyazaki use this unusual tension in the film? We can find an answer to this question in one of the film's main characters, No-Face: a tall, ghostly spirit who is alternately described as cute and menacing throughout the film. In No-Face's first interaction with Chihiro, he has a neutrality between menace and sweetness. He has a dark, looming figure that appears menacing due to his resemblance to a ghost, but on the other hand he has many of the defining characteristics of Ngai cuteness: the lack of definition on his face and the awkward grunts he makes when communicating. . This combination leaves Faceless balanced between menace and sweetness, but this balance changes drastically depending on the results of his "economic transactions" with other characters. For example, when he offers a.