Why Kiki’s Delivery Service is important for flailing 20-somethings like myself and why this movie makes me cry happy tears:
-Kiki goes out into the world and realizes how bad some people can be, but she still tries to do good -She knows she’s wants to be a helpful witch but she doesn’t really know what to do with her witchy powers -She literally loses her powers after becoming very depressed with this knowledge and feeling like she’s not a good enough person or a good enough witch -She realizes that she may not be doing anything “great” or “cool” like other witches but she’s actually really successful because she uses her powers to help people and start her own small business -Miyazaki is trying to show us that because Kiki is kind and helpful and stays true to herself then that is what makes her incredibly successful -Sometimes we need reminders in our life that we can be successful in many ways
A witch puts a spell on a girl, a sleeping spell that promises the girl shall wake through true love’s kiss. Men come and kiss her. She slumbers. Women come and press their lips to hers, but still she sleeps. Many years past, and the girl remains still. One bright morning, a lost little boy finds her resting spot and clears the dust and grime from her face. He offers her a kiss on her forehead, and her eyes flutter open. She never feels romantic love for a man nor a woman, and she cares for the boy until the day she dies.
A young woman is imprisoned in a castle by a monstrously formed prince. The servants of the castle hope for them to fall in love, and when the spell is broken they assume their prayers have been answered. They are all surprised, but nonetheless pleased, when it is revealed to them that the young woman and prince are the truest of friends, and nothing more.
They say the kingdom is ruled by an evil queen, a woman who is incapable of loving. She is unmarried, she has no consorts, and she wishes for no partner. She is the wretched queen, the heartless queen. She must hate her daughter, for her daughter is beautiful, and women are incapable of liking another woman who’s prettier than themselves. It must be for this reason that the princess was sent away, not for how she was attacked by a man in the woods. They say the kingdom is ruled by an evil queen because she cannot love. The queen loves her daughter, and that is enough for them both.
There lives a prince who is forced to choose a bride at the ball. He meets many beautiful women, but find none which he loves. He spies one in a gorgeous gown and wonder in her eyes, and he dances with her all night long. The kingdom is sure he has found his bride. When the clock strikes midnight he tells her how he will never love a woman, or a man, in the way he is expected to. The beautiful woman smiles and tells him she expects nothing from him. The next morning the prince and the beautiful woman are missing, having run off together to see the world. They leave their shoes behind in their haste.
Many kinds of love exist. It doesn’t all have to be romantic.
Teaching was always my dream job. I love the deep caverns of human knowledge; the high mountains of opportunity in any classroom with any one student—my optimism fueled by what i unearthed each day. But when i would hear the reports from the boss’s boss’s bosses, i started to feel like i was working for a company that was only interested in a certain type of inexpensive gravel for roads. I also felt the jewels and minerals revealed by my teaching were far more valuable than pebbles smashed down to serve people that could afford cars. I loved these little gems and encouraged Their uniqueness in the haul anyways as best as i could. I worked on loving my work and for a while felt i was visible in the place that my People and Our children needed most.
