“Miraculous Ladybug” and the Power of Spiritual Resonance
Spiritual resonance: the ability of fiction to portray abstract spiritual concepts in dramatic, concrete, and visual ways.
Confession time.
One of my favorite TV shows is Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir:
My wife and I even got a Miraculous Ladybug chocolate advent calendar one December:
“What?” you ask. “Isn’t Miraculous Ladybug a kid’s show intended mainly for middle-school girls?”
Yes, yes it is. (Turns out that most of my favorite TV shows are for kids: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Phineas and Ferb, Dwight in Shining Armor, Bluey . . .).
So why do I love the show?
It might have to do with the show’s compelling premise (the love square that’s not actually a love square, the tension around secret identities, the quirky variety of villains and their powers).
But I think something more is going on. For me, Miraculous Ladybug has spiritual resonance.
“Spiritual resonance” is a term I coined to describe when a work of speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, supernatural, etc.) is able to vividly and dramatically represent ideas or concepts that have parallels in people’s real spiritual beliefs. These elements of the fictional work then resonate with those people in a way that sharpens and informs their beliefs.
Spiritual resonance can be done intentionally. (C. S. Lewis obviously was intentional with lacing The Chronicles of Narnia with characters, imagery, and stories that would spiritually resonate with Christian theology.) But it can also be unintentional. Different readers from different spiritual traditions might resonate with themes and ideas never intended by the author. That, I believe, is part of the magical power of well-written fiction.
Miraculous Ladybug is an excellent example of spiritual resonance in action.
Here’s the basic premise of the TV show:
The villain, Hawk Moth, spends most of the show hiding unseen in his lair. But he is able to sense the negative emotions of people in Paris.
When Hawkmoth senses a particularly powerful negative emotion, he releases a dark butterfly (an “akuma”) that infects the person with that emotion. He then telepathically promises that person the power to get revenge, justice, etc., in exchange for serving him.
Once the victim agrees, they are then “akumatized” into a superpowered villain, which the protagonists (Ladybug and Cat Noir) need to fight. But their goal isn’t to kill the villain. They must find whatever object contains the akuma, release it, and “de-evilize” it using Ladybug’s magical powers.
Once the akuma is defeated, the monster reverts back to a person, who has no memory of the event—and, typically, is able to completely move on from the negative emotions that started the debacle in the first place.
Each episode typically ends with Hawkmoth’s victim of the day staring in confusion at the heroes’ celebratory fist bump.
The premise of this show—probably unintentionally—powerfully resonates with elements of my spiritual worldview (which is informed by my personal experiences and the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints):
I believe there is a figure in opposition to God—Satan (or the Devil)—who has legions of evil spirits on his side. These spirits hide unseen from us, but are able to sense our emotional state.
When we give in to powerful negative emotions (anger, fear, stress, hate), we open the door to be influenced by these spirits. They can infect us, clouding our judgment, amplifying our negative emotions, bringing out the worst versions of ourselves. In some cases their influence can be completely debilitating or can completely change our personality.
When we recognize that we or someone close to us is being influenced by evil spirits, our goal must be not to defeat the person or even the behavior, but to purge and cast out the darkness within them. There are many ways to attempt this obliquely (meditate, go on a walk, go to bed, take a breather), but the surest path that I have found is to call on the power of Jesus Christ: because Christ has the power to “de-evilize”—instantly and completely!
Once we eliminate the negative emotions in a situation . . . the situation usually resolves itself. I have experienced time and time again that through the power of Christ, I can be forgiven, I can be healed, I can be cleansed, and I can move on with my day.
This is why I resonate with the show. It provides a vivid, concrete illustration of spiritual realities that, though deeply compelling for me, are also very abstract. I’ve never actually seen an evil spirit (thank goodness). Everything in my worldview described above is invisible to the naked eye. And because of that invisibility, these concepts are easy to forget, downplay, or ignore (to our detriment).
But there is power in visualization, and what Miraculous Ladybug offers me is a way to visualize—and therefore have more power to win—my battles with my personal demons.
Spiritual Resonance in Action
You may have noticed that I failed to release a chapter this week.
This was a hard week.
I have had periodic struggles in my life with stress, anxiety, and depression—usually resulting from feeling trapped by the pressures of all my obligations, duties, and to-dos. This was one of those weeks. Normally, editing and releasing each week’s chapter is something I look forward to. But this week it loomed like an impossible task . . . along with tasks for my two part-time jobs, as well as to-dos for my ecclesiastical calling, along with my responsibilities as a dad and a provider . . . .
As the week progressed, I fell farther and farther behind, and deeper and deeper into a place of fear, pessimism, and self-sabotage.
I had been akumatized.
But there are real-life superheroes! One of them is my mom, who is also my spiritual and emotional counselor. We had an hour-and-45-minute phone call this morning where she helped me visualize angels around me and Jesus with me, “de-evilizing” all the negativity that had built up inside me and casting out the dark spirits that had been affecting me.
There’s still much more I need to work through, and no magical ladybugs cleared out my email inbox and edited my chapter for me (gee, that would have been nice), but I was changed! The cloud of gloom was dispersed! I was able to function!
To quote the Miraculous theme song:
“Miraculous! Simply the best! Up to the test when things go wrong! Miraculous, the luckiest! The power of love [and God] always so strong! Miraculous!”
Spiritual Resonance in My Books
One of my primary goals as an author is to write stories that spiritually resonate with a Judeo-Christian worldview.
That’s why The Pyromancer’s Scroll has elements such as angels, demons, an afterlife, anointing, prayer, miraculous healings, and portentous dreams—all with the hope that you, my reader, can visualize and more deeply engage with the unseen spiritual realities all around us.
Thank you for joining me on this quest to write clean, compelling, spiritually resonant fantasy!
What is a book, movie, play, or video game that has spiritual resonance for you? I’d love to hear it in a comment or reply!
I definitely agree with this. Sometimes stories just resonate on a spiritual level, even if it isn't meant to!