The Need for Action: Understanding the Environmental Warnings in Princess Mononoke and Oryx and Crake

Added by: Tara Huisman

Abstract

In both Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake and Hayao Miyazaki’s film Princess Mononoke, we see the fall of humanity and civilization at the hands of humankind, and through them we are able to assess our present and future circumstances, as well as understand our desperate need for a solution. When looking at Atwood’s novel and Miyazaki’s film and assessing their respective genres and the events that take place within their worlds, each one speaks about our own relationship with nature. Princess Mononoke, from the ecocinema genre, sprinkled with dystopian aspects, portrays our current relationship with the natural world and how our actions are killing it despite it being set in Medieval Japan. The dystopian and apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic genre of Oryx and Crake, with its depiction of advancements in technology and the manipulation of nature, speak to the future of our society and the deteriorating state of the world that we will one day face. Both of these texts use their respective genre to create a sense of urgency and alert in the audience, inspiring and fostering the growing generations of activists.

Written by Dylan Gregor


Gregor. 2020. The Need for Action: Understanding the Environmental Warnings in Princess Mononoke and Oryx and Crake