Environmental Themes in Miyazaki's Films
Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most successful and influential animators and filmmakers in the film industry. His fame stems from his ability to bring his characters to life and provide his audience with an emotional narrative. Miyazaki is also able to explore and bring forth complex issues through his animated films which he uses to teach his audience. While his primary audience is children, his reach also extends to even that of adults. One recurring them within Miyazaki’s work is environmentalism or the effect we humans have on our environment. in many of his films, Miyazaki places a great emphasis on our need as humans to be able to coexist with nature, and preserve this world that we live in. This essay will explore 3 of Miyazaki’s most popular movies and analyze how he uses each of them to convey his message in regards to preserving nature. Through Nausicaa of the Valley of the wind, we will explore how Miyazaki depicts the imbalance between nature and humans and the need for coexistence between the two. Miyazaki expresses his beliefs in regards to the clash between society and nature, industrialism, and preservation in Princess Mononoke. Finally, in what is widely considered Miyazaki’s most famous film, Spirited Away, we will explore how he addresses issues of over pollution and societal development at the expense of the environment.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the wind illustrates an uninhabitable environment where the world had become a toxic wasteland. Humans have been forced to scatter into different areas that are somewhat hospitable. Princess Nausicaa, the film’s protagonist makes efforts to bring back peace to the chaos ridden world she lives in. Miyazaki uses his depiction of a poisonous jungle where the toxins have created many different giant insects referred to as Ohmu, that ferociously attack humans, to demonstrate an exaggerated yet possible future, where humans live in a land of such destructive force. This Irony is a parallel between how humans now behave, with gluttony and constantly disrespecting nature, however, in Miyazaki’s depiction of the future, the roles are reversed and it is humans, who are forced into survival due to the hostility of the land they inhabit. Miyazaki’s illustration of Princess Nausicaa is the hope of coexistence between humans and nature. She is the representation of the desire of the human population for change in regard to the environment. At several points in the film, Princess Nausicaa can be seen taking a pacifist stance towards the problem that she faces, a common theme among Miyazaki’s films. In a scene wherein an Ohmu attempts to attack a village, Nausicaa opts to attempt to calm it down (in which she succeeds) using a bullroarer, rather than retaliating and killing the insect. This scene in particular, maybe a lesson that Miyazaki wants his audience to heed, that it is possible to survive in our environment without destroying it but rather coexisting, with the other living beings within it. Mayumi, Solomon, and Chang, state that Miyazaki’s illustration of nature and its ability to give back to society might reflect his stance that humans need to be more courteous with regard to nature. The film also demonstrates that Princess Nausicaa’s efforts never went to waste or were without value. In a scene wherein Princess Nausicaa is injured by an Ohmu she is able to calm down, the Ohmu the injured her is also the one that resuscitates her, once again demonstrating Miyazaki’s belief in the ability of nature to give back. Princess Nausicaa in this film is used as a symbol of peace within a world anything but peaceful. Through her, Miyazaki teaches his audience that a mutually beneficial relationship between humans and nature needs to be forged, in order to attain sustainability.
Princess Mononoke’s setting is one in where nature is represented by creatures inhabiting a forest that humans lay waste to, in order to harvest the iron within it. This poses an important question to its audience in regards to peoples’ greed and the negative impacts humans have on nature as they continue to compete for the limited resources of this world. In this film, Miyazaki uses Lady Eboshi, the primary antagonist, and her iron town to mirror reality and cause the audience to reflect upon their own actions and how they use up resources. While Lady Eboshi does everything to benefit her people, she is ignorant of the effects her actions have on the forest. In this film, Miyazaki uses symbolism and embedded subliminal environmental messages in order to communicate to his audience his overall message. For Example, Prince Ashitaka, the primary protagonist, receives injuries and a curse inflicted to him by Nago, a “Tatari Gami” in Japanese which translates to “Cursed God.” Nago, originally the Boar God and leader of the Boar tribe, turned into a malevolent spirit after he is shot by Lady Eboshi. This curse inflicted on Prince Ashitaka is what leads him to set out on his journey in search for a cure. This demonstrates the effect of automation on nature and how this has reflected onto and has begun to also affect humans, which could ultimately lead to the destruction of the human race.
Miyazaki also tries to educate the audience once again about the importance of a balance between humans and nature, through the angle of the romance between Prince Ashitaka and Princess Mononoke. Prince Ashitaka comes from the civilization that has been causing the destruction of nature and Princess Mononoke, raised in the forest, with wolf spirits, fighting to protect it. Princess Mononoke is the representation of nature, while Prince Ashitaka falling in love with her is a representation of his admiration for nature, leading to his crusade to find a peaceful balance between nature (Princess Mononoke) and Humans (Prince Ashitaka).
Industrialization has brought about many different positive outcomes for the human race. However, one major issue that has come about as a result of industrialization is rapid pollution. Through one of Miyazaki’s most successful films “Spirited Away,” he illustrates the widespread pollution, that was brought about as a result of by greed and gluttony with no regard for our environment. Miyazaki utilizes the protagonist, Chihiro, to take his audience on a journey of self-recognition and development, in a fantastical world of Witches, A Bathhouse, and “Kami.” Miyazaki uses the bathhouse and the “Kami,” who visit it to be cleansed as a way to demonstrate the negative effects pollution has had on our environment. In one scene, Chihiro is instructed by the owner of the Bathhouse Yubaba, to clean a stink spirit. A foul creature that as its name implies, stunk up the hole Bathhouse. With Chihiro’s efforts, the stink spirit is revealed to actually be a river spirit that has been heavily polluted by humans. Chihiro’s actions in this scene help to demonstrate, that while humans are the cause of this pollution, it is also humans who can reverse these effects and take steps towards cleaning the environment just as Chihiro did.
Through Haku, another character in this film, Miyazaki demonstrates how industrialization has affected nature. Haku was once a river spirit residing in the Kohaku River (Haku short for Kohaku). However, due to housing projects in the area, it ultimately led to the Kohaku being covered up to make space for the development of housing, and causing Haku to forget his true identity, and lose his memories. Miyazaki uses Haku as a metaphor, that in humanity’s effort to develop as a society, we have lost our sense of identity, and what and where we came from, we are too busy focusing on what happens in the future that we forget to reflect on the past and even live in the present. Furthermore, Haku is a representation of how human advancement has often come at the expense of nature and the environment.
Hayao Miyazaki has used his films and animations not only to entertain his audience but also to spread his message about conservation to not only children but also adults, this is one of the primary reasons that he has seen much success in not only the Japanese market but all over the world. He emphasizes Humanity’s need to acknowledge and coexist with nature in order to develop and grow not only in the mind but also in the soul. His films demonstrate exaggerated yet possible futures in an entertaining manner which has helped him to reach a wider audience and do his part in spreading the word about conservation and preserving the environment.
