Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, a film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, paints a visually stunning image of a post-apocalyptic world in which most of nature was destroyed by humans. It is revealed that it was the soil that became toxic from the devastation, poisoning and mutating the plants of the immense Toxic Jungle, which is a manifestation of the consequences of human actions on the environment.
“Nausicaä, the protagonist, is the princess of a kingdom in the Valley, which has so far escaped destruction because of a strong wind that perpetually keeps the village free from toxic penetration,” Phacharawan Boonpromkul says. One of the scenes that is most dazzling, and also makes a pertinent note in the film, is when we are shown Nausicaä’s plant room, or greenhouse if you will, full of non-mutated jungle plants. She found that if the jungle plants are grown in healthy soil with clean water, they grow in a stabilized fashion.
In our own world, of all things abstract and related to nature, soil is one of the most feminine aspects to me, because its job is to nurture plants into great health, which in turn, sustains the world as the first link in the vast and biodiverse food web. Just like all women nurture and sustain the world and those who reside here. “Ecofeminists argue that dealing with practical environmental problems is both an ecological and a feminist task because the uses and abuses of the environment that have led to what they see as the potentially catastrophic present are largely due to a patriarchal environmental ethic that has conceptualized land as ‘woman,’” Gretchen T Legler says. Mother Earth, if you will.
Nausicaä herself embodies unity between a connection to the ecological world and strength in femininity by being a compassionate and unassailable force, exhibiting an immense amount of perseverance, bravery and leadership. Her approach to leadership emphasizes empathy, cooperation, and ecological consciousness, a stark departure from the patriarchal leadership often seen in post-apocalyptic narratives.
Nausicaä’s strength does not come from domination, but from nurturing and fostering harmony with the natural world. Instead of viewing nature as an object to be dominated, she embraces a profound understanding and reverence for the Toxic Jungle, recognizing its intrinsic value and interconnectivity with all life.
For instance, Nausicaä’s deep connection with nature is her bond with the Ohmu, the giant insects of the Toxic Jungle. Usually, fear is what is felt toward the Ohmu, however, Nausicaä’s willingness to understand them and establish a connection shows that humans are not more important than nature. Through bonding with them, she discovers that the Ohmu are not mindless monsters, but rather, are beings capable of deep emotions and complex interactions. This realization incites her into calling for a respectful and equal relationship with the non-human world.
The Toxic Jungle is dynamic and ever-changing. It gives the impression that the environment is a speaking, sentient being of sorts. The Jungle’s ability to communicate and react to human actions depicts nature as its own entity in the story of the world. Nausicaä’s journey to understand the language of the Toxic Jungle speaks to the significance of considering nature as being that has agency over itself and should not be at the will of humans.
The film has both ecological literary criticism and ecofeminist ideals and asks us to reflect on our role in preserving the environment as stewards of the land. The film portrays a symbiotic relationship between humans and nature, as well as challenging traditional gender roles/norms and emphasizing interconnectedness between the natural world and humans.
“Ecofeminists suggest that reimagining what nature is and what kinds of relationships can exist between humans and the nonhuman world is part of the elimination of institutionalized oppression on the basis of gender, race, class, and sexual preference and part of what may aid in changing abusive environmental practices,” Gretchen T Legler says.
Ruby Cayenne 