Girls in the Ecological Crisis: Studio Ghibli and Ecofeminism

The paper analyses select Studio Ghibli films through the critical lens of ecofeminism, which is based on a critique of the interconnected mechanisms of devaluating women and nature. In its ecoanimations, Studio Ghibli presents models of a more peaceful coexistence of humanity and nature based on solidarity instead of exploitation. They centre on young women who defy traditional gender roles and, at the same time, have a special way of relating to nature; opposing them are female antagonists who embody the most destructive aspects of human civilisation. In these dehierarchised representations of the relations between the sexes as well as between human and non-human nature, the author notes echoes and reversals of ecofeminist theses.

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Girls in the Ecological Crisis: Studio Ghibli and Ecofeminism