Faculty Sponsor
Jennifer Prough
Streaming Media
College
Christ College
Discipline(s)
Ecology and Theology
ORCID Identifier(s)
0000-0002-5512-3353
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Symposium Date
Spring 4-28-2022
Abstract
Japanese tradition has modeled how humans and nature can coexist in harmony through concepts such as satoyama (the belief in human societies existing on the edges of nature) and Shintoism (the belief in kami or spirits of the natural realm). However, these ideas are traditional as they primarily feature agricultural, low-tech societies that would not be feasible in today’s industrial age. In watching the anime film Princess Mononoke, I believe that the film suggests a new version of this traditional coexistence that is applicable to the modern age through three landscape types as defined by scholars Mumcu and Yilmz. The three landscapes are named responsible, wilderness, and apocalyptic. The film features a protagonist who comes from the town of Emishi (responsible landscape) who becomes entangled in a conflict between the human society of Iron Town (apocalyptic) and the natural world of the forest (wilderness). The ending features the destruction of both societies which then promise to rebuild them in a better way. While the new society is never depicted, I believe that the solution is a modern-day responsible landscape, an adaptation of the responsible landscape described by Mumcu and Yilmz. This new responsible landscape, relying in part on traditional conceptions, would consist of an attitude adjustment on the part of humans to see themselves as equitable to and interconnected with nature. It would also include a reliance on cleaner energy forms, preservation of natural landscapes, and environmental legislation.
Recommended Citation
Pariso, Allison, "How Humans and Nature Can Coexist: The Creation of a Modern Day Responsible Landscape" (2022). Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 1028.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/cus/1028
For Artistic Presentations
I would need someway to present my PowerPoint. Thank you!
Biographical Information about Author(s)
I came up with this project as a result of taking Dean Jennifer Prough’s Anime Ecology Course last semester. In this course we watched a series of anime films which depicted ecological issues and were asked to write a paper about how the film relates to nature in some way. I chose this project as a result of seeing those films and see it as a way to fix the environmental problems plaguing our society. I am a biology and chemistry double major with the hope to go into medicine, but have always been interested in protecting the environment.