Princess Mononoke provides a very literal and fantastical interpretation of human industrial impact on the environment represented by different parties; there are those who are complicit in harmful means of production at the expense of those who have to suffer from environmental degradation. The animal tribes represent those who are affected "downstream" by the actions of human civilization, namely, Lady Eboshi's Iron Town. In terms of conveying environmental representation to an audience, Miyazaki is values pursuing a more vibrant and symbolic approach to appealing to the audience as opposed to valuing realism in the way that Offill does in Weather.

Vulnerable communities who are situated in areas that can be “capitalized off of” or where there exists some precedent where they can be taken advantage of because they do not have the resources to resist or fight back against the oppressor. Slow violence is often to the benefit of those with the influence, resources, and power to profit from exploiting these communities, whether aware of it or not. We can also discuss this in terms of value dualities in the real world; the oppressor typically values profit or efficiency over the lives of those affected downstream.

Those who benefit from these dualisms are those who construct them; rarely will whole groups of people be self-critical of the type of ideologies that they perpetuate. There is a distinction between eco-fascism originating from Neo-Nazi ideologies versus the romantic ideas which led to environmental preservation movements and national landmarks; but both stem from a Eugenics view where the notion of purity motivated many early conservation organizations.

The romantic reversal of the Wilderness ideology takes a less aggressive approach to embody to attain purity, where nature is seen as a divine retreat from the perils of impure urbanization. During the romantic period, only the upper class, who could afford to go out and treat nature as a means to vacation, was able to write and represent nature as an idyllic, picturesque place separate from modern society. This was not a readily accessible perspective that lower classes could have; people who actually worked the land didn't need to view it as a nature separate from themselves. Purity was seen as an untouchable ideal, so far removed from the people who attempt to pursue it.

Human-made dangerous chemicals like DDT affect the world around us and in turn can harm ourselves. Carson notes that one of "the most sinister features of DDT" is the way they are passed on from organism to organism through food chain links; hay with trace amounts of DDT fed to cows result in it turn up in the milk produced in the amount of about 3 parts per million, but in butter made from this milk the concentration may run to 65 parts per million. "Through such a process of transfer, what started out as a very small amount of DDT may end as a heavy concentration..." (Carson 21). Through this chain of events, this demonstrates the way we treat our environment is related to how the environment will treat us; nature and culture are not distinct.

Muir compares natural landforms to temples and divine elaborate manmade structures, alluding to ideas of the sublime and nature as divine: "But no temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life. Some lean back in majestic repose; others, absolutely sheer or nearly so for thousands of feet, advance beyond their companions in thoughtful attitudes, [...] Awful in stern, immovable majesty, how softly these rocks are adorned, and how fine and reassuring the company they keep: their feet among beautiful groves and meadows..." (Muir 1). With the context of the romantic reversal of values between nature and civilization, this exemplifies how nature is valued as a divine retreat as opposed to participating in industrialization at the time. Muir alludes to the Wildness paradigm, emphasizing a duality between nature as solace versus the burdens of human civilization.

The Wilderness paradigm is also perpetuated through missionaries pinning this linguistic nuance as "further evidence of crude manners" (Kimmerer 52). Native Americans were not only perceived as closer to nature, but also as "savages" because their social structures and civilizations do not adhere to those that the missionaries were accustomed to, enforcing the duality of Native Americans immersed in nature versus "modern" human civilization. However, Kimmerer deconstructs this duality in the sense that because language is a tool to mediate relationship with the environment, societal structures are inherently intertwined with the way we represent the world around us.

Kimmerer draws a distinction between the verb-based language of the Potawatomi and the noun-based English language. Attributing animacy or vitality to an aspect of our environment allows us to treat it as another person, worthy of respect and dignity. Referring to a bay as a noun in itself holds different significance compared to a verb that means "to be a bay". Kimmerer describes how the "living water has decided to shelter itself between these shores, conversing with cedar roots and a flock of baby mergansers" (Kimmerer 55). The English language implicitly gives us permission to regard any non-human aspect of the environment as an "it"; devoid of any ability to be or to do anything, whereas the Potawatomi language embeds a sense of human interconnectedness with nature in itself. "Water, land, and even a day, the language [is] a mirror for seeing the animacy of the world", demonstrating how our relationship with nature is formed by cultural experience (Kimmerer 55).

Manavis details attributes of the eco-fascist community and what they believe is the best corrective course of action to save the planet: the elimination of multiculturalism. Manavis notes that ecofascists utilize environmental preservation as a facade to justify violence towards marginalized groups who are deemed a "threat" to overpopulating white bioregions: "Multiculturalism is, of course, a bête noire for eco-fascists. Many argue, like the far-right generally, that opposing multiculturalism is a way to respect a specific heritage. But eco-fascists have a further preoccupation: multiculturalism (and in turn, overpopulation of certain 'white' areas), they claim, is destroying the planet" (9). This demonstrates how eco-fascists follow a cultural narrative where they claim to value purity and preservation against "unnecessary" lives, by eliminating people of other races and ethnicities to preserve one's own. They view purity as something to be achieved through preserving utility, namely, through reducing the human population relying on natural resources to survive. "'Pride for one's race, culture, and bioregion is a crucial part of eco-fascism,' Dan says. 'Races with a culture of disrespect for the dignity of animals and nature are indeed viewed by most as inferior and vile. Who would be okay with such traits?' Dan does not elaborate on which races he was referring to, or how Western European abattoirs and chicken factory farms fitted into this viewpoint" (Manavis 9). Manavis exemplifies how eco-fascists create an "us versus them" duality where they value particular lives over others and take extreme measures to enforce their vision. "'We want our homeland to ourselves,' [Dan] says" (Manavis 9).

Kerr, Dara. "How Memphis became a battleground over Elon Musk’s xAI supercomputer". KUOW, NPR Network, 11 Sept. 2024. https://m.kuow.org/stories/how-memphis-became-a-battleground-over-elon-musk-s-xai-supercomputer.

Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. 2013.

Manavis, Sarah. "Eco-fascism: The Ideology Marrying Environmentalism and White Supremacy Thriving Online". New Stateman, 21 Sept. 2018.

Miyazaki, Hayao. Princess Mononoke. Studio Ghibli, 1997.

Muir, John. The Yosemite. The Century Company, 1912.

Offill, Jenny. Weather. Alfred A. Knopf, 2020.

"Parks Group Responds to New Order Threatening National Monuments". National Parks Conservation Association, 4 Feb. 2025, www.npca.org/articles/6713-parks-group-responds-to-new-order-threatening-national-monuments.

Williams, Terry T. "The Clan of One-Breasted Women." Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place. Vintage Books, 2001.

Ecological authenticity is the idea that the self-absorbed ego gets in the way of true environmental consciousness, which must be attuned to interconnections. This complicates the value dualism between identifying with your individual self as opposed to the collective ecosystem. But there is still a distinction being made: regardless of whether you call this duality your "self" self versus your "ecological" self, this is yet another way of drawing a distinction between “nature” and “civilization”. This may have implications that one's social identity is “less real” than biological identity. Even when attempting to deconstruct a value dualism or system, we need to acknowledge the presence of some value structure.

Offill uses bits and pieces of diverse media external to Lizzie's experience to construct the world around her and understand other people's insights about how they experience climate anxiety. One person writes in fervor: "Some Jews saw walls being built around the ghetto and thought they still had time. Don't be fooled by everyone else's calm. Get out even when nobody is even considering it yet. When you look at 2060, southern Argentina might be a good place for your children since it's close to the Antarctic peninsula, the place where the survivor colonies will be built" (Offill 88). This reflects a sense of dread and precarity that people are harboring in response to the rise of climate change awareness. Dispersing media throughout the main story circles back to the idea of aggregation, where bits and pieces of diverse experiences are pooled together in one, centralized in one place. This strategy of structurally aggregating different media helps to connect common themes while acknowledging the breadth and diversity of experiences with climate change.