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Author Information

Dylan Gregor

Abstract/Description

In both Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake and Hayao Miyazaki’s film Princess Mononoke, we see the fall of humanity and civilization at the hands of humankind, and through them we are able to assess our present and future circumstances, as well as understand our desperate need for a solution. When looking at Atwood’s novel and Miyazaki’s film and assessing their respective genres and the events that take place within their worlds, each one speaks about our own relationship with nature. Princess Mononoke, from the ecocinema genre, sprinkled with dystopian aspects, portrays our current relationship with the natural world and how our actions are killing it despite it being set in Medieval Japan. The dystopian and apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic genre of Oryx and Crake, with its depiction of advancements in technology and the manipulation of nature, speak to the future of our society and the deteriorating state of the world that we will one day face. Both of these texts use their respective genre to create a sense of urgency and alert in the audience, inspiring and fostering the growing generations of activists.

Note on the Author

Dylan Gregor is a recent graduate who double majored in English and Secondary Education. In Fall 2019, he completed his student-teaching practicum and is pursuing a career as a high school English Language Arts teacher. This essay was written for a seminar taught by Dr. John Kucich (English) in the spring of 2019, examining North American texts and their commentary on ecology.

Rights Statement

Articles published in The Undergraduate Review are the property of the individual contributors and may not be reprinted, reformatted, repurposed or duplicated, without the contributor’s consent.

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