Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Volume 7 by Hayao Miyazaki
The story ends as Nausicaa travels with the God Warrior, a weapon designed for destruction that also has some sentience, to the Crypt of Shuwa. The crypt is a sort of warehouse of technology developed long ago to restore the world to its previous status quo. But the world has changed, and though many changes have been deleterious, humans have adapted and struggle to survive in the new situation. The old paradigm is no longer relevant and will only cause more trouble. Nausicaa has always believed in a better future and in everyone working toward that future. She remains true to her nature, leading to a hopeful resolution of the story.
The final speeches in the book are a lot more pantheistic than I would like. Throughout the narrative, natural processes are perverted by technology, or at least held in check. Nausicaa's more innocent and humanist approach to reality, and especially to living creatures, is depicted as the heroic solution to the problems that her world is facing. While I agree that technology can be abusive, I was hoping for some more of an integration of technology and nature as a solution rather than the rejection of technology. Even though this story is considered a classic, I've come away with less admiration than I started with.
Mildly recommended.
No comments:
Post a Comment