Solarpunk visions in youth fiction. The pedagogical utopia of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Abstract

The essay examines the traits and pedagogical potential of the solarpunk artistic and narrative movement by analyzing the specific case study of Hayao Miyazaki's animated film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984). The article first presents solarpunk and its association with environmental themes and successively applies the genre's theoretical framework to the case study, as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind shares some of the movement's approaches and aesthetics in relation to sustainability. The essay concludes with a pedagogical reflection on the potential of solarpunk to imagine and create sustainable worlds. Although this artistic movement is not explicitly aimed at a young audience, solarpunk stories (or a solarpunk reading of different narratives) could lead to a new understanding of the ongoing climate change and to a constructive call for environmental responsibility starting from a young age.