Youth in Ecocentric Social Justice via Herbert and Miyazaki: A Freirean Lens of Digital Media as Intergenerational Knowledge

This paper assesses how youth literary practice may illuminate forces of capitalist extraction and imperial violence cross-culturally, with a lens on inclusivity for more marginalized youth communities. Drawing on Freirean critical theory, the analysis of Frank Herbert’s Dune (1965) and Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) illustrates how literary narratives within the broader ecological discourse may complement journalism and news sources for younger generations. With both texts sharing parallel human-nature dynamics and explicit intersections with capitalism, the conversion of relevant themes into a children’s animated film emerges with the capacity to engage with notable pedagogical depth. At base level, Dune’s portrayal of extraction regimes and imperial resource conflict mirrors contemporary formations of global carbon pollution and petro-capitalist dependency, while Nausicaä’s ecological imaginaries can be viewed as an exposition of the Minamata Bay disaster – a local pollution incident which placed thousands of children into lifelong, mercury-induced disabilities. Comparative analysis shows how literary practice may elevate both visibility and complexity of under-reported lived experience under ecological degradation, with an emphasis on dignity and public memory of victims as valid voices in critique of capitalism. Literature made for children may not always be viewed as valid contributions to the emergent ecosocialist and counter-hegemonic corpus, yet, when compared to journalism may present (1) extended relevance to newer generations chronologically, in addition to (2) transcultural engagement and building of solidarity. Implications for pedagogy against capitalist commodification of nature and vulnerable communities – viewed from Freirean theory – conclude the study.