Environmentalism polluted: consumerism and complicity in Studio Ghibli’s media mix

Maxim Tvorun-Dunn and Nathalie Pascaru

Journal of Cultural Economy, 2023, vol. 16, issue 6, 886-907

Abstract: The proliferation of franchise-driven consumption has created a social paradigm where branded symbols are overproduced across an endless array of consumer products. As a paradigm dependent on generating ever-more growth, we argue that transmedia production facilitates social modes which are inherently damaging to the environment. This is accomplished through an examination of the media mix of Japanese animation firm Studio Ghibli, who despite praise from critics and educators for their deeply nuanced environmentalist themes, have heavily commodified their works through plastic merchandise and tourist destinations. While this research demonstrates the studio had already broadly adopted media mix promotion by the early aughts, following the studio's 2014 hiatus in film production, we show a distinct rise in transmedia communication and production of goods made of non-renewable resources. In light of this, we discuss the commodification of Ghibli's themes as a product of recuperation, adding to discussions of capitalism's penchant for co-opting its opposition. Of this instance, we examine the industrial dynamics that led to this specific increase, the cultural-economic paradigms of media mix that frame commodification as a natural extension of texts – despite dissonant values – and consider how contemporary media ecologies may offer any hope of imagining genuinely environmentally conscious societies.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1080/17530350.2023.2225548

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