Ecocritical Analysis of the Movie “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”

Wasteland in opening scene of Nausicaa

The first scene in the movie takes place 1000 years in the future and depicts a wasteland with no inhabitants. There are puffs of a pink smoke which, given the setting, can be inferred to be pollution. After finding no sign of life, the men of the Valley who are searching the far-gone town come to the conclusion that the inhabitants must have been consumed by the Toxic Jungle – a place that is thought to threaten the human race. As evident from its name, the Toxic Jungle, is portrayed as dangerous, ugly, and untouched by civilization. Purdue Owl describes different ways wilderness is often represented: “Old World wilderness displays wilderness as a place beyond the borders of civilization, wherein wilderness is treated as a ‘threat’ … New World wilderness … applies the pastoral trope of the ‘retreat’ to wilderness itself, seeing wilderness not as a place to fear, but as a place to find sanctuary.”

In the following scene, Nausicaa (the princess of the Valley of the Wind) is shown exploring the Toxic Jungle while wearing a mask and riding upon a glider. She goes around the jungle collecting plant samples and stumbles upon an Ohmu (large insect) shell, which she thinks could be used as material for tools.

Nausicaa collecting a sample from the Toxic Jungle

In An Ecocritical Reading of Miyazaki’s ‘Nausicaa: Territory, Toxicity, and Animals,’ the author, Phacharawan Boonpromkul, looks more at New World wilderness: “…considering Richard Kerridge’s (2006) observation about wilderness that ‘wild places provide solace for exiles, release for repressed and outlawed feelings, and space for adventurous forays beyond restrictions of law and domesticity’ (p.532) … “

“Nausicaa not only rambles and collects live specimens for her scientific experiment there but also seeks spiritual sanctuary and redemption from this space.”

Later, she hears a commotion in the distance and heads toward it. An angry Ohmu is chasing a man from the Valley. She approaches the Ohmu and pacifies it by speaking to it in a calm and charming manner. Soon after that, she meets a squirrel-fox, Teto, who is initially afraid and angry. Again, she presents herself as non-threatening and peaceful to calm him down. Teto, who had dug his teeth in her hand, eases off and begins to lick the bite mark. At this point, it is clear that Nausicaa has a profound way with animals.

The squirrel-fox learning Nausicaa is not a threat.

This characteristic of hers, to bond closely with animals and the Earth, reveal themes of ecofeminism. Purdue Owl describes ecofeminism as having two camps – one of which (sometimes referred to as radical ecofeminism) “embraces the idea that women are inherently closer to nature – biologically, spiritually, and emotionally.” Unlike anyone else in the Valley, Nausicaa has the ability to charm angered animals (to a certain extent) and has a deep sympathy/appreciation for animals and even the Toxic Jungle. At one point, a memory is revived where she is young and is caught hiding a baby Ohmu from her elders. As they take it away, she sobs, pleading with them not to kill it. Along with numerous other times, she is shown as being emotional to counter violence.

Nausicaa being emotional with her plant samples.

Later, after falling beneath the Toxic Jungle, she discovers its self-cleansing abilities that produce clean air and water for humankind to survive. Boonpromkul touches on the revelation Nausicaa experiences at this moment: “She later lies down on a circle of fine sand and sheds tears of happiness among magnificent tree trunks that constitute the loft subterranean hall. “

It’s deduced that the insects are merely there to protect nature from the threat of humans who are responsible for all the pollution. In the end, Nausicaa’s bond with the animals saves the Valley of the Wind and the rest of the kingdoms. In return, the Ohmus heal her using their antennas. The story ends with the Ohmu returning to the Toxic Jungle and the people of Valley working on restoring their burnt down forest.

Nausicaa being revived by the Ohmus

Ecocriticism

Politicians Discussing Climate Change by Issac Cordal

The definition of ecocriticism is simple to gather from its name: eco- means “ecological or environmental” and -criticism means, “the art of evaluating or analyzing works of art or literature.” To add, Purdue Owl says, “Ecocriticism asks us to examine ourselves and the world around us, critiquing the way we represent, interact with, and construct the environment, both ‘natural’ and manmade.” It can be summarized as an “earth-centered approach” (Glotfelty xviii). In William Rueckert’s 1978 hypothetical, he explains how in a world of seemingly-endless brands of literary criticisms, ecology ought to be one of them because what could be more relevant to us and the world? He writes, “…there must be a shift in our locus of motivation from newness … to a principle of relevance … I am going to experiment with the application of ecology … because ecology … has the greatest relevance to the present and future of the world we all live in…”

Ecocriticism emerged with the environmental movement in the 80s, where the environmental crisis of our age was (and still is) central. It was held that it was the “duty of both the humanities and the natural sciences to raise awareness and invent solutions for a problem that is both cultural and physical.” It would be unlikely to achieve change if it was only one of these environmental defenders without the other. It’s one thing to be a natural scientist doing field work to restore the environment, but that must be accompanied by people talking about the issue and raising awareness to allow change to keep happening. For example, natural scientists won’t be able to do the work if they don’t get funding. On top of that, advocates have an important job of introducing environmental issues to those who hold power in government. They are the ones who can make vital change at an industry level, which is exponentially more effective than changes made at a personal level.

Snickers Superbowl Ad

Watching this commercial from an ecocritical perspective, many things came to my attention. The general message is that there is a lot wrong with the world — including Instagram Influencers, politicians, naming children after produce, electric scooters, and getting spam calls. While it’s hard to disagree with some of those, surprisingly, there was no mention whatsoever of the most threatening issue we face as humankind: climate change. First, the commercial mocks electric scooters which I’m not necessarily a fan of, but I must admit they’re better for the environment than gas-guzzling cars and they provide transportation to those who can’t afford more. Second, the commercial shows an entire crowd disrespectfully walking over a hill of grass. This, coupled with a message pushing to feed the world Snickers, is not exactly eco-friendly. On the contrary, Snickers is quite harmful to the environment. It’s sold in single-use plastic packaging and contains dairy and cocoa.

Why Single-Use Plastics are Bad

“Forty per cent of plastic packaging waste is disposed of at sanitary landfills, 14% goes to incineration facilities and 14% is collected for recycling. Incineration creates the most CO₂ emissions…

Nearly all plastic – 99% – is made from fossil fuels.

Refining the material is the most greenhouse gas intensive part of the plastic lifecycle, and major expansions in the US and elsewhere will accelerate climate change, the report says.”

Why Dairy is Bad

“‘It takes a lot of energy input to raise cows,’ says Sujatha Jahagirdar Bergen, a policy specialist with NRDC’s Food and Agriculture program. For starters, ‘you need to grow the feed [mostly grain], which takes lots of pesticides and fertilizer’—a significant source of global warming pollution. Then there are the smellier factors. ‘After the cows eat that feed, they release methane through their digestive systems, and then their manure also produces lots of greenhouse gases,’ Bergen says. NRDC has documented high levels of methane emissions from the‘lagoons‘ where factory farms dispose of animal waste. Another particularly nasty by-product of cow dung is nitrous oxide, a climate-warming pollutant 298 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.”

Why Cocoa is Really Bad

The Real Cost of a Chocolate Bar: West Africa’s Rainforests (Yale)

“‘Anytime someone bites on a chocolate bar in the United States, a tree is being cut down,’ said Eric Agnero, an environmental activist in Abidjan, the economic capital of Ivory Coast…

Worldwide, the pace of deforestation is alarming. In 2017, 40 football fields of tropical forests were lost every minute, spurred by growing demand not only for cocoa, but also for palm oil, soybeans, timber, beef and rubber, according to Global Forest Watch, a nonprofit organization with online data and tools for gathering and monitoring forests.”

In addition to sourcing of cocoa leading to deforestation, often times there is child labor and unlivable wages involved.

Cocoa’s child labors

“Mars (owner of Snickers), Nestlé and Hershey pledged nearly two decades ago to stop using cocoa harvested by children. Yet much of the chocolate you buy still starts with child labor.”

Yeah I know. What a bummer. While ignorance is bliss, it’s important to be aware of what you’re ignoring. Far too often, Americans don’t realize the consequences of their consumer choices. If they do, they choose to ignore it. It’s abundantly clear that exposing the harm behind single-use plastics, dairy, and cocoa will not automatically change people’s consumer habits. Though, I hope it will prompt someone to say “I don’t need utensils, I have some at home” or “I’ll try my coffee with coconut milk today” or “I’d rather give my dollar to a company that sustainably and ethically sources their cocoa.”

Personal choices seem insignificant but what you buy sends a direct message to the industry. Consumers have all the power to create demand so it’s worth a try to create demand for products that prioritize earth and the people who feed us.

Post Four: “Smoke Signals”

The film, “Smoke Signals” by Sherman Alexie and director Chris Eyre, starts off on a Native American reservation. Right from the beginning, there are many metaphors, and symbolism, that jump out. Native Americans are celebrating American Independence Day when a fire breaks out due to a drunken accident, and kills Thomas’ parents. Luckily, Thomas is thrown from the fire into Arnold’s (the father figure of the story) hands, who then passes him off to his grandmother. This scene sets the stage and foretells the rest of the story. One of the most destructive and traumatic nights of their lives occurs on the American Day of Independence. Native Americans celebrating this holiday of “liberation” is ironic in the sense that Native Americans have yet to truly gain their independence. Not only was the annexation of their land destabilizing, but the present is as well. We see abuses of alcohol which led to the fire. In “Native Voices: Or, Vehicle as Symbol in Smoke Signals,” Baltazar states, “Alcohol is a cancer to the Native American community, and Alexie is not afraid to highlight this fact… Many Native American believe the ‘white man,’ in order to control and take what was not theirs, introduced alcohol to the Native Americans.”

Myths have been perpetuated concerning alcohol abuse by Native Americans. In “No, Native Americans aren’t genetically more susceptible to alcoholism,” Maia Szalavitz explains:

“Addiction is often described as an equal opportunity disease. It isn’t: while anyone can become addicted under certain conditions, like most bullies, addiction prefers to hit people who are already hurting. The more trauma and social exclusion a child experiences, the greater the addiction risk. This creates a vicious cycle: addiction itself becomes a reason for even more rejection, prejudice, and maltreatment.“

“…the idea that genetic “inferiority” causes native peoples to be particularly susceptible to addiction was not falsifiable when it was initially spread. But even now that it has been disproven, the myth obscures the real causes of addiction and the starring roles that trauma and the multiple stresses of inequality can play in creating it.“

“It’s easier to pathologize¹ people than it is to think critically,” says Elm, now a PhD student at the University of Washington who studies how the health of Native Americans is affected by stress and generations of traumatic experience.”

1: Pathologize (verb): regard or treat (someone or something) as psychologically abnormal or unhealthy.

Pathologizing is nothing new to people of color in the U.S. As Derrick Bell discussed in his essay, the authors of the Bell Curve misinformed readers about IQ points of White vs. Black people. They found that when the “oppression factor” was devised, they discovered Black people performed fifteen points higher than White people. Bell reasoned that the authors made the decision to misinform in order to avoid jealous outrage from racist White Americans. He talks about how discrimination against Black Americans was often justified by a belief of “black inferiority.” So to keep them down, groups like the KKK targeted successful Black farmers.

It is not illogical to think that America, being a capitalist colonizing entity, would not choose to continue to subdue its Indigenous people (as well as others in Palestine), to maintain its status of “superiority”. This country’s actions say it all: from the deceitful annexation that took place then, to its failure to distribute aid to Native Americans during COVID-19 now.

A report by CBS news states, “federal funding meant to go toward housing for indigenous communities has been frozen for decades. In addition to being a violation of old treaties, there are fears it is aiding the spread of the virus.”

“The overcrowded home situation is at least 16 times the national average,” he said. “It’s a tinderbox for this COVID-19 situation.”

A major theme presented in “Smoke Signals” is identity. Throughout the movie, Thomas and Victor struggle with it. As a child, after Arnold (Victor’s father) asks, “Who’s your favorite Indian?,” he responds with, “Nobody,” indicating a sense of self-hatred. Later in the movie, as Victor and Thomas leave the reservation on the bus, Victor lectures Thomas about how to properly present himself as an Indian — warrior-like in order to avoid belittlement by the “White man.” Thomas’ image seems to replicate how Native Americans are presented in films (an area that lacks accurate representation). As the movie progresses, Thomas lets his braids loose and changes out of his suit. This moment implies a step closer to discovering his own identity. In “Toward a Tribal Critical Race Theory in Education”, Brayboy describes self-identification as “…the ability and legitimacy for groups to define themselves and to create what it means to be Indian. As such, self-identification may or may not reject the ‘sign’ Indian — or that which signifies what a ‘real Indian’ is or looks like (often an ecology-loving, bead-wearing, feather-having, long-haired, tall, dark man or woman)…” Through eachothers’ support, and rediscovery through storytelling, Victor learns to forgive his father and gain self awareness.

Post Three – Black Panther

The film, Black Panther, was directed by Ryan Coogler and based off Marvel comics written in 1966 (not too long after the Civil Rights movement) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, who are white Jewish men. In the NYT article, “Why ‘Black Panther’ Is a Defining Moment for Black America,” Wallace mentions the comic was written “as a bid to offer black readers a character to identify with.” The hero of the story, the Black Panther, is the king of Wakanda which is an advanced nation flourishing off a powerful raw material called vibranium. It is used in their weapons, medical technology, armor, etc. Another reason for Wakanda’s achievement is their decision to be autonomous and even hidden from the rest of the world – therefore, maintaining sole possession of vibranium and all the revolutionary capabilities that come with it.

Prince N’Jobu, the uncle of King T’Challa (Black Panther), was sent to Oakland to observe the state of the outside world. While there, he learned of the injustices that Black Americans face.

“Their leaders have been assassinated. Communities flooded with drugs and weapons. They are overly policed and incarcerated. All over the planet out people suffer because they don’t have the tools to fight back. With vibranium weapons, they could overthrow every country and Wakanda could rule them all… the right way.”

Prince N’Jobu in Black Panther

Prince N’Jobu, in an effort to right those wrongs, steals vibranium from Wakanda. And because of that, King T’Chaka (Black Panther’s father) murders him, leaving behind his son (Killmonger).

Killmonger grows up to be an MIT scholar and skilled killer, fueled by anger and vengeance. He seeks to overtake the Wakandan throne and fulfill his late father’s wishes to use vibranium to battle the injustices against Black Americans.

In the article, “‘Black Panther’ Is Not the Movie We Deserve,” Christopher Lebron summarizes it nicely, “By now viewers have two radical imaginings in front of them: an immensely rich and flourishing advanced African nation that is sealed off from white colonialism and supremacy; and a few black Wakandans with a vision of global black solidarity who are determined to use Wakanda’s privilege to emancipate all black people.”

I agree with Lebron in that the director made a poor choice to make the villain a Black American from Oakland who rightfully wants to use Wakanda’s overwhelming power to liberate Black people everywhere, not just Wakanda (which is already way more than well-off.) Lebron goes on to say that, in the movie, Killmonger is a “receptacle for tropes of inner-city gangsterism.” In the time of the Black Lives Matter movement, to vilify the disadvantaged Black American whose father was murdered, and who was subjected to the cruel racism of America, was a botched opportunity to emphasize the importance of every Black life regardless of socio-economic status. Lebron explains, “…we are given a movie about Black empowerment where the only redeemed Blacks are African nobles. They safeguard virtue and goodness against the threat not of white Americans or Europeans, but a black American man, the most dangerous person in the world.”

A movie so vital to the spirit of Black people in America should have wholeheartedly chosen to create unity against a common enemy – racist white America. Lebron mentions how the white villain, Ulysses Klaue, has a Nazi grandfather. It seems obvious then to make him the target villain, but being that Marvel is owned by Disney who has a history of appeasing and even portraying racism, it’s not that surprising that they’d opt not to do that. For example, the poster for Star Wars in China shows the only Black character is very hidden compared to how it’s shown in the American poster.

Being that the superhero is named Black Panther, I can’t help but think it’s a direct reference to the Black Panther party.

Some background: According to Dr. Curtis Austin, from Ohio State University, the FBI made great efforts to demonize the Black Panther party. While it is often thought to be an anti-white, violent, Black male-led organization, this is not true. In reality, the Black Panther party consisted of many Black women and actually worked with many white business owners and doctors to bring much needed services to underprivileged communities – BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and people of color) and even lower-income white communities. He talks about how law enforcement went as far as to kill members who were especially effective and persuasive; and how about 75% of the articles written about the Black Panther party today are written by the FBI or people hired by the FBI. Why go to these lengths to tarnish this organization? The Black Panther party was efficient in bringing food, medical services, and whatever else was severely lacking to disadvantaged communities, and they worked with anyone willing to help, whether it was upper or lower class white people or BIPOC.

Ever since basically the beginning of civilization, the upper class has profited off the people at the very bottom. So, the Black Panther party being effective at bringing up the people from the very bottom was unacceptable for the U.S. government.

Back to the movie, I can’t help but wonder if it’s related. Was the Killmonger character – a proponent for uplifting his oppressed people – supposed to be a nod to the Black Panther party and their efforts?

Post Two: Intro to Critical Race Theory

According to “Who’s Afraid of Critical Race Theory,” by Derrick A. Bell, critical race theory ultimately seeks to “attack a legal system which disempowers people of color.” Critical race theorists also “embrace ideology of anti-subordination.” In Purdue’s Online Writing Lab, “Critical Race Theory,” further supports this definition, “Critical race theory examines the appearance of race and racism across dominant cultural modes of expression …. CRT scholars attempt to understand how victims of systemic racism are affected by cultural perceptions of race and how they are able to represent themselves to counter prejudice.”

In my own words, I would explain Critical Race Theory as analyzing important texts such as law, literature, or film through the lens of experiential scholars who are knowledgeable about how race has and will play a role in people’s lives. Many important texts are rooted in racism due to the origins of America. This leads to discrimination and institutionalized racism, which Purdue’s Online Writing Lab defines as, “systemic ways dominant society restricts a racialized individual or group’s access to opportunities. These inequalities which include an individual’s access to material conditions and powers are not only deeply imbedded in legal institutions, but have been absorbed into American culture to such a degree that they are often invisible or easily overlooked.” There are a depressing amount of examples today and in history that support the fact that institutionalized racism exists. Those born with white privilege who think otherwise may argue against this fact and say, “America is the land of opportunity. Everyone has the same opportunities to succeed.” To attempt to put this baseless argument to rest, I will provide some instances that demonstrate how Black Americans have been hindered from accumulating wealth, success, and the “pursuit of happiness” in the history of America and today. In particular for Black Americans:

1921 —In the Vox article, “99 years ago, one of America’s worst acts of racial violence took place in Tulsa,” Emily Stewart writes, “May 31 and June 1 mark the 99th anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, when a white mob descended on an affluent black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Greenwood District, which was known as “Black Wall Street,” was decimated in a matter of days. Roughly 1,200 homes were burned, 35 blocks burned, and an estimated 300 black people killed.”

1923 — As mentioned in, “Who’s Afraid of Critical Race,” by Bell, “…the Klan absolutely destroyed a thriving black town called Rosewood – murdering, raping, pillagin, and finally burning all the property in sight.”

1870s-1960s — From the website “Separate but Not Equal”, an article titled, “Jim Crow Laws,” gives evidence of housing being witheld from Black Americans simply due to the color of their skin, thus hindering Black families from accumulating wealth to pass on to their children, once again, “In communities across the country, property owners signed agreements called restrictive covenants. These contracts barred African Americans and sometimes other groups-including Jews, Asians, and Latinos-from many neighborhoods. In this covenant from Arlington County, Virginia, in the 1940s, the purchasers agreed never to sell their house to “persons of any race other than the white Caucasian Race.”

1704 – present — According to, “A Brief History of Slavery and the Origins of American Policing,” Victor E. Kappeler, Ph.D. writes “In 1704, the colony of Carolina developed the nation’s first slave patrol. Slave patrols helped to maintain the economic order and assist the wealthy landowners in recovering and punishing slaves who essentially were considered property.” He goes on to say, “[The use of patrols to capture runaway slaves] persisted as an element of the police role even after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In some cases, police harassment simply meant people of African descent were more likely to be stopped and questioned by the police, while at the other extreme, they have suffered beatings, and even murder, at the hands of White police.

Former President Barack Obama touches on how these racial injustices have carried on into today in his speech, “A More Perfect Union:”

“But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.
Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven’t fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today’s black and white students.
Legalized discrimination – where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments – meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today’s urban and rural communities.
A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one’s family, contributed to the erosion of black families – a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods – parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement – all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.”

Today, America is being forced to confront and correct the racial injustices that plague this country. 100 million dollars fund the police while “at-risk” communities lack proper funding for education, food, therapy, essential programs, and more. There’s no question that we need to de-weaponize the police and redirect those funds to support and empower communities of color.

In “Who’s Afraid of Critical Race Theory,” Bell writes, “Professor Charles Lawrence speaks for many critical race theory adherents when he disagrees with the notion that laws are or can be written from a neutral perspective… we all speak from a particular point of view…The problem is that not all positioned perspectives are equally valued, equally heard, or equally included.”

This point is evident in the lack of representation we see in our government. I believe the younger generation has begun to grasp the importance of voting and hopefully in the future through this enlightenment we will have a more diverse and representative crowd in our government who will make essential changes for our future. Some news about efforts made in response to the George Floyd protests:

“San Francisco mayor London Breed announced an effort to funnel funding away from the city’s police department and toward the black community, which experiences poverty at three times the average rate.” The article continues, “Decades of disinvestment and racially disparate policies have disproportionately hurt our African-American community in SF,” Breed said on Twitter when announcing the joint effort with Supervisor Shamann Walton.”

An Introduction to Cultural Criticism

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what media has influenced my sense of self. In terms of music, I would say that I listen to music that makes me feel good and makes me want to dance. My favorites currently are “Roller Skates” by Steel Pulse and “Mary Jane” by Rick James. For TV shows, I’m a fan of watching the ones that I’ve heard good things about or ones that have won awards. I recently finished watching 90 day fiance and now I’m planning to start watching “Westworld” since Aaron Paul, from “Breaking Bad” (another one of my favorite shows) stars in it.

I’m not quite sure who I would be if I were blogging as a mass media icon. I watch many news shows on Comedy Central so I suppose I could identify with one of the correspondents on the Daily Show, Jordan Klepper. He has numerous segments where he visits Trump rallies and interviews Trump supporters. In one video he asks one man, “Why do you think Obama wasn’t in the Oval Office in 9/11.” The man replies, “That I don’t know. I’d like to get to the bottom of that.” Because I can relate to his sense of humor and left-leaning democratic ideals, I’d say I would be blogging as him.

Though many of the cultural criticism theories overlap, I think Marxist Criticism is the most suitable to analyze my own media influences. In particular, some of the music I listen to. Specifically, reggae is a genre based on the expression of injustices. It started (and is still used) as an outlet to speak up and advocate for peace. One song is “Prophet Rides Again,” by Capleton which goes as follows:

“Prophet rides again, he comes to prophecize and burn up all the traitor

Burn all all the spies, prophet rides again

…

He rides about the grudge and tell them in their heart they must carry some love, prophet rides again, god so precise and ready”

Similar to many reggae songs, “Marxism attempts to reveal the ways in which our socioeconomic system is the ultimate source of our experience” (Tyson 277).

Initially when I watched the Peloton ad, I didn’t see any indications of sexism whatsoever. This is because the woman who played the wife seemed to be excited to get the Peloton as if she had asked for it as a gift. And while she did look miserable in the scene where she was waking up early to workout, who wouldn’t? Waking up early and working out are hard things to be excited for but of course it’s the payoff that matters. I believe it’s dangerous to make a problem out of nothing. Calling this commercial sexist does not seem accurate to me and more like extreme feminists are pulling a problem out of thin air. This has repercussions because it causes feminism to lose credibility; people stop taking it seriously if “feminists” start complaining about things that really don’t matter or contribute to their overall objectives of achieving respect and equality for women.