Theory: The Gaia Theory

"Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself"

Henry David Thoreau

The Gaia Theory, formulated by James Lovelock, a chemist and futurist from Devon England, proposes that all organic life on earth along with their surroundings are all closely connected to form a self regulating system that maintains all life on the planet. This theory which was once mocked by the scientific community is now becoming much more widely accepted and developed.

Many adaptations of this theory have been woven into the stories of many successful fantasy films. Miyazaki Hayao has been known for using this as an underlying element to some of his films, in particular Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds.

http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~djwhite3/Miyazaki%20Website/Princess%20Mononoke/Princess%20Forest%20Gods%20Header%20Size.jpg

Princess Mononoke accessed 25-11-11 5-35pm

http://katiewr.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/shishinogami.jpg

Princess Mononoke2 accessed 25-11-11 5-35pm

This image shows the forest god. The god wanders through the forests and where he steps plants grow. He keeps the balance of the natural world.

http://static.zerochan.net/full/05/25/51255.jpg

Nausicaa accessed 25-11-11 5-28pm

In Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Nausicaa starts growing plants in her room to prove that the human race can adapt to live in the forest just like the animals and plants.

http://www.deepfocusreview.com/reviews/images/nausicaaofthevalleyofthewind3.jpg

Nausicaa2 accessed 25-11-11 5-28pm

Another example would be Avatar (2009) Directed by James Cameron. In the story of Avatar the Na’vi people try to teach Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, about Awa who is a sort of personification of nature. When The Na’vi people hunt for food, they thank the spirit of the dead animal for providing them with nourishment. When a Na’vi person dies they return their body to the ground so that their spirit can return to Awa. On Pandora all Life is connected to sustain life.

http://images.wikia.com/jamescameronsavatar/images/b/b6/Saving_grace.jpg

Avatar accessed 25-11-11 5-41pm

In Avatar, the Na'vi people all gather and connect themselves with the ground and nature as they pray together to Awa.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kEW0l0TkOe4/TNONqspbHFI/AAAAAAAACAw/JYY4Hom11jc/s1600

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Avatar2 accessed 25-11-11  5-41pm

Neytiri shows Jake that nature can provide for all the Na'vi peoples needs.

http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/128/8/a/Avatar_HD_Wallpaper_1_by_ihateyouare.jpg

Avatar3 accessed 25-11-11 5-41pm

The whole ecosystem on Pandora is connected and works together to sustain an environment suitable for life to exists.

I have been told that another film which includes the Gaia theory is Final Fantasy: The Spirit Within (2001) which was directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Motonori Sakakibara. I have not seen this film yet so am currently hunting down the DVD. 

I think the Gaia theory is so popular in fantasy films because it is something out of the norm. In our man made cities we are the ones in control; we harvest rain water, we create drainage systems, we design places of dwelling, we buy pre-prepared food, we install air conditioning to control air temperature and we install heating systems. We can pretty much change our surroundings to suite our needs. The Gaia theory in film suggests that we do not need to do any of this; nature will provide us with exactly what we need. In Avatar the Na’vi people thrive off the land they are given. In Nausicaa the animals and plants are adapting to live in the poison forest. 

The Idea that nature will provide, not your government or local council is strange and alien and so I think it lends itself to the genre of fantasy where strange things happen and anything is possible.