Defining Disaster, Defining Ecocinema: Taking a Closer Look at Japan with Rachel DiNitto

For this month’s episode, we sat down with Rachel DiNitto to discuss the pioneering edited volume Eco-Disasters in Japanese Cinema (2024) and her own chapter in it on "Toxicoscapes." With thematic coverage that ranges from contaminated childhoods, to nuclear anxiety, and all the way to apocalyptic futures, this manuscript both expands the overall definition of “eco-disaster” and focuses in on the specificity of the Japanese context. Join us for a conversation that offers new perspectives to ecocinema enthusiasts in general and scholars of Japanese environments alike!

For more from Rachel:

https://www.racheldinitto.com/

ASLE EcoCast:

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• Twitter: @ASLE_EcoCast
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• Alex Tischer: @ak_tischer
• Bluesky: @asleecocast.bsky.social

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Episode recorded June 13th, 2025.

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0