#fiction
„Solarpunk is a prefigurative, utopian artistic and activist movement that envisions what the future might look like if humanity solved major modern challenges like climate change, and created more sustainable and balanced societies.
As a genre and cultural aesthetic, it encompasses literature, visual art, fashion, video games, architecture, and more. Solarpunk carries many aspects of punk ideologies such as rebelliousness, humanitarianism, egalitarianism, animal rights, decolonization, anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-authoritarianism, anti-corporatism, and anti-consumerism.
Similar to the cyberpunk genre, the big difference between the two is that in solarpunk technology and nature are in harmony with one another rather than in conflict.
Not all solarpunk stories take place in idealistic utopias. Many tales are rife with compelling conflict among people and communities optimistically striving to reach that ideal while still struggling to solve existing challenges. But all solarpunk stories do have things in common such as future or near-future settings, optimistic perspectives, and looking toward a better future with at least a growing harmony between nature, technology, and humanity.
In short, solarpunk stories are decidedly not dystopias.“
Justine Norton-Kertson via »Towards Solarpunk Futures«
#Solarpunk #Storytelling #Fiction #Writing #Future #JustineNortonKertson
„Margaret Atwood once wrote that climate change is »everything change«.
(...) for solutions to happen, they must address everything that is changing.
Solarpunk seems to offer a multiplicity of, if not solutions, then ideas to begin addressing climate change via better ways of mitigating the worse effects of everything change. Solarpunk is the climb toward a better world that is realistic and possible.
Many think solarpunk is utopian, but utopian is "no place" and not reachable. A better word might be "ustopia," which Atwood coined; it refers to something non-binary (i.e., not dystopia or utopia) but something combining both of these ideas that we (us) can do together.
Another new concept is optopia, which refers to a more realistic version of a place we can reach, “the best possible world we can create.” Getting the opias out of the way, solarpunk takes place in multiple agencies:
art, architecture, music, fashion, technology, literature, and more, which sort of underline the everything part of ecological and climate changes.
It's a movement toward a better world in all aspects, building toward cleaner energy, more greenspaces, social justice, egalitarian ideas, and so much more. A degree of aesthetic is involved, but beneath it all is genuine concern for the well-being of everything and everyone.
The punk part of it refers to the fact that we have to fight the current status quo of fossil fuels and other fossil ideas every step of the way.“
Mary Woodbury via »Towards Solarpunk Futures«
#Solarpunk #Storytelling #Fiction #Writing #Future #Ustopia #Optopia #MaryWoodbury
„Solarpunk is a movement of artists, writers, and activists interested in changing the trajectory of our world for the better.
As a genre of fiction, solarpunk comprises optimistic science fiction stories that engage with issues of environmental and social injustice. Solarpunk stories don't always elaborate on the specific solutions that led to a better world, but they do always strive to show that better futures are possible. Often paired with the aesthetic of Art Nouveau—which was historically an anti-capitalist movement—solarpunk worlds strive for a balance of nature and technology, with degrowth and decentralization as core values.
A lot of climate fiction focuses on the disasters and the dystopian outcomes of climate change and ecological collapse. Solarpunk doesn’t ignore those issues, but it focuses on how we make the world better, and how we thrive and adapt in the world we’re headed into. It’s an interruption of the narrative that we are doomed and there’s nothing we can do about it. Negative messaging about climate change tends to make people feel hopeless, and the cognitive dissonance produced when blame is pointed at individual action can actually bolster denialism. So solarpunk uses different tactics to try to get people’s attention. Rather than “if this goes on, here’s the worst that can happen,” solarpunk says, “if we change direction, here’s a better version of what could happen.”
Sarena Ulibarri
via "Towards Solarpunk Futures"
https://www.tc.columbia.edu/sustainability/news/stories/2022/solarpunk/
#Solarpunk #Storytelling #Fiction #Writing #Future #SarenaUlibarri