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Solarpunk

Entry updated 2 September 2024. Tagged: Theme.

Term used to describe a school of sf writing that developed during the 1980s and has grown in popularity since the late 2000s. The word originated from an anonymous 2008 blog post in which the author advocated for a new literary genre which explores the revival of old Technology to solve modern problems, citing Songs from the Stars (1980) by Norman Spinrad as the genre's first text. Spinrad's novel takes place during the aftermath of nuclear war. The last human civilization regains technological sophistication, despite restricting itself to renewable energy.

The "solar" part of the word relates to solar power (see Power Sources), although Solarpunk emphasizes the use of all forms of renewable energy. Always Coming Home (fixup 1985) by Ursula K Le Guin is another novel which predates the origin of the term Solarpunk, but could be described as such, owing to its characters living harmoniously with nature and recycling technology from a previous era. The "punk" part of the word refers to politics exhibited in Solarpunk works which frequently oppose the ecological shortsightedness of capitalism. Becky Chambers' A Psalm for the Wild-Built (2021) and its sequel A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (2022), together called the Monk and Robot series, depict decentralized organizations engaged in ecological restoration on a colonized moon. The two novellas are also notable for their progressive attitudes regarding Gender identity and their optimistic perspective of the future.

Solarpunk's growing popularity can be seen as an opposing force to Cyberpunk, which typically portrays dystopian societies in which technological progress has an inverse correlation with living standards, and the influence of mega-corporations has divided communities and reduced the autonomy of individuals. It does however align itself with various derivatives, most notably Steampunk, owing to technological conflations between future eras and historical times. Zahrah the Windseeker (2005) by Nnedi Okorafor describes an Alien civilization which develops most of its technology from organic matter. Furthermore, an economy based on renewable energy might continue using sails on ships as in Pacific Edge (1990) by Kim Stanley Robinson. The philosophy of Solarpunk often overlaps with anarcho-primitivism, which advocates for the slowing of technological momentum.

Interest in Solarpunk has increased since Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk & Eco-Speculation (anth 2017) edited by Phoebe Wagner and Brontë Christopher Wieland. Utopia Science Fiction Magazine was founded in 2019, specializing in optimistic futures with scientific answers to contemporary problems. Solarpunk Magazine followed in 2022 and helped define the politics of Solarpunk, which encompass the condemnation of racism (see Race in SF) and sexism in addition to corporatism and consumerism. Its editors mark the 2020s as the decade in which this subgenre became particularly relevant as a result of Climate Change and right-wing extremism. Noor (2021) by Nnedi Okorafor and Land of Milk and Honey (2023) by C Pam Zhang are both novels which engage with Solarpunk ideologies, but are distinguished by their Dystopian settings.

The breadth of Solarpunk makes it more difficult to define than its Cyberpunk father and Cyberpunk-derivative siblings. A Dieselpunk story, for example, can be recognized by the presence of its namesake: an abundance of diesel. Similarly, Steampunk is marked by steam-powered devices. Solarpunk, however, does not require its authors to depict the harnessing of solar power. While one typical model for an sf story is to stretch contemporary problems to nightmarish proportions ("if this goes on ..."), Solarpunk advocates for the opposite. It takes solutions to radical conclusions, be they breaking civilization down into communes, restricting population growth (see Overpopulation), or building Dyson Spheres. It is a rebellion against a rebellion, born out of dystopia fatigue. [JM]

see also: Ecology; Politics; Pollution.

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