@InvaderXan after your thread on art nouveau last night: what *is* solarpunk? The concept seems to make sense intuitively, but does it actually exist? Are there any archetypical solarpunk works you can recommend?
@InvaderXan that sounds great! I'll look into Sunvault, and hopefully there will be more in the genre soon. I've been feeling a need for 21st-century utopian fiction for years, and solarpunk looks pretty close to what I've been hoping for
@spinflip Likewise. I pretty much fell in love with the concept as soon as I heard of it. The combination of science, sustainability, environmentalism and intersectionality just fits so nicely with my worldview.
@InvaderXan As a follow up on @spinflip's question: is there a large body of graphical art?
@pkok @spinflip A fair amount of art created on sites like tumblr fits the aesthetic, either purposefully or otherwise. I collect some on my blog there: https://solarpunk-aesthetic.tumblr.com/tagged/artwork
Notably, an artist called Teikoku Shounen has been a major influence on the genre. This one is one of my favourites:
@InvaderXan @spinflip Thank you for the ongoing effort! This one in particular looks like the RPG I'd like to play.
@InvaderXan @spinflip So what's the conflict?
@Expat1975 @spinflip That's a big question. What kind of conflict can you imagine? There's plenty of scope for conflict which isn't motivated by exploitation, bigotry or oppressive governments.
Solarpunk isn't about perfect utopias where nothing actually happens, but eutopias where things are good but not without flaws. Think Wakanda, not Themyscira.
If anything, not being constrained to an overused set of dystopian tropes should give a lot of scope to imagine something new and original.
@InvaderXan @spinflip You got me thinking...
@Expat1975 @InvaderXan it feels like plenty of narratives would still work. A desire for harmony and unity doesn't mean that everyone will be harmonious and unified all the time. Neighbours will still argue, individuals will still want to upend the status quo, environmental issues will still be there. Just all against a background of societal optimism.
@spinflip @Expat1975 An example I like is the Studio Ghibli film, Princess Mononoke.
There are two main conflicting factions, with the protagonist caught in the middle. Neither faction is unambiguously good or evil – both sides have virtues and flaws, and ultimately want the best for their own people. But their goals are fundamentally in conflict with each other. Makes for a very interesting story!
@spinflip Solarpunk is largely a reaction to dystopian visions of the future. Instead of a Bladerunner-esque world of pollution and corporate greed, solarpunk envisions a sustainable non-exploitative future.
Broadly, I'd say the largest underlying theme is a desire for harmony and unity – between technology and nature, and between different people.
There still isn't much literature yet, but a story anthology called Sunvault was recently published... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35235851-sunvault