Do you get tired of pessimistic anticipations of the world of tomorrow ? You are looking to find out more about solarpunk universe ?
Welcome to My Pocket Watch, the reference shop in pocket watches and the Steampunk universe! Each week, we offer an article dedicated to different genres and punk sub-genre. Today, we continue to approach the different derivatives of the Cyberpunk current with Solarpunk!
In this article, you will learn:
- The Origin and the intention of the genus Cyberpunk
- The Presentation of Solarpunk
- Some works inspired by the Solarpunk current !
Let's go!
let's talk a bit about cyberpunk
Before devoting yourself to the current of Solarpunk, it is essential to make a recall cure on your basis: cyberpunk!
Term invented by Bruce Bethke in 1983, and popularized by Gardner Dozois shortly after, this style will be inspired by the same logic as the steampunk. While the latter highlights Steam Technology , therefore, the cyberpunk will highlight Technology cyber ! The domination of cybernetics, robotics and the exploitation of computer systems, a world in decline, almost apocalyptic, ... This is the global universe of cyberpunk: a future dystopian . These themes will surely not appear to you harm because you have necessarily seen Cyberpunk works, without even knowing it! Whether it's Blade Runner, Matrix or, more recently, Alita. However, be careful not to bind the post-apo and futuristic universe with cyberpunk! For example, Mad Max is typically part of dieselpunk and not cyberpunk. Besides, we have already explained the Difference between dieselpunk and steampunk , two greatly linked genres.
In short, remember that the Cyberpunk world is dark and quite sad ! Imagined during the 80s, in full economic rise and during the technological ascent, the novels of pessimistic anticipations were very fashionable. But suddenly, what is the link with the Solarpunk universe?
presentation of the solarpunk current
The Cyberpunk and Solarpunk universe are much closer than you think! While the Cyberpunk current offers a futuristic dystopia where violence reigns in all directions, Solarpunk shows all the opposite with a more utopian vision of the life of tomorrow. Let's see it all together!
solarpunk: an anticipation novel drawn towards utopian!
The Solarpunk is a genre that appeared very recently , around 2010. world of tomorrow! Cybernetic technology coexists perfectly with nature, to the point where ecology has become the priority of this world . Capitalism is not an absolute evil, war and natural disasters are only a distant memory. Moreover, the use of the term solar directly anchors the idea of a "bright" world ! The Solar Technology is used at its maximum , humans have managed to do without fossil technology and developed the technologies and means necessary to enjoy a cycle 100 % natural . Clearly, Solarpunk is anti-cyberpunk or even anti-Dieselpunk and is closer to steampunk current in a futuristic style < /Strong> and non-retro-futuristic.
a sub-genre derived from post-cyberpunk
On paper, Solarpunk has absolutely nothing to do with cyberpunk . The latter being diametrically opposed, both in terms of the mentality of the inhabitants, and to the operating system of the company! However, it is described as a sub-genre of post-cyberpunk . We had not talked about it so far but between the Cyberpunk dystopia and the Utopian Solarpunk is an in-between: the post-Cyberpunk universe! We talk about it in more detail in its dedicated article, however, consider that the post-cyberpunk is a much more nuanced futuristic world , more realistic or even more deepened. Exit the fantasies of a future transhumanized in Gogo where corporations would transgress ethical values (even more than today) and where morality will never be taken into account, and places a more thoughtful mentality.
Some references in the solarpunk universe
If the solarpunk genre interests you, here are references that could make you discover this recent genre punk:
- The children of Poseidon of Reynolds
- The dispossessed of Ursula K. Le Guin
- Ernest Callenbach ecotopia