Solarpunk, the Planet Needs a New Future
Fifteen years after the beginning of the 21st century, it is time to imagine a positive future for humanity, just like at the end of the Second World War. Not only does it make sense to create and develop a genre of science fiction aimed at globally renewing the present and offering hope for a better future, it is also necessary. This genre already exists; it’s called Solarpunk and it has been emerging since half way through the first decade of this century, thanks to the collective effort of hundreds of people scattered all over the planet.
“Solarpunk World Scene” is published in Italian and English and has a threefold purpose: 1) to catalogue and recommend anthologies, novels, short stories etc. by Solarpunk writers, which are increasingly appearing in digital and paper form; 2) define the genre through critiques, essays and posts dedicated to helping those who want to become part of this world; 3) help create a community of readers devoted to Solarpunk, and above all knowledgeable and eager to read texts written by “other” cultures.
Solarpunk is not uncritically optimistic; it is aware of the risk of environmental catastrophe just like all Earth’s inhabitants, which unlike the risk of nuclear annihilation is a clock that is still ticking away. Nevertheless, Solarpunk conceives technological development as a possibility for everyone to be liberated from extreme poverty and an antidote to the depletion of the planet’s resources, caused by techniques that are obsolete or dangerous for the environment and humanity, and which we should stop using.
In the eighties and nineties of the twentieth century, Cyberpunk created a collective consciousness that — once deprived of its subversive role — is often used as a commonly recognised base for many stories offered to readers, viewers and gamers by the cultural industry. These kinds of stories look to the past, while new ideas and topics associated with the best that today’s world offers us are ignored, because it is difficult to imagine a different kind of future. It’s Solarpunk time.
