Solarpunk is a genre similar to Steampunk that encourages optimistic envisioning of the future in light of present environmental concerns, such as climate change and pollution, as well as social inequality. Solarpunk encompasses a multitude of media such as literature, art, architecture, fashion, music, and games. Solarpunk focuses on renewable energies, such as solar and wind power, as well as technology as a whole, to envision a positive future for humanity; although, it also embraces less advanced ways to reduce carbon emissions, like gardening. Solarpunk is also a genre of speculative fiction; some of the best-known examples are Solarpunk: Ecological and Fantastical Stories in a Sustainable World and Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk and Eco-Speculation.
History
The name "Solarpunk" is a derivative of the 1980s science fiction genreCyberpunk. The early ideas of Solarpunk can be traced back to 2008; in that year, a blog named Republic of the Bees published the post, "From Steampunk to Solarpunk." The post begins the conceptualization of solarpunk as a literary genre inspired by steampunk. In 2009, Matt Staggs, a literary publicist who specializes in speculative fiction, put forth a "GreenPunk Manifesto," Notable literary precursors include Ernest Callenbach's 1975 novel and Starhawk's ecofeminist trilogy The Fifth Sacred Thing, Walking to Mercury and City of Refuge. In 2012, the first solarpunk anthology, Solarpunk: Histórias ecológicas e fantásticas em um mundo sustentável, was released in Brazil; the English translation was released in 2018. Solarpunk attracted a larger following in May 2014 when Miss Olivia Louise published a Tumblr post that began to establish solarpunk aesthetics. In September 2014 Solarpunk: Notes toward a manifesto was published. The author, Adam Flynn, has credited the Miss Olivia Louise post as inspiration. In October 2019A Solarpunk Manifesto, "a creative re-adaptation of ideas about solarpunk written by many people" was published, signed as The Solarpunk Community. Solarpunk’s direct lineage or main influenced is from steampunk and cyberpunk. Steampunk imagines a new history and world with steam as the main energy source rather than the traditional electricity of today, while solarpunk imagines renewable energy sources as the primary source of energy. Cyberpunk imagines futures with advanced technologies that often exhibit a lack of appreciation for humanity. Both cyberpunk and solarpunk imagine potential futures from the perspective of concerns for the present, but whereas cyberpunk emphasizes how things can go wrong, solarpunk imagines how things can get better.
Literature
Solarpunk fiction, which includes novels, short stories, and poetry, imagines futures that addresses environmental concerns with varying degrees of optimism. Solarpunk is a subset of the cyberpunk speculative fiction genre. The majority of solarpunk history imagines a future in which many parts of humanity will manage to coexist in a more harmonious way with the environment. Climate change and the threat of environmental disasters are not averted, but they are less absolute. The narrative within many stories is based on interpersonal, social and political conflicts.
Aesthetics
The solarpunk aesthetic uses nature motifs and is highly ornamental, and it is a reaction against contemporary aesthetics used in the mainstream. Its aesthetics take inspiration from Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts movement, making use of the handcrafted emphasis on the Arts and Crafts movement.
Politics
While solarpunk has no specific political ideation, it does by default embrace the need for a collective movement away from traditional, polluting forms of energy and is therefore inherently progressive. As cyberpunk explores the world left to rampant expansion of unchecked corporate power, often leading to dystopian environments, solarpunk instead explores a unity between human existence and nature; a balance. It practices prefigurative politics, creating spaces where the principles of a movement can be explored and demonstrated by enacting them in real life. Solarpunks are encouraged to act in line with solarpunk beliefs as well as to contribute to the creation of the optimistic future they envision. Solarpunks practice the movement in various ways, from utopian efforts like creating ecovillages to smaller actions such as growing one's own food and DIY.
