What even makes a story Solarpunk?
I thought to myself that given the fact I am gonna review a few more Solarpunk short stories and given that there is some interest in me talking about Solarpunk media, it would make sense for me to talk a bit about what - to me - makes a story Solarpunk.
As I have established before: I can think of quite a few stories that are not technically Solarpunk, but feel very Solarpunk.
To make it simply: I think there is two aspects to Solarpunk in storytelling. One of them is themes, the other is the worldbuilding. And yes, I think a story can be kinda Solarpunk just based on the themes, even if it just takes place in a normal fantasy setting, a historical setting or just in the modern world.
Solarpunk Themes
I talked about it last week how Dungeon Meshi feels quite Solarpunk to me. And the reason for this is the themes it deals with. Because those themes are absolutely there.
Themes I would consider to be Solarpunk:
- Community/Found Family
- Mutual Aid
- Environmentalism in some way
- General Living in Harmony with Nature/Respecting Nature
- Respecting Indigenous ways of life
- Decolonialisation
- Marginalized people banding together
I do not think that a single one of those themes is making a story Solarpunk, but when several of them come together.
I also talked about how the movie Misaki no Mayoiga, which takes place after the Tohoku earthquake, feels very, very Solarpunk, even though it takes place in 2011. Because it just features so many of those themes. Big theming around community and found family. Big use of mutual aid. Living in harmony with nature specifically according to old Shinto traditions.
And that just makes the movie feel so very Solarpunk.
Solarpunk in Worldbuilding
Then there is obviously the way that a story can be set in a Solarpunk setting. Which probably is some sort of science fiction setting (though I do argue that it could also be fantasy) that features certain aspects.
- Energy in this setting is probably generated by some sustainable source (maybe solar, hydro, wind, maybe some other source)
- There are efforts being done that the world is being rewilded in some way
- Sustainable living is a big theme in the world
- The society in the world is more accepting and integrated than it is right now
- There might be some sort of decolonization efforts going on
- There might be some development towards (or already archived) anarchism
- The world at large does at least make efforts to move past capitalism (because really, everything else is not archivable under capitalism)
While I would argue the world can be in different stages when it comes to the different points, I do think that to really get Solarpunk each of the points has to be addressed in some way or form.
Though it is to me also very speaking, that a lot of folks really do not seem to be able to imagine a post-capitalist world...
What I am trying to say
I do think that a piece of media can absolutely qualify as "kinda solarpunk" if it just uses those themes above. And yes, this also means that a lot more media can be considered Solarpunk in terms of themes, than by fitting the Solarpunk worldbuilding so far.
I would love to see more Solarpunk worldbuilding, though. :)