Solarpunks & Storytelling in the Capitalocene

Abstract

Solarpunks & Storytelling in the Capitalocene Phoebe Wagner (bio) and Brontë Wieland (bio) Throughout his work on the theory of slow violence, Rob Nixon asks how writers can portray the indirect and protracted violences of capitalism, particularly when the medium of the novel does not lend itself to the temporal needs of depicting slow violence in a world of political and media spectacle. In a similar vein, Imre Szeman asks scholars to consider the sustainability of publishing a book in an energy-scarce world. Since the formation of solarpunk as not only a literary genre but a lifestyle, we’ve considered how storytelling will develop as the climate crisis becomes more immediate for corporate and wealthy culture producers, especially after the Barham Fire in the Hollywood Hills. While activism can be an important part of popular culture (or become popular culture, in the case of the much capitalized pink ribbons, blue puzzle piece, or resist imagery), there’s a distinct monetary element that is not as evident in something like, say, a Black Lives Matter march. Can publishing a novel in today’s capitalist system be an act of activism, and what might that look like in the anti-capitalist future that solarpunk envisions? As a genre, solarpunk literature actively wrestles with these ideas. Solarpunk literature imagines new futures in the shadow of and in opposition to environmental change and collapse, then works to create those futures. A solarpunk doesn’t just have ideas and beliefs; a solarpunk enacts. On paper, being a solarpunk might sound like being a Marxist, a municipalist, or another ideology entirely. Yet, a different kind of necessity turns solarpunk thought into action. Mainly extinction. In other words, solarpunk literature is not just about solar. Neither is it beat poetry for the new millennium. The emphasis on solar reminds us of environmental interconnectedness. Human-nonhuman-sunlight-nightlight-mineral-oilocean-and-and-and. It’s a nice idea — and plenty of advertisements capitalize off connection — but the climate crisis demonstrates this connectedness on the grandest scale available for human eyes. A solarpunk novel might approach contemporary problems with the following questions: How do this character’s actions impact the novel’s human and nonhuman community? What intentionality fuels this story? Do the characters’ actions dismantle a damaging system like capitalism in a realistic or relatable way? Does this character enact radical care of self and others? Solarpunk stories aim for a unity of theory and practice, showing not only that a better world is possible, but also how we can work toward it. Solarpunk — as a lifestyle and literary genre — sprouted online sometime in 2008 but became more widely recognized with the publication of Solarpunk: Histórias ecológicas e fantásticas em um mundo sustentável edited by Gerson Lodi-Ribeiro in 2012 and Adam Flynn’s “Notes toward a Solarpunk Manifesto” in 2014. Foundationally, solarpunk rejected the dystopian hopelessness of speculative literature trending after 9/11. This rejection of dystopia did not mean embracing utopia, however. Rather, solarpunks aimed for something in the middle, such as the ambiguous utopias of Ursula K. Le Guin’s work. The goal of solarpunk was not to dream of perfect worlds but to strive for something sustainable and resilient in the Capitalocene. This origin of the solarpunk genre foundationally questions how we tell stories. It’s difficult to point to new novels that would fit the definition of solarpunk, particularly from major presses. The most popular expression of solarpunk remains short fiction, often in collections such as the aforementioned and the independent World Weaver Press’s multiple collections. We are still waiting for the quintessential solarpunk novel, though many solarpunks point to Cory Doctorow’s Walkaway (2017) as the closest example. Walkaway focuses on an ensemble cast of people who walk away from capitalism, essentially. What forms beyond the city limits are different fluid communities, usually anarchic, that have decentralized power and utilized post-scarcity technology to create intentionally anti-capitalist gift economies. Ultimately, the characters find themselves in a technological utopia where death has been conquered, bodies may be left behind at will, and “humanity” takes on new definitions. While much of the content features a solarpunk ethos — such...