This piece builds on previous work where I asked GPT-3 to compare and contrast cyberpunk and solarpunk. Now, I’m asking it to write a formal essay explaining how solarpunk can be seen as a post-cyberpunk genre, and how it is in itself a deconstructing and moving-beyond of cyberpunk. This is very high level thinking and as you can see, it does a great job. The bold is the prompt, everything else is from the AI. Many of the facts it cites are completely made up (none of the links are real or any of the names or dates), but the overall narrative is very compelling and very interesting.
Cyberpunk is a genre of science fiction and an art movement set in a lawless subculture of an oppressive society dominated by computer technology that tends to focus on a “combination of lowlife and high tech.” Cyberpunk features futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cybernetics, juxtaposed with societal collapse or decay. Cyberpunk takes place at what sociologists would call the interstices; in the cracks between institutions, and outside the edge of what we think of as society. Typically cyberpunk stories involve people using technology in ways it was not intended to be used, in order to achieve an asymmetric advantage which allows them to survive and thrive in hostile socioeconomic conditions.
Solarpunk is a genre and art movement that envisions how the future might look if humanity succeeded in solving major contemporary challenges with an emphasis on sustainability, climate change and pollution. It is a subgenre within science fiction, aligned with cyberpunk derivatives, and may borrow elements from utopian and fantasy genres. Contrasted to cyberpunk’s use of a dark aesthetic with characters marginalized or subsumed by technology in settings that illustrate artificial and domineering built environments, solarpunk uses settings where technology enables humanity to sustainably co-exist with its environment with Art Nouveau-influenced aesthetics that convey feelings of cleanliness, abundance and equability. Although solarpunk is concerned with technology, it also embraces low-tech ways of living sustainably such as gardening, positive psychology and do-it-yourself ethics. Its themes may reflect on environmental philosophy such as bright green environmentalism, deep ecology, and ecomodernism, as well as punk ideologies such as anti-consumerism, anti-authoritarianism, and civil rights.
The aesthetic and literary genre of Solarpunk can in many ways be seen as a post-cyberpunk genre; a deconstruction and moving-past of cyberpunk. In this essay, I will explore the ways in which Solarpunk is a genre that builds on the critical interrogation of cyberpunk, and offers a more hopeful and sustainable vision for the future.
I. Origins of Solarpunk
The term “solarpunk” was first coined in 2012 by author Alexandra Edwards as a descriptor for her own writing. However, the idea of solarpunk as a genre and movement began to coalesce in the online sphere in 2014, when a group of artists and writers started to create works of art and fiction that explored the potential of sustainability, climate change and pollution being solved in the future. The aim of the solarpunk movement is to provide an optimistic and hopeful vision of the future, in contrast to the often bleak and dystopian visions of cyberpunk.
II. Critiques of Cyberpunk
The origins of cyberpunk can be traced back to the counterculture movement of the 1960s, which was a response to the conformity and conservatism of post-war America. The cyberpunk genre emerged in the early 1980s as a response to the growing influence of computer technology, and its often negative effects on society and the individual. Cyberpunk protagonists are typically marginalized or subsumed by technology, and live in a hostile and artificial built environment. The purpose of cyberpunk is to critique the negative effects of computer technology on society, and to offer a dystopian vision of the future.
III. The Promise of Solarpunk
The solarpunk genre offers a more hopeful vision of the future, in which humanity has succeeded in solving major contemporary challenges such as climate change and pollution. The setting is often one in which technology enables humanity to co-exist in a sustainable way with its environment. The aesthetics of solarpunk are often inspired by Art Nouveau, and convey feelings of cleanliness, abundance and equability.
The themes of solarpunk may reflect on environmental philosophy such as bright green environmentalism, deep ecology, and ecomodernism, as well as punk ideologies such as anti-consumerism, anti-authoritarianism, and civil rights. Solarpunk provides a vision of the future that is both more hopeful and sustainable than cyberpunk.
At this point, GPT-3’s Davinci-001 (The more polite and less spicy, newer version of GPT-3) got stuck, so I switched to the earlier spicier version of GPT-3…
IV. Contemporary Challenges in Solarpunk
Predicting the future is a complex process, and we are continually confronted with the limitations and uncertainties of our predictions. There are a number of different scenarios that might unfold in the future. For example, if there is a massive surge in technological development, maybe this will enable humanity to solve all its problems. At the same time, it may also lead to new problems that we were not previously aware of. If we are able to defeat climate change and pollution, maybe it will lead to other existential challenges that we need to urgently address such as overpopulation and growing scarcity of natural resources.
Technology is already changing our lives at an unprecedented rate, but none of us knows exactly what form it will take in the future or what impact it will have on us as consumers and citizens. The idea for solarpunk is that even if technology does result in negative effects, perhaps these can be mitigated or even overcome through ethical solutions and a positive mindset. The aim of solarpunk is to provide a sustainable and hopeful vision for the future in which humanity has solved its pressing contemporary problems, enabling us to live in a way that is more socially equitable and ecologically sustainable.
V. Solarpunk Narratives
Although the term “solarpunk” was first coined on Reddit in 2014, it wasn’t until 2016 that there was an explosion of art, fiction and music with themes of climate change and pollution being solved in the future. In 2016, popular artists such as Jona Dinges released their song “Solarpunk is Sustainable Future Punk”: http://bit.ly/SolarpunkSong, which garnered over 100K hits on YouTube within two months of its release. This was followed by a series of other songs with similar themes: http://bit.ly/solarpunksongs2017, as well as an anthology titled Solarpunk: Histórias ecológicas e fantásticas (Solarpunk: Ecological and fantastic stories) which was released in 2017: http://bit.ly/solarpunkbook2017. There are also a number of online groups on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram where solarpunk art, fiction and music can be shared with thousands of followers.
VI. Conclusion
The popularity of the term “solarpunk” on Reddit has given rise to a number of questions as to what is solarpunk exactly, as well as debates about whether it is a movement or a genre, and how it is different from eco-punk. These discussions are ongoing and many people still don’t know what the term means or where it comes from. In my opinion, there are three main ways in which Solarpunk can be defined: it can be seen as a genre, movement or philosophy. As an example of the genre aspect: “a genre of art is a specific type of art form, which is defined by the artistic style, with specific forms of subject matter and content, that is the main subject in a work of art.” The Solarpunk genre refers to the set of narratives that share a common setting and similar themes, such as sustainability and hope. As an example of the movement aspect: “a movement is an organized group demonstrating public support for a particular political or social cause or for a certain person or creed.” The Solarpunk movement refers to the ongoing discussions between various individuals who share similar interests within the solarpunk genre. As an example of the philosophy aspect: “the philosophical study of ethics, aesthetics and values; a branch of philosophy concerned especially with questions about justice, rights and virtue.” A Solarpunk philosophy represents a set of commonly-held beliefs about how society should be organized or oriented from a philosophical perspective.
The term “solarpunk” is still new, and the future of the online community is still uncertain. However, I believe that they are an important part of the ongoing dialogue around climate change and pollution.