I think the issue here goes a bit deeper, in that a fair few of the examples come with disclaimers of their own about how they fall outside the utopian future vision the trope is centered around.
It's not the only aspect described that's conspicuously rare, either.
The general push towards eco-friendly and utopian themes in fiction isn't a trope in itself. I don't know if it's the page that needs focus, or the movement it's trying to capture.
This genre doesn't even start organically from creatives working with the same themes and from there. Cyberpunk started like this before it was given a name. Solarpunk's own tvtropes entry says in very plain terms that it started from some tumblr blog post where this middle-class white girl posted an idea for a genre that people should do. I can understand that people want a more hopeful science fiction. The social justice movement, while I love it for it stands for, I think has a problem of most of its praxis is basically criticizing ideas as they show up. It's not enough to be an armchair idea person, people need to get to writing for genres to materialize into reality.
I feel solarpunk idea stems as people wanting a science fiction genre that answers a lot of societal problems that are connected with capitalism as most near-future science fiction envisions a brutal capitalist dystopia. Even then, solarpunk as described by the idea post on tumblr never figures out how to go beyond the very capitalist system that inspired cyberpunk to begin with. Instead it calls for an idea of "less corporate capitalism", more trees, less pollution. For a science-fiction, solarpunk in its current form is polluted with idealism rather than having any material or scientific analysis.
I believe solarpunk can still be salvaged but major elements need to be changed for it to work.
Edited by Pix3M
Hi y'all! Got some other suggestions for examples, curious about thoughts:
Animation: Astro Boy
Webcomics: Always Human O Human Star
Video Games: Mega Man (the original series, not Mega Man X or later) Final Fantasy XII (specifically Bhujerba and Rabanastre) Final Fantasy V (to a lesser degree; specifically the First World setting, before the plot begins)
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Wanted to drop a suggestion for Cities: Skylines as a video game. The game rewards environmentally friendly city designs, as well as dense, well-designed cities. The green cities DLC adds even more to solarpunk-esque themes. Its a tad bit of a stretch though, but should be close enough, given that it is such an undeveloped genre at this point.
I say this trope needs either a name rechange or a disclaimer.
Because there is nothing “punk” about Solarpunk.
The Punk Punk subgenres are just as much about attitude within a setting as the technology. Characters with attitude, rebellion, passion against the issues within the story’s setting.
Solar”punk” doesn’t have that. There’s nothing within most of the settings were the characters are rebelling or fighting against. You don’t see characters seeking to undo a wrong or wanting to get ahead in life because everything is wrong. This is Solar Utopianism, there are no problems, so there are no punks.
I’m tired of the sexist garbage going on this site. I’m leaving, this site now just trash. Hide / Show Replies