I remember getting in interested in solarpunk a few years back. I liked cyberpunk aesthetic and futurism, but cyberpunk kind of has dystopia baked into the premise. So I like the idea of Solarpunk...
I remember getting in interested in solarpunk a few years back. I liked cyberpunk aesthetic and futurism, but cyberpunk kind of has dystopia baked into the premise. So I like the idea of Solarpunk as kind of cyberpunk but not evil.
I fell off it for the reason the presenter discusses, that solarpunk is fundamentally supposed to be punk, it's supposed to be about social reorganization. The ad she shows in the beginning has cool technologies and cool ideas, but its not fundamentally opposed to Capitalism, so it doesn't count. I'd visit the solarpunk subreddit and like the articles and pictures there, but the discussions were often getting derailed by people arguing about whether something should be allowed or considered. It felt like a lot of Nos when I wanted to open my mind as much as possible.
I was interested in futurism because I liked opening my mind up to different possibilities and potential realities, but I didn't feel like I could really engage with Solarpunk in that way. It felt like a veneer of techno-optimism over the same exact "capitalism is bad we need a social revolution" discussions I'd see everywhere else on social media.
Still think the general idea is cool though. The Garden City concept she mentions seems interesting. I've though of that kind of thing before, where you might have dense industry areas connected by metro rail, with more nature centric residential areas I'm between. So people could live in sparser density forested areas and take public transit to the city centers for work or commerce. More local transport could be handled with stuff like cargo ebikes or just walking if you don't need to take stuff with you.
I like the Aria series as one example of this kind of futurism in media. Don't have many other examples though. Probably the closest thing to actually matching what I would want would be Black City/White Forest from Gen 5 of Pokemon.
I also really like Lunarpunk aesthetic. Its kind of more ethereal and spiritual than solarpunk, like a Dark Mode version of it. My favorite example of it is Macalania Forest from Final Fantasy 10.
I'd be interested in hearing what other depictions people have seen that they like.
I was subscribed to that subreddit too, and aside from the bickering, a lot of people there seemed to think that anything resembling cities as we know of them now couldn’t possibly be solarpunk...
I was subscribed to that subreddit too, and aside from the bickering, a lot of people there seemed to think that anything resembling cities as we know of them now couldn’t possibly be solarpunk and would need to be abolished in favor of places more in the vein of slightly modernized versions of tiny villages with thatch huts.
Pushing back against capitalism and consumerism is nice and all but I think that takes it too far. Cities have problems but there’s a lot to like about them too and I think it’s worth trying to find more environmentally friendly ways to allow them exist instead of trying to rewind the clock and push everybody back out into villages in the countryside.
Exactly how I feel. I think some of the concepts look nice as a place where I might want to go when I'm ready to retire or die, but not how I'd want everywhere to be for everyone.
Exactly how I feel. I think some of the concepts look nice as a place where I might want to go when I'm ready to retire or die, but not how I'd want everywhere to be for everyone.
You mentioned the Garden City movement, but I think the second one she briefly talks about, the Earthship movement, is about as close to real-life solarpunks as it actually gets. Since most of the...
You mentioned the Garden City movement, but I think the second one she briefly talks about, the Earthship movement, is about as close to real-life solarpunks as it actually gets. Since most of the people active in that movement actually do embody the anti-capitalist, anti-consumerism elements of solarpunk, and often live in off-the-grid, self-sufficient, sustainable communities, and build using upcycled/reclaimed materials. E.g. Earthships - America's Off-Grid Desert Community
I think the Earthships shown in the video are cool experiements, but I feel that they are still ultimately bound to a larger system that isn't really taken into consideration. Upcycling tires...
I think the Earthships shown in the video are cool experiements, but I feel that they are still ultimately bound to a larger system that isn't really taken into consideration. Upcycling tires means there is someone somewhere making lots of tires that isn't happening at the Earthship. Solar panels means theres a big semiconductor foundry somewhere.
I like that the Garden City idea still had from it's conception some degree of planning for incorporating industry into the idea. Which is the part I am more interested in. There's tons of ways people could manage to achieve some kind of sustainable subsistence livestyle, but to be honest I personally wouldn't really care to live in that kind of world. I still like being "on-grid". There's no electronic music in a pastoral utopia.
That is such an insightful channel I am always glad to see here. I love the idea that pessimism is easy, and how the author connects it to her discussion on the popularity of *punk and specially...
That is such an insightful channel I am always glad to see here.
I love the idea that pessimism is easy, and how the author connects it to her discussion on the popularity of *punk and specially cyberpunk fiction. It is slightly surprising but also makes so much intuitive sense like good insights tend to be.
Pessimism is just so boring, and I am glad DamiLee makes an effort to always contemplate hopeful scenarios as well.
I would make a slight observation (not a correction) that, in many cases, the suffix "punk" lost its original meaning long ago. Nowadays it is just an easy way to name any kind of aesthetic that takes a historical and/or technological umbrella to an extreme. And it really is mostly about aesthetics.
I remember getting in interested in solarpunk a few years back. I liked cyberpunk aesthetic and futurism, but cyberpunk kind of has dystopia baked into the premise. So I like the idea of Solarpunk as kind of cyberpunk but not evil.
I fell off it for the reason the presenter discusses, that solarpunk is fundamentally supposed to be punk, it's supposed to be about social reorganization. The ad she shows in the beginning has cool technologies and cool ideas, but its not fundamentally opposed to Capitalism, so it doesn't count. I'd visit the solarpunk subreddit and like the articles and pictures there, but the discussions were often getting derailed by people arguing about whether something should be allowed or considered. It felt like a lot of Nos when I wanted to open my mind as much as possible.
I was interested in futurism because I liked opening my mind up to different possibilities and potential realities, but I didn't feel like I could really engage with Solarpunk in that way. It felt like a veneer of techno-optimism over the same exact "capitalism is bad we need a social revolution" discussions I'd see everywhere else on social media.
Still think the general idea is cool though. The Garden City concept she mentions seems interesting. I've though of that kind of thing before, where you might have dense industry areas connected by metro rail, with more nature centric residential areas I'm between. So people could live in sparser density forested areas and take public transit to the city centers for work or commerce. More local transport could be handled with stuff like cargo ebikes or just walking if you don't need to take stuff with you.
I like the Aria series as one example of this kind of futurism in media. Don't have many other examples though. Probably the closest thing to actually matching what I would want would be Black City/White Forest from Gen 5 of Pokemon.
I also really like Lunarpunk aesthetic. Its kind of more ethereal and spiritual than solarpunk, like a Dark Mode version of it. My favorite example of it is Macalania Forest from Final Fantasy 10.
I'd be interested in hearing what other depictions people have seen that they like.
I was subscribed to that subreddit too, and aside from the bickering, a lot of people there seemed to think that anything resembling cities as we know of them now couldn’t possibly be solarpunk and would need to be abolished in favor of places more in the vein of slightly modernized versions of tiny villages with thatch huts.
Pushing back against capitalism and consumerism is nice and all but I think that takes it too far. Cities have problems but there’s a lot to like about them too and I think it’s worth trying to find more environmentally friendly ways to allow them exist instead of trying to rewind the clock and push everybody back out into villages in the countryside.
Exactly how I feel. I think some of the concepts look nice as a place where I might want to go when I'm ready to retire or die, but not how I'd want everywhere to be for everyone.
You mentioned the Garden City movement, but I think the second one she briefly talks about, the Earthship movement, is about as close to real-life solarpunks as it actually gets. Since most of the people active in that movement actually do embody the anti-capitalist, anti-consumerism elements of solarpunk, and often live in off-the-grid, self-sufficient, sustainable communities, and build using upcycled/reclaimed materials. E.g. Earthships - America's Off-Grid Desert Community
I think the Earthships shown in the video are cool experiements, but I feel that they are still ultimately bound to a larger system that isn't really taken into consideration. Upcycling tires means there is someone somewhere making lots of tires that isn't happening at the Earthship. Solar panels means theres a big semiconductor foundry somewhere.
I like that the Garden City idea still had from it's conception some degree of planning for incorporating industry into the idea. Which is the part I am more interested in. There's tons of ways people could manage to achieve some kind of sustainable subsistence livestyle, but to be honest I personally wouldn't really care to live in that kind of world. I still like being "on-grid". There's no electronic music in a pastoral utopia.
That is such an insightful channel I am always glad to see here.
I love the idea that pessimism is easy, and how the author connects it to her discussion on the popularity of *punk and specially cyberpunk fiction. It is slightly surprising but also makes so much intuitive sense like good insights tend to be.
Pessimism is just so boring, and I am glad DamiLee makes an effort to always contemplate hopeful scenarios as well.
I would make a slight observation (not a correction) that, in many cases, the suffix "punk" lost its original meaning long ago. Nowadays it is just an easy way to name any kind of aesthetic that takes a historical and/or technological umbrella to an extreme. And it really is mostly about aesthetics.