How Solarpunk Fiction Envisions a Better Tomorrow | Video Essay

The world is dying. Lack of action has left us with severe climate anxiety. It’s no surprise then that our art reflects our eco-sensibilities. So, wouldn't it be nice if we had something that actually gave us hope? Let me tell you about SOLARPUNK.

In this video essay, Crisitian analyzes how solarpunk media offers an optimistic alternative to the apathetic works of Sci-Fi and speculative fiction found in Cyberpunk and Dystopias. This is climate forward art.

Written by Cristian Macias & Jackson Wells
Edited by Cristian Macias
Cristian on twitter: twitter.com/isoCristian
Jackson on twitter: twitter.com/jacksonwwells

Timestamps
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:03:35 - What is Solarpunk?
00:08:38 - Solarpunk in movies
00:17:19 - Solarpunk in games
00:25:40 - Conclusion

Support us: thepenultimateconquest.com
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/penconquest
Watch us live on Twitch: twitch.tv/penultimateconquest
Check out our Merch: thepenultimateconquest.com/merch

Resources:
BBC News - UN Scientists say it’s ‘now or never’ to limit global warming
Good Morning Britain - Richard Madeley Clashes With Climate Activist In Fiery Oil Protest Debate
The Intercept - a message from the future
PBS NewsHour - UN releases dire climate report highlighting rapid environmental degradation
The Verge - vertical forests
9News - Boulder man dies after setting himself on fire in front of Supreme Court

Videos used from:
Animal Crossing; Avatar the Way of Water; Black Panther; Blade Runner 2049; Castle in the Sky, Children of Men; Citizen Sleeper; Cyberpunk 2077; Death Stranding, District 9; Fallout 76; Final Fantasy 7 Remake; Forest Train; Gulliver’s Travels, The Handmaid’s Tale; Horizon Forbidden West; Inside; The Last of Us Part I; The Matrix Resurrections; Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind; Off the Grid; Princess Mononoke; Roots & Flower; Season: A Letter to the Future; Solare; Stray; Terra Nil; Wall-E

Music used - chronologically:
Amos Rody - Prismatic Lens (Citizen Sleeper)
Simon Chylinski - Sun & Moon (Subnautica)
Sam Hulick - Uncharted Worlds (Mass Effect 3)
Yasuaki Iwata, Manaka Kataoka, and Hajime Wakai - Rito Village - Night (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)
Lifeformed x Janice Kwan - Redwood Colonnade (Tunic)
Claude Debussy - Arabesque No. 1
Amos Rody - Yesterday’s Sky (Citizen Sleeper)
Amos Rody - Matsutake(Citizen Sleeper)
Oleksa Lozowchuk - Rusted Sands (Horizon Forbidden West)
Oleksa Lozowchuk - The Chorus (Horizon Forbidden West)
Andrew Prahlow - The Sun Station (Outer Wilds)
Amos Rody - Optic Nerve (Citizen Sleeper)

Additional photography and footage from:
Pixabay and Pexels