Scarier Than Fiction: Climate Worry Driving 'cli-fi' Boom
Sumaira FH Published November 15, 2019 | 08:21 AM
Paris, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Nov, 2019 ) :Imagine a world where storms inundate coastal megacities, entire species become extinct in the blink of an eye, and conflicts are fought over dwindling natural resources.
Not so difficult in 2019, perhaps.
After a year of devastating extreme weather and worldwide unrest over the emergency posed by climate change, topics that used to belong to the realm of science fiction are finding their way into mainstream storytelling.
Back in 2004, Roland Emmerich's disaster flick "The Day After Tomorrow" depicted a global weather catastrophe, with coastal areas devoured by the sea amid general meteorological mayhem.
Just 15 years on, scenes from the movie resemble images taken from real-life weather events today.
And as climate change makes superstorms, flooding, wildfires and droughts more likely, a new genre is gaining fatalistic fans the world over: "Cli-fi".
"It's catching on like wildfire," said US writer and cli-fi aficionado Dan Bloom.
He credited US President Donald Trump, who has said he will withdraw from the Paris climate deal, with helping promote the genre.
"There's a lot of people who say that climate change is not real," said Bloom. "These people are making the rest of us very angry and as a result cli-fi is getting more and more power." Andrew Milner, a professor of comparative literature at Melbourne's Monash University, said that cli-fi was yet to break out from sci-fi's yoke -- most people get into the new genre because they like the old one.
"Both its texts and practitioners -- writers, readers, publishers, film directors, fans -- relate primarily to the science-fiction tradition," he said.
"(But) it is very clear that the sub-genre has grown very rapidly in recent years." - Global appeal - Global protest movements such as the Youth Strike for Climate and Extinction Rebellion have heightened public awareness of the issue.
For J.R. Burgmann, co-author of "Science Fiction and Climate Change: A Sociological Approach", cli-fi films and novels are a logical expression of an increasingly knowledgeable and concerned society.
"This rise is a response to real-world concerns," he said.
"And though I would argue that literature has been rather slow to respond to manmade climate change, it certainly appears to be making up for lost time." And, because climate change is a truly global problem, cli-fi has become a worldwide, multi-lingual phenomenon.
In France, two major television series focussing on dystopian but conceivable futures have received popular and critical acclaim.
"The Last Wave" tells the story of 10 surfers who go missing in bad weather. When they return they can't remember what happened but some have strange new powers.
And "The Collapse", set in a post-apocalyptic world where fuel is scarce, nuclear sites are threatened and medicines are rationed, debuted this week.
Recent cli-fi works from around the world include "Blackout Island" by Icelandic author Sigridur Hagalin Bjornsdottir, a Canadian adaptation of Jean Hegland's "Into the Forest" and "Water Knife", by US author Paolo Bacigalupi.
In "The History of Bees", Norwegian author Maja Lunde's 2017 bestseller, humanity is forced to pollinate their crops by hand after pesticides have wiped insects off the face of the Earth.
"People are more and more worried about climate change and authors write about what scares them," Lunde told AFP last year.
- 'Hard to ignore' - Novels and films about climate change are nothing new, of course.
J.G. Ballard's "The Burning World" (1964) and John Brunner's "The Sheep Look Up" (1972) depicted a world ravaged by environmental damage decades before scientists fully understood manmade climate change.
Even John Steinbeck's generational "The Grapes of Wrath" (1939) is essentially a tale of the harrowing ordeal undergone by climate migrants from the Oklahoma dust bowl.
But, as leading cli-fi author Jean-Marc Ligny explained, greater public awareness and a seemingly unending string of drought, wildfires and heatwaves have made climate a topic that's "hard to ignore".
"Climate change needs stories, and readers need them to be told," he said. "There are figures, statistics, but these don't really say anything. Cli-fi makes people more aware of the situation."
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 28 April 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 28 April 2024
Fresh wave of rainfall in AJK continues for the second consecutive day
Babar, bowlers help Pakistan level series 2-2 against New Zealand
Attack in restive Chilean province leaves three police officers dead
PM, Saudi Royal court advisor discuss ways to boost economic ties
England clinch third successive Women's Six Nations Grand Slam
DC Bahawalnagar leads fight for fair bread prices
Sheffield Utd relegated from Premier League
02 proclaimed offenders arrested by Wah Police
Pakistan level T20I series with nine-run victory over New Zealand
Minister meets Chinese Consul General, discusses bilateral cooperation, Chinese ..
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
Stage Drama Mohabati Manhoon presents in Arts council Larkana
6 hours ago -
Wheat farmers in a fix on price, procurement mechanism
18 hours ago -
Modern tools to help transform crime investigation procedures
18 hours ago -
Sanam Marvi captivates audience with mesmerizing performance
1 day ago -
Modern Education Techniques: A pathway to achieve economic development
3 days ago -
Kite Flying: From cultural festival to deadly sport
3 days ago
-
PDMA predicts gusty wind, rain with thunder, hails
5 days ago -
Iranian president Raisi given guard of honour at PM House
7 days ago -
Intellectuals, writers accolades Naseer Mirza on his literary contribution
7 days ago -
Bahawalpur Adabi Sangat hosts memorable mushaira
7 days ago -
Cattle farming vital to alleviate poverty in rural areas
7 days ago -
Pakistan: A land of tourism, archeological wonders
8 days ago