A review by frasersimons
The Anthropocene Unconscious: Climate Catastrophe in Contemporary Culture by Mark Bould
4.0
With such a short page count, you can imagine it’s near impossible to provide a definitive thesis on the subject. But I think the point is still pretty well made through the short hand of literature and visual media.
Essentially, it boils down to the notion that within culture, regardless of specific intent, there is a climate fiction through-line in contemporary fiction and media, though even further back is probable. Dystopia or utopia, mere visual aesthetic or otherwise, there is knot of anxiety in the cultural consciousness around climate effects.
While some properties combat this with popular delusions—an amusing correlation being the fast and furious franchise, literally making petrol fuelled fantasias before the oil runs dry or everyone dies; a product trying to milk every last Penny from the people denying reality and constantly wish to imagine that what we consume for entertainment has no basis in reality. As if it could actually be divorced.
The author goes into how the framing of climate fiction in particular is curious as well. Authors who don’t classify their works and others as “cli-fi” often use motifs that specifically invoke environmental changes from climate change to great effect. So when can or should a story be “about” climate effects and change?
Though consumers don’t want to acknowledge the realities of the crisis, it bleeds through into art and politics and entertainment regardless, subconsciously. I think that’s quite true. And the attempt to sketch a few salient points ends up being extremely entertaining to read. Short; punchy; conversational, yet deploying specific jargon and diction, the piece walks an effective line between making an argument and keeping the attention and accessibility of the text.
Essentially, it boils down to the notion that within culture, regardless of specific intent, there is a climate fiction through-line in contemporary fiction and media, though even further back is probable. Dystopia or utopia, mere visual aesthetic or otherwise, there is knot of anxiety in the cultural consciousness around climate effects.
While some properties combat this with popular delusions—an amusing correlation being the fast and furious franchise, literally making petrol fuelled fantasias before the oil runs dry or everyone dies; a product trying to milk every last Penny from the people denying reality and constantly wish to imagine that what we consume for entertainment has no basis in reality. As if it could actually be divorced.
The author goes into how the framing of climate fiction in particular is curious as well. Authors who don’t classify their works and others as “cli-fi” often use motifs that specifically invoke environmental changes from climate change to great effect. So when can or should a story be “about” climate effects and change?
Though consumers don’t want to acknowledge the realities of the crisis, it bleeds through into art and politics and entertainment regardless, subconsciously. I think that’s quite true. And the attempt to sketch a few salient points ends up being extremely entertaining to read. Short; punchy; conversational, yet deploying specific jargon and diction, the piece walks an effective line between making an argument and keeping the attention and accessibility of the text.