Climate fiction or cli-fi is a sub genre of science fiction that deals with human caused climate change, though many use the term for any fiction that deals with the climate issue regardless of the parent genre of the work. Now, we have established that genre is like niche, a marketing term that signifies certain aspects of a work.
Fantasy works have certain tropes, often European aesthetics, and a secondary world ruled by laws different from ours. Science fiction often has a techno aesthetic and deals with the future or the present in a world which follows the same laws as ours. Yet, there are stories like Star Wars which is a science fantasy space opera, mixing various genre. Genre hybridity or genre bending is when a work borrows tropes, aesthetics, or rules from one genre and applies it to other. A famous example would be Doctor Who and how it uses the tropes of detective and mystery fiction in its episodic writing to keep viewers engaged. The show markets itself as science fiction due to time travel and aliens being a major cornerstone of the show, and yet we see a lot of space fantasy, historical storytelling mixed with science fiction, and the Sherlock-Watson arrangement with the Doctor and his companions, where the “regular” character serves as the audience stand in to explain the genius.
But what does this have to do with climate fiction? Well, research has found that our emotions affect how we engage with climate fiction and that dystopian stories can lead to negative reactions which can make the problem worse. While hopeful storytelling can encourage community action, one finding remains is that those who engage with cli-fi are often already dealing with climate change discourse in some form. While it has also been found that cli-fi books grow an audience mainly because recommendation, if it stays within the circles of climate enthusiasts the awareness capacity significantly reduces.
How the “MCU Treatment” Or Using Climate Change As a Background Makes Cli-Fi More Interesting to Everyday Readers?
As a writer, my solution to climate fiction being limited to climate enthusiasts comes from the MCU or the Marvel Cinematic Universe. See, comics were often seen as niche, and sure people like superhero stories but MCU changed something. It changed superheroes from a niche interests to mainstream pop culture. Charismatic actors were part of the equation but it was also awesome storytelling. And one aspect of that was genre hybridity.
Because unlike previous stories, MCU didn’t just make origin stories or the burden of being a hero stories. It took the superhero world and made it a setting. A place where romance, mystery, spy thrillers, fantasy stories, and buildunsroma all could take place. Suddenly we see a historical drama with superheroes in the First Avenger, followed by the same beloved characters in a superhero spy thriller which mainly follows spy movies aesthetics and tropes with just a garnish of the superhero setting in Winter Solider. Thunderbolts is a story about found family and community, while WandaVision is the exploration of grief, and SpiderMan: HomeComing is a coming of age narrative.
Suddenly, the superhero world exploded, because suddenly it’s lively and filled with diverse stories. Characters from different background and something for everyone from the romance fans to the action buffs to the history and science nerds. Sure, the romance fans might not enjoy The Avengers but they’ll be sitting on the edge of their seat in WandaVision.
Fiction has often had subplots which brought in elements of different genres. For example, many stories have romantic subplots which follows a couple of character’s love while the wider story takes place. MCU flipped the script and made the wider story an overarching narrative setting where these characters all have different lives that we can follow. In the mood for something theatrical, you have Thor but if you want cheesy space rebels and friendship, there’s the Gaudrians of the Galaxy 1&2.
Climate fiction is primed to be treated like this- after all, isn’t climate change the backdrop that’s changing everything? From affecting romance and dates to affecting health and tourism and causing cultural shifts and resource wars, when we turn climate fiction from the narrative to the setting that’s an overarching comment on the narrative, the possibilities blow open.
People suddenly feel a bigger emotional drive because it’s not the exhaustion of dealing with the climate again but understating the human condition in this era of climate change that they’re engaging with. The stories don’t have to be doom and gloom anymore but can be superheroes and magic and comedy.
Suddenly we can be following a young couple finding romance in the middle of a climate migration and empathizing with their struggles or laughing with a slice of life story in a city which is now facing water shortages and the housing societies won’t stand for it! But what can they do? Aunties and uncles asking neighbours for water, young couples figuring out a rainwater harvesting system, the activist didi or bhaiya suddenly becoming popular and not knowing what to do with the new found fame- now that’s a movie I would watch. And if it also shares practical climate solutions, well, that’s just icing on the cake.
Or a story about what everyday might look like in the next few decades- such as The Future Society short story in our upcoming cli-fi anthology Prithvi.
Or what about a superhero out of time like Steve Rogers who has water powers suddenly realising that with climate change their hit points are going down and joining a lobby to demand better conservation of the planets resources?
Examples of “Climate Fiction” Which Uses Climate Change as Backdrop
Tumblr has done these stories and we love them. Other awesome stories are already doing that. Dune, which science fiction, shows us what resource exploitation can lead to from the lens of a political science fiction space drama while Wall-E turns it into a quest for romance, which just happens to help humans break free from corporate and media control and rehabilitate Earth.
What do you think friends? Let me know in the comments.
Author’s Note: Hope this helped your writing and climate awareness. To read more of my work check out Muses_Saga or our store.
