Friday, February 28, 2014

Why Cli-Fi novels are catching on, by Dan Bloom

Scientific studies on climate helped establish...
Scientific studies on climate helped establish a consensus. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Why, in 2014, are more and more  readers making the choice to read a
''cli fi''  novel above any other? I've got a few ideas. By the way,
cli fi stands for climate fiction novels. Movies too.

by Danny Bloom
CLI FI CENTRAL blogger

1. - We're living in Climate Fiction. The world in which we live, in
many ways, is pointing us in the
direction of trying to understand and tackle climate change and global
warming before it is too late.
So cli fi novels have a place in our lives now.
Cli fi is always as much about the present day as it is about the near
future. We need it to help us understand and make sense of the world
we live in.

2. - Technology is accelerating more rapidly than at any time in human
history -- faster than the average human brain can comprehend. However,
people also feel considerable anxiety about technology getting out of
control or being used for malevolent purposes. The message that  cli
fi novels can deliver is that we can overcome. Human actors always
prevail over technology. Cli fi  provides comfort in a highly
technological era. Even though human-caused global warming, the main
issue of today, has been caused by man's technological developments,
from the steam engine to the co2 emitting cars and trucks and
airplanes of today. Oops.

3. - It can be exciting and entertaining -- and insightful and
illumianting -- to read about climate issues of
today and how we might survive into the future. Climate Fiction
represents an artistic expression of this theme and it's insightful to
read as both entertainment and wake up call.

4. - Thanks to the non-stop 24/7 news cycle -- on radio, television,
and the internet -- we have access to more information from across the
globe than ever before. More knowledge is a good thing; but,
unfortunately, much of this news is not good. Especially about the
state of the Earth and global warming issues. Constantly hearing about
possible future climate scenarios has put us on edge. As advanced as
technology has become and as seamlessly integrated it may be into our
lives, there are still parts of our world that feel primitive,
frightening, and dangerous. Climate Fiction can provide an escape from
the realities of modern life, but it also gives us hope that we will
survive and find a way to solve these global climate problems.

5. - Never before have Climate Fiction stories been rendered so
believably in film. NOAH is a good example and INTERSTELLAR is coming
soon, too. Before the development of CGI, or
computer-generated-imagery, it was impossible to create a realistic
visual representation of Climate Fiction -- making many of these tales
impossible to share on film. With  the release of THE DAY AFTER
TOMORROW Hollywood woke up to the power of cli fi movies. CGI as
forever changed the way that Climate Fiction stories can be told,
offering spectacular special effects and mind-blowing visuals. A whole
new audience of moviegoers is attracted to the cli fi genre -- that
audience translates into more readers of Climate Fiction as well.

So, why Climate Fiction now?  You tell me.

What compels you to pick up a work of Climate Fiction these days? I'd
especially like to hear from new readers of the genre -- what caused
you to get into cli fi?

-- 

CLI FI CENTRAL: 'Cli-fi' - a new literary genre
http://pcillu101.blogspot.com/
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