Solacene

This is a fun episode in which we each nominate an artist who embodies the Solacene, and why we think they would be good at portraying that beautiful, sustainable, tactile world. It is uplifting to consider the world as a story and ourselves its tellers.

We also feature some feminist literature and talk about the distinct role of actors through history.

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www.solacene.org

Across history and different cultures, many of our stories are populated by similar characters. These are archetypes- different elements of human psychology made narrative- and can be useful in understanding both storytelling and people. This episode sees us discuss this concept as well as the use of cliches in general, especially in advertising, and their presence in the Solacene.

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From ancient forest spirits to modern serial killers, humans have always been fascinated with the narratives of fear. Our imagination is boundless in creating and exaggerating real-world horror in stories. In this episode we discuss the state of scary stories in the Solacene, including the impact of urbanization and the concept of healthy vs damaging terror. We also talk about the spookiest development of recent times- AI art.

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www.solacene.org

Imagination is at the heart of storytelling, both in the process of creation and that of 'consumption', so why do so many features of the modern world seemingly exist to crush it? In this episode, we discuss ways that imagination will be fostered and encouraged in the Solacene. We also share our outlines for solarpunk stories that embody the major themes of that aesthetic.

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'Romance' can be an amorphous term. It's love letters and medieval adventures, Call Me By Your Name and The Hobbit, idyllic and fraught with peril. At least, that's how we discuss it on this episode of Solacene. We discuss romance in love stories as well as in the general sense of passion we feel for certain fictional worlds, all in the context of a beautiful, sustainable, tactile future. Enjoy :)

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Do you daydream about what films you wish were in the theaters or which ones you'd make if you were a producer? This week's episode was an indulgence in such a daydream where we plan out a year of box office hits in the Solacene. This week we also had fun imagining the ideal hero and learning about the history of fan fiction.

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Plankton, Thanos, Satan. What makes these villains so terrifying and memorable? In this episode, we discuss this question in depth as well as questions of 'character' in architecture and fashion.

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Look at graphs mapping different types of human activity over time and you will most likely see a spike in the last ~hundred years. This period of rapid infrastructural, technological, and cultural acceleration affects us in a milieu of ways known and unknown. In this episode, we discuss its impact on the types of stories we tell, and how they are received.

We also talk about both music and various creative limitations in the context of storytelling.

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www.solacene.org

This special edition of Solacene is an interview with two of the editors of the new book, Degrowth and Strategy: how to bring about social-ecological transformation. A throw-back to our first semester all about Degrowth, this conversation discusses practical solutions to the social and ecological challenges of today. I encourage you to check out the link to the free PDF of this significant work or purchase a copy through the second link below. This book was a long time in the making so its release is a celebration for all involved, and the degrowth movement as a whole.

https://mayflybooks.org/degrowth-strategy/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/degrowth-strategy-nathan-barlow/1141785325?ean=9781906948603

Hollywood: depending on who you talk to, it's a magical capital of culture, an inspirational dream factory, or a den of corruption and degeneracy. What would it look like in an ideal world? This episode attempts to answer that by painting a picture of a new Hollywood existing in a beautiful, sustainable, tactile future.

We also discuss the intersection of fact and fiction in our retellings of history, and the timeline of stories becoming 'mass scale'.

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www.solacene.org