‘Cli-Fi’ is changing how sci-fi is viewed by the mainstream in 2018

Yes, in the past few years, worldwide, the rise of climate fiction (aka ”cli-fi”) has been changing how ”sci-fi” is viewed by the mainstream media. Why? Because cli-fi is now valued by the literary establishment, and cli-fi novel and movies get reviewed by big publications.

In addition, cli-fi has been boosted by hundreds of academic papers worldwide written about it. In fact, in today’s climate (no pun intended) cli-fi is taken more seriously than any sci-fi subgenre ever has been.

Not only is cli-fi trending well, it is broadly recognized even outside the SFF (science fiction and fantasy) community as well.

‏So, yes, climate fiction is taken seriously by the mainstream now, the first time for a sub-genre of science fiction. Sci-fi and its subgenre of cli-fi are growing close and closer as a result.

While her new album ”Solastalgia” muses on the end of the world, Missy Higgins is finally feeling relaxed about her career and place in the world, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The term “solastalgia” was coined by Dr Glenn Albrecht in Australia and is used to describe the distress of environmental change. With Higgins’ album, it signifies beginnings and endings.

If you haven’t heard of “cli-fi”, it’s a genre of dystopian fiction dedicated to environmental disaster; the successor of nuclear disaster and influenza novels, The Sydney Morning Herald says.

The heavyweight trilogies are Margaret Atwood’s ”MaddAddam”; NK Jemisin’s ”The Broken Earth” series and Jeff VanderMeer’s​ ”Area X”. Higgins, a long-term eco-activist, admits to a macabre fascination with cli-fi.

“In a way, it’s dealing with your fears head on by immersing yourself in them,” she told the newspaper. “But it’s also a form of escapism, because you’re giving up on the present, on hope.”

So do check out Missy Higgins, an Australian singer and composer who has issued a new CD titled “Solastagia” which includes several powerful songs with cli-fi lyrics.