Midterm

Question 1

Definition acc. Goodbody & Johns-Putra

Answer 1

Cli-fi is:
Body of cultural work (ficitonal artifact produced in a culture, many different kinds of texts)
Focus on the psychological, political, social and ethical issues
Represents a reflection on the relationship of nature and humans
Engages mainly with anthropogenic climate change
Combines already existing genres with the phenomenon climate change and often tells facts about climate change and the impact it has on different aspects ➡️ combination of fiction and reality)

Question 2

Advantages of cli-fi

Answer 2

Helps readers to think through complex issues as well as it creates an understanding of potential solutions

Alerts readers to the dangers of global warming

Acts as therapy to talk about the fears of climate change and shows (mostly complicated but hope spending) solutions

Question 3

What’s the natural greenhouse effect?

Answer 3

The amount of the sun’s energy that is trapped and absorbed by the earth’s atmosphere enables life and leads to a comfortable temperature of +14°C on average.

Question 4

What does “Anthropogenic greenhouse effect” mean?

Answer 4

Through the burning of fossil fuels and other climate warming activities more and more CO2 and methane get into the atmosphere where they trap and absorb more and more heat.
➡️ the earth’s temperature is rising rapidly

Question 5

The significance of stored heat

Answer 5

The ocean can store a lot of energy before it affects the surface temperature. To raise the surface temperature (even slightly) takes a lot of heat. This extra heat in the increase of stored heat worsens the temperature extremes and leads to more catastrophes.

Question 6

Climate change now vs then

Answer 6

Past: natural climate change
➡️ caused by shifts in earth’s orbit (suns angle changed slightly over many years) and massive natural events (like big volcanoes etc) ➡️ happened very slowly

Now: human-made climate change
➡️ caused by modern way of life (burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests etc) ➡️ greenhouse gases rise rapidly since the start of industrialisation in the 20th century ➡️ rapid warming

Question 7

Why is 1880 the baseline for measuring climate change?

Answer 7

Earliest time possible to have reliable data ➡️ pre-industrial data doesn’t exist

Question 8

Tipping points

Answer 8

Climate doesn’t change in a steady, smooth line ➡️ something that has been changing slowly can suddenly change quickly (conditions have reached a tipping point)

Example: you lean yourself slowly to one side, at some point you fall over)

Question 9

Feedback loops

Answer 9

Happen when one process speeds up or slows down another process, and the the second process speeds up or slows down the first process and so on

Example: Permafrost soil starts to thaw, releases methane which speeds up global warming and leads to a faster thawing of the permafrost

Question 10

Why is it difficult to forecast the future climate

Answer 10

Climate change is a fast moving field of study and scientists must develop new and more accurate tools for gathering data and modeling projections.

Question 11

7 characteristics of cli-fi acc. to Julia Leyda

Answer 11

Contemporary: manifestation of our times/takes place in the present or near future

Controversial: the term cli-fi is used by many different people and doesn’t mean the same to everybody

Transmedial: not media-specific

Transnational: global theme, global audience, not bound to a nation

Didactic: can educate the reader through emotions, has the power to draw public’s attention towards the theme)

Generic: shows the need for new categories (=mixture between facts and made-up fictions) and genres in the new era

Political: climate change narratives are political ➡️ feelings are embedded in values and beliefs, cli-fi usually has a political agenda

Question 12

Literary terms associated with cli-fi (6)

Answer 12

Science fiction

Alternate fiction

Dystopian fiction

Utopian fiction

Apocalyptic narrative

Post-apocalyptic narrative

Question 13

Science fiction

Answer 13

A popular modern branch of fiction that explores the probable consequences of some improbable or impossible transformation of the basic conditions of human or intelligent non-human existence.

Question 14

Alternate fiction

Answer 14

Literary or cultural works that pick out monumental historical events and modify the outcome of it so that a new world is extrapolated from the change of a single event.

Question 15

Dystopian fiction

Answer 15

Wants to alert readers to the potential pitfalls and dangers of society’s present course or of a course society might conceivably take one day.
Dystopia=unpleasant imaginary world

Question 16

Utopian fiction

Answer 16

A written work of fiction or philosophical speculation describing an utopian society.

Utopia=ideal or superior human society

Question 17

Apocalyptic narrative

Answer 17

Depicts a catastrophic end to the world (visions of unbridled doom and destruction)

Question 18

Post-apocalyptic narrative

Answer 18

Describes the time after the apocalyptic disaster.

Question 19

Dystopia - definition

Answer 19

Unpleasant imaginary world for a society on the basis of contemporary preoccupations

Question 20

Dystopia - history

Answer 20

Emerged as a response to the unfulfilled promises of the political and scientific revolutions of the Enlightenment and the radical change brought about by industrialisation and urbanisation.

Question 21

Dystopia - how they work

Answer 21

Distant settings and shocking scenarios de-familiarize the fictional world from the known world, thereby foregrounding and commenting on the social, political and cultural conditions of their time of production

Question 22

Dystopia - cultural work

Answer 22

Sensitise readers to critically analyse their environment, to empower alternative modes of thought and to communicate plans for radical change.

Question 23

Normative dimension of cli-fi/dystopias

Answer 23

Heteronormativity ➡️ focus on the nuclear family (consisting of mother, father and child; patriarchy, traditional family structures and gender roles to provide stability and a moral compass)

Question 24

Cli-fi films development

Answer 24

Traditional topics/patterns: white male, heroism, the family is the item worth saving, didactic, dystopia

Recent development: (white, male) hero becomes vulnerable, focus turned to media, uses parody and humour, more diverse protagonists (single people, mothers, non-related people), criticise the former heroes

Question 25

Thesis statement

Answer 25

An assertion that takes a stand on sth./ informs about the main idea and is rather specifically focused on one main point. Uses the level of the story to conclude to actual reality.

Question 26

Close reading

Answer 26

2 steps: observe facts and details about the text, then interprete the observations

To do so:
Read/watch with a pencil in hand, take notes/annotate
Look for patterns in the things you’ve noticed
Ask questions about the patterns you’ve noticed

Question 27

Development of cli-fi

Answer 27

First engagement in 1971 as climate change becomes a public concern in the 60s/70s

First flowering around 2000 and taking off in the following years until the climategate happened, politicians failed at agreeing with each other in terms of climate protection, people are desensitised

Second cluster of novels appeared after 2010, reflected and responded to this shift in public opinion by seeking to understand the seemingly irrational unwillingness of the public and politicians to take action in the face of the predictions of climate science, and beginning to explore the realities of living with climate change