Cli-fi: when the climate invites itself into science fiction: episode 0/11 of the podcast Le mot

Don't Look Up, Dune, The Day After… These works of fiction belong to the “cli-fi” genre, this category which brings together fiction inspired by the climate crisis. But what do these films or books say about our current world, about the commitment of authors and screenwriters? What are they for? Is it a new genre, appearing with the climate crisis we are experiencing, or has it always been part of our fictions and dystopias? Does it really raise awareness? Or is it just playing to scare each other?

With Natacha Vas-Deyresessayist, teacher and researcher associated with the Multidisciplinary Laboratory for Research on the Imagination Applied to Literature at Bordeaux Montaigne University. President of the Hypermondes Festival since 2021.

What is the history of cli-fi?

DuneFrank Herbert's book, adapted several times for cinema, is often considered a pioneer of cli-fi, climate fictionseen as a book on ecology and the environment. The book will be 60 years old in 2025. It is the story of a world where a “Spice” is at the heart of all wars.

“Eco-fictions”, as the guest explains, were born in the 1970s. The book Eco-fiction is an anthology, notably with John Stadler, which will include around twenty short stories which will discuss all environmental problems. In those years, there was a real ecological awareness. Coming back to cinema, in 1973, the film was released Green sun.

Natacha Vas-Deyres explains that there was then a dip in the 1980s and 90s. For 25 years, we no longer talked about the environment.

The climate catastrophe inspired the authors of dystopian works

With the help of the climate crisis, these cli-fis are making a comeback, particularly through films and series, enough to give ideas to those who like to invent words. This is the case of Dan Bloom, a blogger and activist, who coined the term “cli-fi” in 2011, or at least who popularized it. He made a site called The Cli-fi Report. The guest notably evokes the emblematic film On the Roadwhere all the fauna and flora have disappeared.

Today, cli-fi works can also have a whistleblower role, this is the case of Don’t Look Upwhich is not the most spectacular film, but perhaps the most explicit about our blindness in the face of imminence of danger. Scientists generally play the best role in cli-fi. They are the heroes.