I remember in 2008 that Steampunk was everywhere. Interest seemed to have waned by the mid-2010s and died out completely after 2020. In the last two or three years I have been seeing a similar subculture develop around solarpunk. Books on Amazon, YouTube videos, Instagram edits, etc. Who is engaging with this content? Techno-optimism has been dead in every part of the internet that I browse for over five years now. The fanciful nature of solarpunk makes me think it probably primarily appeals to women who don’t have technical backgrounds but “love science” (basically the same demographic of people who liked Steampunk), but I don’t engage with the genre at all so I don’t actually know.
No.12189
Anonymous
2026-09-09 09:14:32
Who is the target audience for solarpunk?
No.12190
Anonymous
2026-09-09 09:18:41
Doesn’t it originate from a chobani yogurt commercial
Solarpunk isn't a subculture (the -punk suffix, see cyberpunk), it's not an artistic movement, it's not an intellectual or ideological strain, it's just an ephemeral idea with vague political leanings behind it of "we should be a little more technologically advanced and environmentally cleaner". Hate hate hate this cloud of nothingness and vibes
No.12192
Anonymous
2026-09-09 09:46:34
it appeals to that part of me that likes to fantasize about a better future
No.12207
Anonymous
2026-09-09 17:05:10
its mega reddit
> probably primarily appeals to women who don’t have technical backgrounds but “love science”
completely false read... steampunk, and subsequently solarpunk, despite having almost nothing in common, are most certainly both male-coded. just because you think things are stupid doesn't mean that they're for girls. try and stop living in year 5
completely false read... steampunk, and subsequently solarpunk, despite having almost nothing in common, are most certainly both male-coded. just because you think things are stupid doesn't mean that they're for girls. try and stop living in year 5
>steampunk, and subsequently solarpunk, despite having almost nothing in common, are most certainly both male-coded.
Nah you are regarded, steampunk had a huge contingent of craft girls who were into it, same as Renaissance Fairs.
Nah you are regarded, steampunk had a huge contingent of craft girls who were into it, same as Renaissance Fairs.
No.12210
Anonymous
2026-09-09 19:28:47
>>12191
I agree. The whole thing reminds me of some idea of a new Eden or "civilization corrupts, we must save Mother Gaia" thing. It looks nice. That is it. But it is just vibes and nothing more.
I agree. The whole thing reminds me of some idea of a new Eden or "civilization corrupts, we must save Mother Gaia" thing. It looks nice. That is it. But it is just vibes and nothing more.
No.12211
Anonymous
2026-09-09 19:30:00
>>12209
Girls love anything that lets them play dress-up. But it doesn't mean the entire thing is for girls.
Girls love anything that lets them play dress-up. But it doesn't mean the entire thing is for girls.
No.12215
Anonymous
2026-09-09 22:22:21
>>12191
I think a lot of "culture" has degraded to this. Self-soothing ideas or aesthetics that you can flick through quickly to get some hit of moralism and beauty without committing too much.
I think a lot of "culture" has degraded to this. Self-soothing ideas or aesthetics that you can flick through quickly to get some hit of moralism and beauty without committing too much.
No.12219
Anonymous
2026-09-10 02:41:56
>>12208
Yeah that guy is a retard. Solarpunk appeals to male redditors with leftist politics, women don't care.
Steampunk may appeal to women because it involves quirky alt fashion. Most consumers of steampunk fiction are probably men, though.
Yeah that guy is a retard. Solarpunk appeals to male redditors with leftist politics, women don't care.
Steampunk may appeal to women because it involves quirky alt fashion. Most consumers of steampunk fiction are probably men, though.
Ideology designed solely to create desktop wallpapers
No.12230
Anonymous
2026-09-10 07:16:45
>>12220
Our modern Sistine chapels.
Our modern Sistine chapels.
No.12238
Anonymous
2026-09-10 08:48:00
>Solarpunk appeals to male redditors with leftist politics, women don't care.
Wrong.
Wrong.
No.12250
Anonymous
2026-09-10 19:47:32
is solarpunk just worse nausicaä?
No.12359
Anonymous
2026-09-14 09:05:31
A mismash of commercials all melting together into an aesthetic.
What are the good -punks and subgenres? I'm enjoy frasurbane, myself.
No.12372
Anonymous
2026-09-14 11:09:50
>>12369
googled what this was and its actually a fantastic style,thanks dude
googled what this was and its actually a fantastic style,thanks dude
"Solar-punk" has been around since like 2008 or 2009 sure, but the ideas that it encompasses have been around since at least the 60s. So much SciFi from then to now has been in this vein of utopian. I think you could probably trace this back to the advent of nuclear as a power source. The 90s to 2000s movement of anti global anarchism, earth first and earth liberation front, the animal liberation front, converting diesel engines to biodiesel, off grid living and intentional communities, burning man(as a concept) etc etc were "solar-punk" in nature. The original sources have been packaged up into a nice cohesive aesthetic that is now becoming marketable to nerds who play video games.
Retarded to be so reductive on your part but at the same time retarded to be reductive on the part of the people this is being marketed to in general. There a lot of genuinely positive ideas there but I can't fuck with any aesthetic movement that has the -punk suffix out of principal... Its corny.
Retarded to be so reductive on your part but at the same time retarded to be reductive on the part of the people this is being marketed to in general. There a lot of genuinely positive ideas there but I can't fuck with any aesthetic movement that has the -punk suffix out of principal... Its corny.
No.12413
Anonymous
2026-09-15 03:34:44
It's for people who think cyberpunk is too le dark and gritty
No.12419
Anonymous
2026-09-15 09:22:33
>>12377
>Retarded to be so reductive on your part but at the same time retarded to be reductive on the part of the people this is being marketed to in general.
“Both sides are retarded, but I, an extremely-online white guy who talks like he is a black guy, am smart.”
>Retarded to be so reductive on your part but at the same time retarded to be reductive on the part of the people this is being marketed to in general.
“Both sides are retarded, but I, an extremely-online white guy who talks like he is a black guy, am smart.”
No.12420
Anonymous
2026-09-15 11:34:20
Cyberpunk is inherently defined by dystopia and impotent rebellion, hence the '-punk' suffix, which has obviously lost all meaning like '-core' has in the arts. Solarpunk is utopian, it's an aesthetic/genre for ecologically minded people who aren't primitivists.
They have no relation to each other and fans of solarpunk are not embracing it in reaction to cyberpunk's grit.
They have no relation to each other and fans of solarpunk are not embracing it in reaction to cyberpunk's grit.
No.12448
Anonymous
2026-09-15 22:38:06
>>12364
idk about -punks or genres but i'm on a Columbo kick lately, i want smooth jazz and mystery to follow me around
idk about -punks or genres but i'm on a Columbo kick lately, i want smooth jazz and mystery to follow me around