科幻小說的新流派：氣候變化小說

New literary climate科幻小說的新流派：氣候變化小說導讀：氣候變化小說是科幻小說的分支之一，它不同于傳統(tǒng)科幻小說虛構一些天馬行空的技術或外太空，這類小說通常是反烏托邦的，聚焦人類面臨的災難。氣候變化是人類面臨的現(xiàn)實問題。有人認為氣候變化小說可以改變人們的觀念，讓這些看上去高大上的問題更接地氣，也可喚醒大眾對該問題的關注。不過，也有人不認同小說能喚醒大眾對氣候變化問題的關注：信者恒信，不信者恒不信，科幻故事只能加強人們原有的信仰。A new genre of fiction has emerged out of rising sea levels. Climate fiction, or “cli-fi”, is a sub-genre of science fiction. It imagines an oftendystopianfuture where man struggles against the extremes of a changing environment.全球變暖導致海平面上升，伴隨而來的還有一種新的小說流派。氣候變化小說是科幻小說的一種。這種小說常常虛構一種黯淡悲觀的未來情境，在那里人類努力與極端變化的環(huán)境做斗爭。Although it is still an unexplored territory in the Chinese literary circle, cli-fi in the English-speaking world has gained so much popularity that climate change literature is now a regular course in universities as geographically diverse as the US, the UK and India, according to a Reuters report. A brief search of “climate fiction” returns more than 1,800 results, reflecting a growing demand for books that focus on environmental issues.雖然氣候變化小說在中國文學圈還是一塊處女地，不過它在英語世界國家卻大受歡迎，路透社報道說，在有些國家如美國、英國和印度，氣候變化小說已經成了大學的常規(guī)課程之一。在亞馬遜網站上稍微搜索一下“氣候變化小說”就會出現(xiàn)1,800多個搜索結果，這反映了環(huán)境題材作品的需求量在不斷上升。According to The Atlantic, cli-fi stories seldom talk about “imaginary technologies or faraway planets”, unlike traditional sci-fi. Cli-fi is a lot more down to earth. It examines the impacts of pollution, rising sea levels, and global warming on human civilization. According to the article, the genres “ability to bridge science with the humanities and activism” makes environmental issues “more accessible to young readers, proving literature to be a surprisingly valuable tool in collective efforts to address global warming”.美國大西洋月刊上一篇文章說，氣候變化小說不像傳統(tǒng)科幻小說講的都是一些“虛構的科技或遙遠的星球”，它闡述的是污染、海平面上升和全球變暖對人類文明的影響。按照該文章的說法，這類小說“架起了科學、人文和社會運動之間的一座橋梁”，讓環(huán)境問題“更容易為年輕讀者所接受，也證明文學是呼吁集體行動來應對全球變暖的有利工具”。Although it is regarded as a new literary category, cli-fi has “roots in themes explored in fiction for decades”, says a Huffington Post article. French writer Jules Verne “explored climate change and sudden atmospheric temperature drops at the end of the 19th century in The Purchase of the North Pole”. British sci-fi master J.G. Ballard created climate dystopia with “The Wind From Nowhere” (1961).赫芬頓郵報的一篇文章指出，氣候變化小說雖然被視為新的文學類型，但其實數(shù)十年來它“一直根植于科幻小說的主題中”。法國作家儒勒凡爾納“19世紀末就在小說旋轉乾坤中探討過氣候變化和氣溫突降問題”。英國科幻小說大師J.G.巴德拉創(chuàng)作的八面來風（1961）標志著氣候反烏托邦流派的誕生。But cli-fi has been made more appealing to younger generations thanks to its emergence in movies and TV shows. Last years blockbuster “Interstellar” has elements of cli-fi in its depictions of a future world gradually destroyed by sandstorms. In the 2013 movie “Snowpiercer”, a failed attempt to stop global warming creates a new ice age. Environmental themes also run through the “MaddAddam” trilogy, a series of best-sellers written by the prestigious Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood. The books are currently being adapted into a TV series for HBO.由于電影和電視劇的推動，氣候變化小說在年輕一代中更受歡迎。去年，好萊塢大片星際穿越中描述未來世界被沙塵暴逐漸摧毀的情節(jié)就帶有氣候變化小說的元素。2013年的電影雪國列車，講的就是人類試圖阻止全球變暖卻未能成功，反而導致地球進入了全新的極寒紀元。加拿大著名小說家瑪格麗特阿特伍德的暢銷小說馬德亞當三部曲中也貫穿了環(huán)境主題。這套叢書最近正被美國HBO電視網改編為電視劇。The term “cli-fi” was created by US writer and climate activist Dan Bloom. In an interview with The Atlantic, Bloom says he hoped the “catchy buzzword” would help “raise awareness about global warming”. The strategy seems to be working. In an article for The Guardian, UK cli-fi writer Sarah Holding wrote that the genre “reconnects young readers with their environment, helping them to value it more, especially when today, a large amount of their time is spent in thevirtualworld”.“氣候變化小說”的概念由美國作家、氣候變化社會活動家丹布隆提出。在接受大西洋月刊采訪時，他說希望“這個朗朗上口的流行語”能“引起大眾對全球變暖的關注”。這種策略似乎起作用了。在為英國衛(wèi)報撰寫的一篇文章中，英國氣候變化小說作家薩拉霍爾丁寫道，這一流派“把年輕讀者和環(huán)境重新聯(lián)系起來，讓他們更加重視環(huán)境，特別是現(xiàn)在，人們把大量時間花在了虛擬世界?！盉ut not everyone is convinced of cli-fis potential. In an article for The New York Times, George Marshall, founder of UK-based Climate Outreach Information Network, expressed concern that cli-fi wouldreinforcewhat people already believe rather than change anyones minds. “The unconvinced will see these stories as proof that this issue is a fiction, exaggerated for dramatic effect,” he said. “The already convinced will be engaged, butoverblownapocalypticstory lines may distance them from the issue of climate change or evenobjectifythe problem."不過不是所有人都看好氣候變化小說的潛能。總部在英國的氣候服務信息網創(chuàng)始人喬治馬歇爾在為紐約時報撰寫的一篇文章中就表達了自己的擔憂。他認為，氣候變化小說能強化人們的固有觀念而非扭轉它們?！安幌嘈诺娜藭堰@些小說當成氣候變化不存在的證據(jù)，氣候變化是為了戲劇效果而被夸大的，”他說?！岸嘈艢夂蜃兓娜藙t會繼續(xù)關注該問題，但這些夸張的世界末日的故事情節(jié)可能會讓他們疏離氣候變化的主題，甚至讓該問題淪為被消費的商品。