hopepunk

 The term punk seems to have taken off in two different directions in giving rise to derived forms. One way takes it to science fiction where cyberpunk  (a dystopian high-tech future) is followed by biopunk  (biotechnology + punk), silkpunk  (drawing on Asian history and culture) and steampunk  (drawing on the period of steam-powered technology).  The other way is in music where dance-punk  (punk music suitable for dancing) has been followed by cowpunk  (punk music influenced by country music). 

 The term hopepunk was created by Alexandra Rowland, a Massachusetts writer, in response to a pervading cultural mood of pessimism and bleakness labelled grimdark, a term borrowed from Warhammer to describe a civilisation slipping into ruin. The opposite in fantasy games is noblebright, a civilisation returning to or in the middle of a Golden Age.

 “The opposite of grimdark is hopepunk,” declared Alexandra Rowland, in a two-sentence Tumblr post in July 2017. “Pass it on.”

 The aesthetic of hopepunk is resistance to the disastrous future, both environmental and political, that seems to be looming. More positively it embraces the idea that a gentle, kind and wholesome approach to life is not weakness but strength.  Hopepunk can be realised in movies, songs, comics and even video games.