One of the most famous novels in the Ecocriticism genre of literature is Ecotopia. The author of the book was Ernest Callenbach. Callenbach selectively accepts technology rather than rejecting it all together. Callenbach understands the role technology has to play in order to make the necessary changes to improve the world we live in.
By selectively using technology it allows people to maintain a more normal balance of real life along with the addicting nature of most gadgets. Being too reliant on technology is obviously more of a problem today than when this book was written but with that in mind we should give more credit to Ernest Callenbach for foreseeing these problems. This book was a fascinating read and Ernest Callenbach is an innovative and forward thinker for having written this in the 1970's.
The accuracy on some of Callenbach's predictions is striking. Most of the futuristic inventions that Callenbach thought up are very similar to some of the efforts we are making today to reduce pollution and help the environment. The main difference between Ecotopia and the rest of the world is the people inhabiting the land. All the citizens of Ecotopia are very conscious of the relationship between humans and nature. The novel depicts the residents of Ecotopia as smart, free thinking, creative, and motivated. These are all genuine qualities to have so it is little surprise when at the end of the novel Weston decides to become an Ecotopian. This bit of ecotopian fiction served as a protest to some of the consumerism and materialism that are common in most American's lives.
For the advancement of our world, Ecocriticism must gain recognition as a one of the most valuable genres of literature for young scholars to study.
No comments:
Post a Comment