A 1993 dystopian novel imagined the world in 2024. It’s eerily accurate – the Washington Post
Excerpt:
Octavia Butler’s ‘Parable of the Sower’ predicted devastating climate change, inequality, space travel and ‘Make America great again’
This is life in 2024.
Or at least it’s life in 2024 as imagined by the writer Octavia Butler 31 years ago.
“Parable of the Sower,” a 1993 novel by the late science fiction writer and MacArthur Fellow, depicts a future America ravaged by ecological collapse and civil unrest. The book’s narrator, African American teenager Lauren Olamina, begins writing a journal in July 2024 documenting the upheaval.
In the time it’s taken us to reach 2024 for real, Butler’s story has been adapted as an opera and a graphic novel; a movie adaptation is also in the works. In 2017, director Melina Matsoukas cited Butler among the Black thinkers who inspired her “Formation” video from Beyoncé’s award-winning album “Lemonade.”
In September 2020 — perhaps fueled by an interest in apocalyptic fiction prompted by covid-19 lockdowns — “Parable” appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for the first time, 27 years after publication.
Butler didn’t live to see the renewed interest in her ninth novel — she died in 2006 — but she indicated that the issues faced by the characters in “Parable” and by the United States today were inevitable…
ADDITIONAL READING . . .
How Octavia Butler Told the Future - the Atlantic
Excerpt:
Modou Fall does more than recycling, he campaigns for a cleaner and greener future.
In a quiet corner of Medina Gounass, on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal, one man has taken it upon himself to breathe new life into a place many had abandoned.
Where mountains of plastic waste once sprawled, a green oasis has sprung up, thanks to his relentless determination.
Mr. Modou Fall, popularly known as the “Plastic Man,” embodies a struggle that goes beyond recycling. He is an activist, an educator, and a campaigner for a cleaner planet and a more sustainable future.
In 2020, when the world was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, Modou Fall was on a different mission. Medina, his neighbourhood, which was once a vibrant place bustling with all manner of activities, had become neglected and over time seen the exodus of its inhabitants. After several floods, the area slowly became a dumping ground.
“At first, there was nothing but garbage and a few crumpling walls,” he recounts. “But I knew something could be done about it.”
Where others saw an unsalvageable space, Mr. Fall saw immense potential. With a team of volunteers, he began to transform the space by planting trees, setting up educational displays and repurposing discarded materials.
“Each piece here tells a story. We salvaged these objects to give them a new life,” he told Africa Renewal in an interview in Dakar.
Cleaning up waste was just the beginning, Mr. Fall wanted to change mindsets through raising awareness. He quips: “The problem isn’t just the garbage we throw away, but our relationship with plastic…”
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The Visions of Octavia Butler | Interactive - the New York Times
Excerpt:
Modou Fall does more than recycling, he campaigns for a cleaner and greener future.
In a quiet corner of Medina Gounass, on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal, one man has taken it upon himself to breathe new life into a place many had abandoned.
Where mountains of plastic waste once sprawled, a green oasis has sprung up, thanks to his relentless determination.
Mr. Modou Fall, popularly known as the “Plastic Man,” embodies a struggle that goes beyond recycling. He is an activist, an educator, and a campaigner for a cleaner planet and a more sustainable future.
In 2020, when the world was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, Modou Fall was on a different mission. Medina, his neighbourhood, which was once a vibrant place bustling with all manner of activities, had become neglected and over time seen the exodus of its inhabitants. After several floods, the area slowly became a dumping ground.
“At first, there was nothing but garbage and a few crumpling walls,” he recounts. “But I knew something could be done about it.”
Where others saw an unsalvageable space, Mr. Fall saw immense potential. With a team of volunteers, he began to transform the space by planting trees, setting up educational displays and repurposing discarded materials.
“Each piece here tells a story. We salvaged these objects to give them a new life,” he told Africa Renewal in an interview in Dakar.
Cleaning up waste was just the beginning, Mr. Fall wanted to change mindsets through raising awareness. He quips: “The problem isn’t just the garbage we throw away, but our relationship with plastic…”
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ALSO OF INTEREST . . .
TED-Ed (02-25-2019):
Why should you read sci-fi superstar Octavia E. Butler?
Much science fiction features white male heroes who blast aliens or become saviors of brown people. Octavia E. Butler knew she could tell a better story. She built stunning worlds rife with diverse characters, and brought nuance and depth to the representation of their experiences…
Storied – PBS (06-29-2021):
Octavia Butler, The Grand Dame of Science Fiction | It’s Lit
If you are a fan of science fiction a name you should be familiar with is Octavia E. Butler. One of the most prolific and important Black authors in the genre, Butler’s storytelling pushed the boundaries of what Black people were allowed to be in science fiction…Hosted by Lindsay Ellis and Princess Weekes..
EXHIBITION:
Hyde Park Art Center (Exhibit runs from 11-11-2023 through 03-03-2024):
Candace Hunter: The Alien‐Nations and Sovereign States of Octavia E Butler
In The Alien‐Nations and Sovereign States of Octavia E Butler, Candace Hunter presents new works created with synthetic plants, remnants of a sustainable food experiment, a reading nook, and painted doors as imagined portals to other worlds to create what she describes as an “alien lush space.” The exhibition addresses the concepts of nationhood. Candace Hunter poses questions about who is other, and in what situations do we see people as other to ourselves? How do we become universal?
