S.S. Epoch is my take on the anthropocene version of Spec Ops : The Line. When brainstorming ideas for this project I wanted to do something that put the reader in the shoes of the actor. Spec Ops was the perfect showcase of the anthropocene because at a birds-eye-view it is a human controlling the actions of another human who lived in an anthropocene-like world. I personally believe that the anthropocene as a concept is about human-on-human relations which in turn affect the environment, so the personable aspect of the project was important to me.
I wanted my project to be an exploration of that definition and how I came to it. I thought about which novels best portrayed the definition and came upon Heart of Darkness, Oil on Water, and The Word for World is Forest. All 3 perfectly discuss how exploitation is a product of racism, which I believe to be the origin of the anthropocene (in terms of its effects on the environment ie. in Africa, Latin America, Asia, etc). I also liked the time frame of the three novels, one in humans' past, one in humans' present, and one in humans' future.
I had to navigate some challenges with choosing this method, however. First and foremost this project tells a story. However, there would be no way to tell the entire plot line of each novel within one project. Therefore I had to choose parts of each novel that said the most about my definition of the anthropocene. Also, I initially wanted to do this project "choose-your-adventure" style, but that would've meant a lot more content creation and less analysis of my definition that I formed over the quarter.
Lastly, I was really excited about the idea of playing with the future. The Word for World is Forest was one way to do this, but having "the captain" (you) be in the future as well was interesting to me. This allowed me to talk about the origin of the anthropocene and its consequences way down the line. Additionally I am a very creative person and prefer movement and visuals, so moving through a universe, a world, and a storyline was really enjoyable.
Thank you for reading, captain!
Bibliography
Habila, Helon. Oil on Water. The Penguin Group, 2011.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New American Library, 1950.
LeGuin, Ursula. The Word for World Is Forest. Berkley, 1976.
Wenzel, Jennifer. “The Disposition of Nature.” Fordham University Press, 2020.