Dreampunk is a niche genre of speculative fiction that asks the question "Is this real?" and then follows up with "What does that even mean anyway?"
Alice in Wonderland would be the prototypical example, but any anti-authoritarian investigation into...
Note: This manifesto is also available at WhatIsDreampunk.com.
1. Dreampunk is not a real thing. But neither is cyberpunk, surrealism, or any other genre label. Divisions between genres are entirely artificial. They are valid only to the extent that they inform the reader and inspire the writer.
2. Dreaming is to story as thought is to language, as mind is to matter.
3. Novelty, spectacle, titillation, escapism, and humor are all spices to be used liberally, but the nourishment a story provides is meaningful vicarious experience. Honesty is essential.
4. We are estranged from ultimate reality because it is strange beyond belief. Our beliefs have estranged us.
5. I revere the unconscious mind above conscious machinations. I respect intuition and recognize the magnitude of my own ignorance.
6. I seek to love, not to hate. I seek to support, not to destroy. I seek to understand, not to condemn.
7. That said, it is my duty to fight cruelty, bigotry, oppression, and other forms of evil wherever I may find them.
8. I resist all outside efforts to subvert and co-opt my free will. Of particular concern are large organizations such as corporations, governments, religions, and secret societies.
9. I respect personal privacy but abhor organizational secrecy.
10. I revere the ineffable beauty of nature, particularly the moon, a symbol of the impossible yet manifest—an enormous rock floating steadily above our heads, never changing course, never even turning its face. It calls to me, an avowed lunatic.
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