Estopia (Estopian) is a combination and bastardization of the greek topos and Eshu, also spelled Eschu, from the Yoruba trickster god and psychopomp, a mischievous but essentially protective, benevolent spirit known as the god of the crossroads. For the sake of illustration. Estopia describes a
world that is deeply flawed but sustainable, somewhere between utopia and dystopia. A place where infrastructure and the natural
world (the wild) coexist, but humanity is still ironing out the kinks in our own societal design. A place with the potential to develop the technology and resources of a utopia while still dealing with the societal flaws that occur in dystopia.
Estopia, Estopian : Describes a narrative
world setting that explores a
world/
society that isn't
perfect but also isn't an unmitigated disaster. The infrastructure and the technology are stable but the cultural
society and parts of the economy may still carry old corrupt habits good people
will have to push against. A “grim bright” place filled with the hope of improvement, grounded in the understanding that bad things happen and sometimes all you can do is build around the problem. While we may never be able to eliminate the problem, building around an issue is still a solution.
Solarpunk would give more
space for exciting stories if it was Estopia instea of
utopia.
Castle in the
sky by studio Ghibli is a great example of Estopian storytelling.
