Don’t expect to get that many laughs out of this satirical paper.
A group of anonymous authors have written and published entire fictional newspaper imagining a utopian not-so-distant-future where Singaporeans and world leaders prioritize climate change policy and action.
The Semoga Times — “Semoga” being the Malay word for “hope” or “hopefully,” — was released earlier this week.
The issue (dated 15 February 2019) called itself a “special edition” focusing on the latest in climate news. But as heavy as the topic is, all the stories are good news, or as one Reddit thread posed, “The news we wish we could see?”
The headline story, “Climate Defense Announced as sixth pillar of Total Defense: MINDEF” imagines a newly elected prime minister named Arman Sharjahatnam, making a landmark proclamation on Total Defence Day. In this fictional future, Singapore has created a new defense doctrine with a repurposed name for MINDEF: The Ministry for Defense, Ecology, and the Future.
“Singapore will be the first country to focus instead on the causes of climate change as the real security threats,” says this heroic Prime Minister Sharjahatnam. “It will not be easy, but we will have to do it.”
The paper, obviously styled after the format after The Straits Times, functions both as social commentary and motivational literature, but could never be confused with “fake news,” particularly thanks to a ribbon at the top of every page, reading “THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION, NOT A NEWSPAPER.”
“Almost everything you read in this newspaper could actually occur,” wrote the purported editor of The Semoga Times.
“We really could live in a country that recognizes the urgency of climate change, that walks the talk on sustainability, and that cares about climate justice”.
While The Semoga Times gets monotonous after the first few pages, it’s still impressive for both its scope and its ability to paint a positive future while unflinchingly discussing a serious, relevant topic.
The paper’s format looks realistic, complete with fake ads for green luxury residences, as well as ads for real products like Ben & Jerry’s “Save Our Swirled” ice cream flavor.
The entertaining parts arrive in the Forum section, where the writers really let their creative juices flow.
In the end, we appreciate the writers finding an original way to get us to imagine a different future than the one we seem to be headed for, while still having a bit of fun.
