The Weirdness of Hyperobjects
The Weirdness of Hyperobjects

Summary/Abstract: Global weirding, a phrase coined by Hunter Lovins and popularised by Thomas Friedman, has garnered a modicum of prominence since its popularisation in the late 2000s. It was coined as a replacement for global warming, with the abnormal effects of climate change foregrounded. When conceiving the concept of the ‘hyperobject’, Timothy Morton uses global warming specifically as one of his key examples. However, as the vernacular for referring to climate change has been updated, it seems prudent to examine the hyperobject again. When writing on the topic of hyperobjects, Morton does describe them as being ‘weird’. This article will determine whether hyperobjects exhibit properties similar to the weird and therefore determine how far hyperobjects can be considered truly weird, in order to evaluate whether it is an apt description or not. The weird originates from Weird Fiction, an early 20th century pulp genre. One of the most renowned authors of weird fiction was H. P. Lovecraft, whose theories of the weird have influenced other authors and academics, such as Mark Fisher, for decades. In recent years a new wave of the weird, called the New Weird, has emerged and updated theories of the weird once again. This article will use Lovecraft’s and Fisher’s theories and definitions of the weird as well as examples from the weird canon, and compare them to the concept of the hyperobject, evaluating how far the properties of the hyperobject can be considered weird.

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