The Dark Side of Ecomedia: Dystopian Imagination of the Sustainable Development Goals in Swedish Doom Metal
The Dark Side of Ecomedia: Dystopian Imagination of the Sustainable Development Goals in Swedish Doom Metal

Summary/Abstract: Ecomedia studies often align with ecocritical activism, portraying environmental themes and advocating for climate justice. However, this chapter investigates a contrasting phenomenon: the emergence of a ‘dark side’ of ecomedia – cultural expressions that obstruct climate action through denial, delay, and inaction. The study explores how ecomedia can be mobilized for uncivil ends, challenging normative assumptions about civil society’s role in promoting sustainability. It focuses on the Swedish doom metal band Wardenclyffe and its frontman Jacob Nordangård, whose work reimagines the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as instruments of global control. Drawing on civil society theory and transmedia storytelling, the chapter conducts a deep intermedial and transmedial analysis of the song and music video Georgia Guidestones/Evilution (2021). This includes decoding lyrics, musical composition, visual aesthetics, and narrative strategies. The analysis reveals a coherent conspiratorial narrative that inverts the SDGs into symbols of oppression. Through a synthesis of sound, text, and image, Wardenclyffe constructs a dystopian vision in which climate change is portrayed as a fabricated threat and sustainability as a tool for authoritarian control. The study suggests that conspiracy-driven ecomedia can generate what we term ‘conspiratorial affect,’ using artistic expression to foster distrust in climate initiatives. While the analysis is limited to a single case study, it opens avenues for examining similar patterns in other cultural artifacts. This chapter contributes to the emerging discourse on cultural climate obstruction, urging future research to further investigate how artistic media may serve not only as tools for ecological advocacy but also as platforms for resistance to and obstruction of environmental action.

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