The Electric State: Simon Stalenhag's Apocalyptic Art

The Electric State is a science fiction novel by Simon Stålenhag, an artist and writer known for his unique blend of nostalgia and futuristic technology. The book is set in an alternate version of the 1990s, where a teenage girl and her robot companion embark on a journey through a strange and unstable America.
The story is set in a world where advanced technology has become ubiquitous, with robots and AI being integrated into everyday life. The main character, a teenage girl named Michelle, is on a mission to find her missing brother, who has been taken by a mysterious organization known as the "Electric State." Along the way, she meets a sentient robot named Skip, who becomes her companion and guide on the journey.
As they travel through the country, they encounter a variety of strange and unsettling sights, including ghost towns, abandoned factories, and malfunctioning technology. The landscape is littered with the remnants of a technologically advanced society that has fallen into disrepair, giving the book a post-apocalyptic feel.
The Electric State has been praised for its unique and evocative world-building, as well as its strong characters and compelling story. The story and the illustrations by the author give a unique sense of nostalgia and melancholic feeling.
The book's artwork, which was done by the author himself, has also been met with acclaim. The illustrations are highly detailed and atmospheric, capturing the eerie beauty of the world and the characters that inhabit it. The artwork is a perfect companion to the story, adding depth and meaning to the world and characters.
Overall, The Electric State is a must-read for fans of science fiction, post-apocalyptic literature, and dystopian fiction. It's a unique blend of nostalgia and futuristic technology that creates a haunting and unforgettable story. The Electric State is a novel that will stay with readers long after they have finished reading it.
For More Info:
www.simonstalen...
Music Credits:
Lost in the Freezing Fog by Fingers In The Noise is licensed under a Creative Commons License. ( / lost-in-the-freezing-f... )

[@JasonJose]

Subscribe and help this channel grow. Thanks for watching!

[@ZETH_27]

if you are reading this while scroling through the comment as you listen to the video, do me a favor and buy the book instead. Trust me the experience and weight of his art is much better felt if done the way he wanted to.

[@XwX1001]

Man... why does this all just feel so... real? Like this could actually happen? I know that was the intention, but this all just feels so... American. All of those environments are basically just California and the surrounding states! Like, no joke, the mountains? Outside California's San Joaquin Valley. The coast? That's basically just Monterey Bay! All of this feels so unabashedly American that it's scary. Why can I imagine these things littered about the valley? I live here, so I know my state, and this... the realism is both scary AND fascinating.

[@JasonJose]

That’s how good his art is.

[@XwX1001]

@@JasonJose Right? It's amazing!

[@whodatking26]

There is small details that make the world feel lived in and it's so amazing

[@XwX1001]

@@whodatking26 An eerie kind of beautiful.

[@JackJackUrban]

I think the end scene at 4:50 takes place in Pacifica, California

[@ermek829]

Personally I haven’t read the book yet but the art and the 70’s vibe it gives off is amazing I love this kind of art and genre most people dont touch this side of “Dystopian” but it’s beautiful

[@JasonJose]

Thanks for watching.

[@luckyyuri]

It was a beautiful experience. Thanks!

[@ronarmstrong835]

I find it interesting that the protagonist uses an Oldsmobile 88. In this bizarre environment, you wouldn't want to have car issues. These cars were/are extremely reliable.

[@JasonJose]

Thanks for watching.

[@modelcitizen72]

You're absolutely right. I caught hints of 98 Regency, the 88's slightly larger sibling. They're interesting-looking cars!

[@nufosmatic]

1:14 - except for the divided highway, this looks like the road between the El Cahon pass and Ridgecrest in California: the Garlock Fault Zone. This is what caused the recent huge earthquake in Ridgecrest. There is no doubt there is a fault there because, at the bottom, the line of the land goes straight from one side of the road to the other from horizon to horizon. And the huge machines are right where the China Lake Naval Airborne Weapons System Center is... where UAVs are tested by the military...

[@hughiedavies6069]

Amazing work 👏

[@YankeePendragon]

I would actually argue that the book and these pieces don't fall into the genre of "dystopian". A dystopia, as usually described, is a repressive society where the tools of government and levers of power are utilized in some fashion to stifle the citizens capacity for independent action and thought. Orwell and Huxley are the prime examples of this, albeit operating in totally different fashions. The key point however is that a dystopia is nevertheless a functioning and coherent society, one with a recognized authority, laws and norms that the citizens follow. But what we see in The Electric State - the almost pinhole-sized view we're afforded by the book, anyway - is a society that is no longer functioning in any meaningful fashion. Spread throughout the book and art are scenes of decaying homes, abandoned police vehicles, and the wreckage of giant war machines; the narrative hints of escalating (and senseless) gang violence and the wholesale abandonment of communities. Atop all this are the growing appearance of giant patchwork machines controlled by no human hand or mind. This is no dystopia, but neither does it fall neatly into the post-apocalyptic genre, because there's no indication of any great disaster or final war destroying society. The abandoned war machines we see in the book have been abandoned because they're no longer needed (or simply too expensive to maintain). What we're treated to in The Electric State is a society that isn't destroyed, but neither is it truly intact anymore. The bonds of community appear so frayed as to be non-existent there, and authority is almost totally absent. We may well be seeing an entirely new genre of fiction being born here. And like any birth, its downright painful to experience (never mind watch).

[@JasonJose]

Wow! Best comment so far.

[@ruok3351]

gay

[@siristhedragon]

I would posit that it was a long standing dystopia that has found itself slowly declining into decay and final ruin. There is still some semblance of society functioning; however the cracks that have likely long been there are starting to tear open wider. Its a sociaty in a transition; post-dystopia, pre-apocalypse. A slow, quiet apocalypse... ...Much like the real United States...

[@brosephmanreviews]

Dude you worded that so beautifully and perfectly. I agree with you

[@idiocracy10]

What pictures were you looking at? dys•to•pi•a (dɪsˈtoʊ pi ə) n., pl. -pi•as. an imaginary society in which social or technological trends have culminated in a greatly diminished quality of life or degradation of values. www.thefreedictionary.com/Distopian www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dystopia : an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives There was obviously a large scale war. Apparently this war reduced the population significantly, thus the abandoned buildings but not toxic landscapes. The headsets are the connection to "civilization" or the electric state. More probably they offer better opportunity for pleasure, money, or power, thus many in the society still attempt to use them, even though they are very burdensome to connect, and are a silicon symbiote on humanity which is sucking the life out of it. Instead of returning to rural ways, and scavenging the materials from the war machines, they leave them intact and attempt to connect the headsets thru the drone uplinks. It is dystopian because they have not returned to agrarian values or producing what they consume, they remain stuck in the "electric state" afraid or unwilling to abandon the tech paradigm and the values that tech is better than agrarian, wearing the masks of VR so that they cannot even see the reality around them.

[@MisterMorker]

This needs to be made into a movie. Amazing, great stuff.

[@JasonJose]

Thanks for watching

[@PhotoRam405]

its gonna be on Netflix

[@funny-video-YouTube-channel]

*Beautiful art* with a dystopian story. I wish robots and AI was more positive in our stories about the possible future. In this case the story is full of fears what AI could do.

[@JasonJose]

Great comment. Thanks for watching.

[@Edd_E]

it isnt about ai? its about drones that are controlled by humans, and our selfishness and rabidness led to war

[@hanknewman54]

@@Edd_E Pretty sure they referred AI due to the helmet controlling.

[@Edd_E]

Hunk_Soldier 1 yea

[@48some]

Zero Generation a video game set in Sweden in the 80'ies draws direct inspiration from Simon's work. His art creates a mood that lets you be immersed into a world that is so familiar but also alien at the sametime. a sci-fi 80's ... a special decade infused with 22nd century tech. This combination is very similiar to steampunk in a way. Old times combined with future technology. instead of a Victorian age we see the 80's. Instead of steamworks we see high tech Robots Vehicles and Virtual Reality devices... what a genius ! I bought his narative artbook Tales from the Loop..and i am planning to buy the rest of his works. Your video is great the right music and the right pace. Relaxing but also disturbing of the mystery of whats going on.

[@JasonJose]

+48some Thanks for watching.

[@48some]

@@JasonJose i love this upload and i recommended it to many others sharing this video on social media and I send a personal message to mr Stålenhag to watch this video. I watch this video a couple of times a day because of its quality. So thumbs up + a subscribe and as a bonus sharing this video on social media and mr. Stålenhag himself.

[@JasonJose]

Thanks for sharing.

[@bigalthefirst1]

you mean generation zero

[@ZETH_27]

FAKE COMMENT!!! (or perhaps I should say: Incorrect comment) The game called Generation Zero does not have to do with the art by Simon Stålenhag at all. This was firmly stated by the developers at Avalanche when they received critique from people who where fans of Simon's work. The game is a passion-project by a small crew who *might* have been inspired by the atmosphere of his work. The game is set on a few fictional islands in an alternate 80's Sweden that was militarized after WW2. As a person who has more then 150 hours on the game I can assure you that the environment - albeit 80's Sweden with machines - does not look like what Simon stålenhag has shown in his books, all 3 of which I own.

[@bertptrs]

look into "From The Loop" if you like this and like to play tabletop RPG games.

[@whitemagus2000]

The oregon coast just looks like that about nine months out of the year.

[@AllanGildea]

Wonderful, thank you.

[@JasonJose]

Thanks for watching.

[@MrMuri84]

'slvg - below zero' fits for the visuals of the book IMO.

[@deepashtray5605]

Very cool. Picked up some Jean Giraud vibes in there.

[@JasonJose]

Thanks for watching.

[@bebopity8262]

a state where art and culture hasnt been modernized but technology has.... I like to think that something made humanity just jump 800 years ahead in technology, rapidly mass producing these random machines with no real purpose thus them being scattering along the country landscape as if humanity was suddenly gifted with the knowledge to create these things out of absolutely nowhere and just went wild with it

[@Pauliebuck]

this would be a good video game landscape

[@JasonJose]

I agree. His art is so surreal.

[@ethantour1046]

You're in luck, since there is actually a game based on this in Roblox.

[@venge4583]

There is a game on ''roblox'' Named Electric state darkrp Beta and alpha You can use it theres a bunch of guns on the game on roblox :D How to heal in roblox Drink cola

[@ZETH_27]

Generation Zero on Steam

[@averageleson]

@@ZETH_27 That isnt exactly the whole book. Just point Linden.

[@rogue72able]

Almost as creepy as the titans from attack on titan. Good job!

[@JasonJose]

Thanks for watching.

[@hearthatbird]

Dude, such a unrelated comparison. False equivalence much?

[@jaymarcano8066]

why is this so depressing

[@timcox2924]

Yes I love it

[@jaymarcano8066]

@@timcox2924 We should be friends 🙀

[@Navigator87110]

Read the book last night. Can confirm, IS DEPRESSING!

[@VenturiLife]

Because it's happening?

[@artistnd2819]

AMAZING

[@AlbertKimMusic]

man I want to make music for a short film based on this world

[@user-ru4ms3ei7h]

Wow

[@JasonJose]

Thanks for watching.

[@caleb8478]

sorry for this but in the 1:05 part,what is that ship called ?

[@JasonJose]

Best to ask the artist. Just go to his website.

[@hiimbob5937]

3:23 that's not in the book I have it.

[@lefishe2258]

1:16 srry for being dumb but what is that?

[@JasonJose]

Hmm. Looks like a crashed ship.

[@pussybuster13]

its like fighting ship also there is game based off this in roblox "Electric state darkrp"

[@hanknewman54]

A Huge crashed ship. If you look closely, you can see a few buildings that look like a base or a city.

[@antoniogomes9837]

Isso aí é o munda pois Apocalipse

[@user-mt2gl6vx3c]

Купил. Нравится.

[@antoniogomes9837]

Alguém pode me explicar o que são esses navios que se mundo

[@hanknewman54]

É um livro de ficção cientifica de Simon Stalenhag. Nesse livro, se passa no EUA em 1997. Essas máquinas são tipo uns drones e naves que o governo usou em uma guerra civil, eles controlavam as máquinas usando um tipo de capacete. No final da guerra, SENTRE, A criadora do capacete, fez com que o capacete seja liberado para o público, mas em realidade virtual. Para isso, SENTRE criou várias torres gigantescas com luzes vermelhas. Essas torres era para dar sinais para o capacete, como se fosse uma torre de internet gigante. O EUA está destruído por causa da Guerra civil dos Drones e por causa do capacete. A Inteligência artificial deve ter tomado conta do capacete, matando algumas pessoas, deixando algumas vivas mas paralizadas, ou controlando a mente de outras pessoas.

[@0Abraham16]

Anyone else feel the “Hunger Games” Panem feel?

[@idkypplhavenames2891]

bro wat was that sound in the background? some kind of morse code I guess lol....but I think it adds to the mood of this vid somehow, by perhaps adding a pinch of urgency in the audience. Noice background mujic.

[@JasonJose]

It’s part of the music. See video description. Thanks for watching.

[@ejpilot3725]

I wish this was real life

[@JasonJose]

Thanks for watching.

[@dentro_can1923]

I want to lucid in this dream and become a soldier surviving.

[@JasonJose]

Thanks for watching.

[@ejpilot3725]

Waiting for electric state code Pacifica to come out on Roblox

[@smileguyanimations8776]

*Please Elaborate*

[@notbread7079]

If you look closeley, Sentre caused all the problems

[@hanknewman54]

Well, maybe they built all the drones and ships... But we need to look on the other side... Maybe the helmet thing was artificial intelligence?

[@notbread7079]

@@hanknewman54 Everyone is talkig about it that it was a device that makes human minds do whatever they waant

[@VenturiLife]

The people addicted to the technology created Sentre most likely. Like Facebook/Google/Instagram/TikTok/WeChat etc. etc.

[@NEWYORKERZ360]

Music composed inspired of Stalenhags art open.spotify.com/album/1WV3bzj7upAAgGYGPzUhXp

[@JasonJose]

Interesting, thanks!

[@davidwalker1652]

@@JasonJose Actually, not many people seem to realise this, but Simon Stålenhag is himself also a musician. Dude is crazy talented! He creates energetic uplifting arcade and 16-bit FM synth-inspired tracks under the name "SÄTUNA SOUND TEAM". Apparently, I can't mention the site he posts them on without my comments getting deleted automatically by the KZbin bot, but if you google the name, it'll come up. (It rhymes with PoundCloud :D )

[@hak-en-slash4636]

A lot of these images remind of me of the game Atomic Heart that is coming out later this year

[@JasonJose]

Thanks for watching

[@user-ru4ms3ei7h]

Ok

[@ZETH_27]

The O is silent.

[@polrr_bear5092]

@@ZETH_27 wdym? o and k = ok

[@ZETH_27]

@@polrr_bear5092 Saying "k" has pretty much the same meaning as saying "ok" or "okay".

[@polrr_bear5092]

@@ZETH_27 but he said ok not k

[@thesmilyguyguy9799]

= - D

[@RBLXProd]

Cyberpunk + Scrappunk Looks like what my eyes see

[@JasonJose]

Sounds like a good description to me.

[@ZETH_27]

+ 1980s USA.

[@hanknewman54]

@@ZETH_27 1990s

[@bananatonk3519]

Is this from roblox ?

[@ermek829]

No