Perspectives

Historical context

The short story "Time capsule found on the dead planet" was written by Margaret Atwood in support of the 10:10 campaign, whose aim was to convince individuals and companies to reduce their carbon footprint by 10% in 2010. The campaign was launched in 2009 by the team that produced the climate change documentary The Age of Stupid. Its purpose was to build pressure for global action at the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. To support the campaign and raise awareness of the climate crisis, many artists, authors, and public figures created new work and got involved, including Margaret Atwood, who was commissioned by The Guardian to write her story.

The 10:10 campaign had positive outcomes, as many of the original participants surpassed their target and reduced more than 10% of their carbon emissions. 

Current issues

Margaret Atwood’s story highlights the dangers of climate change, which is the ongoing increase in global average temperature. The main cause of climate change is the process of industrialization and the burning of fossil fuels, which are mentioned in “Time Capsule Found on the Dead Planet”. Moreover, the story also mentions deforestation and the increase of greenhouse gases, which are also contributors to the rise of global average temperature. While climate change was denied by several companies and public figures, the level of concern has increased over time and society generally sees it as a global emergency, demanding policies that combat it. 

Works by the same author

To have a better understanding of the themes explored by Margaret Atwood in her stories, we recommend you read the short story “Happy Endings”. The postmodernist narrative deviates from the norms of traditional literature and has an unconventional plot structure that focuses on variations of the same story. The text explores the theme of expectations versus reality both in fiction and in real life and delivers the message that focusing on the “in-between” is more important than focusing on the beginning or the ending. 

Margaret Atwood also wrote the short story “Chicken Little Goes Too Far”. The story is a fable that presents Chicken Little who, after extensive research, tries to warn people that the sky is falling. The story deals with how people react to important issues. Lile “Time Capsule Found on the Dead Planet”, “Chicken Little Goes Too Far” also seems to try to raise awareness of environmental issues and the reason why people refuse to do something about them.