Steampunk 101
Apr. 27th, 2009 02:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bewareofgeekWithin the last few years, Steampunk has gone from a relatively minor genre to a major cultural movement. This article is a quick overview of what it is, where it started, and where is it going.
In any discussion, the first step is to define your terms, but defining steampunk is a notably difficult proposition. Is it a literary genre? A social movement? An artistic aesthetic? The answer seems to be all of the above. It's a literary and artistic genre that takes it's cues (in one degree or another) from the Victorian era. One thing that is known is the invention of the term.
Steampunk was first used by writer K.W. Jeter in a letter to Locus magazine in 1987, when he wrote:
Dear Locus,
Enclosed is a copy of my 1979 novel Morlock Night; I'd appreciate your being so good as to route it Faren Miller, as it's a prime piece of evidence in the great debate as to who in "the Powers/Blaylock/Jeter fantasy triumvirate" was writing in the "gonzo-historical manner" first. Though of course, I did find her review in the March Locus to be quite flattering.
Personally, I think Victorian fantasies are going to be the next big thing, as long as we can come up with a fitting collective term for Powers, Blaylock and myself. Something based on the appropriate technology of the era; like "steampunks" , perhaps.
He was right, if a bit premature. The term is clearly derived from "cyberpunk", and indeed much of the early fiction in the nascent genre (especially Gibson & Sterling's The Difference Engine) was essentially Victorian-era cyberpunk. But he was only giving a name to a style of fiction that long predated his work, going all the way back to the roots of science fiction.
The grandfathers of steampunk, at least on the literary side, are Herbert George Wells and Jules Verne. Of course, they were writing using the technology of the period, only slightly advanced, but the spirit of their works was pure steampunk. Indeed, their different styles point up a divide that exists in steampunk fiction to this day.
Wells was all about social commentary. And a lot of early (what Jess Nevins calls "first generation") steampunk writers consider this a critical part of the genre... the "punk" in "steampunk". Verne, on the other hand, was more adventurous, and a bit geekier. While Wells glossed over many technical details, Verne gladly spent entire chapters discussing the nuts and bolts of his science. His collected works have been given the title "Les Voyages Extraordinaires" or "Extraordinary Voyages". Those modern works (like Foglio & Foglio's Girl Genius) that focus more on the romantic side are his literary descendants.
Their early works combined with American dime novels to create Edisonades, stories about an inventor (often quite young) who goes out into the frontier to find their fortune and/or shoot people. The "Tom Swift Jr" adventures are a classic example, and helped keep the idea of steampunk alive even as science fiction moved on. By the 30's and 40's, the ideas of these stories had mutated into the more Art Deco stylings of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, and the Victorian adventurer mostly faded away.
He never disappeared entirely, however. Shows like the Wild Wild West and movies like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang kept the basic idea of steampunk alive, even if it was mostly seen as a source of humor. And some writers, including Michael Moorcock in his Nomad of the Time Streams trilogy, wrote alternate histories that used a lot of steampunk tropes. These took more from Wells than Verne, however, and the first generation steampunk writers, born of the New Wave movement of the 1970's, were more political than romantic.
Meanwhile, in Japan, the search for the exotic lead many anime & manga creators (especially the great Hayao Miyazaki) to explore the genre. Much of it made it back to our shores, but by that point, it's exoticness came from the fact that it WAS Japanese, not because it was steampunk.
And so it stayed, for many years. Every once in a while, a steampunk movie or TV show would come out, like Brisco County, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen & Back to the Future III, but they never seemed to catch fire with the zeitgeist. Probably the biggest steampunk work of the last decade was the Wild Wild West film, and that bombed. But around 2002, something changed.
Exactly what is hard to say. Some say it was the LXG film, others point to the Girl Genius comic (now on the web), that reveled in "Adventure, Romance, & MAD SCIENCE!!!" as the kindling point. I once spoke with a young lady who suggested that it grew out of the Goth movement, as younger members searched for a less depressing way to wear cool clothes. :)
Whatever the reason, steampunk metastasized beyond literature, and into the real world. Some craftsmen, including Jake Von Slatt & Richard "Datamancer" Nagy, have made steampunk versions of computers and other modern devices. There are entire online galleries with steampunk versions of the Justice League & Star Wars. There are steampunk bands, like Abney Park and Vernean process. And then there are the clothes...
Neo-Victorian gowns. Waistcoats embellished with brass gears. Mechanical faux-cyborg parts. And, of course, the ubiquitous googles.
With any subculture, there are folks who argue about what is "true X". As I mentioned above, the early fiction writers and fans were more about the Punk than the Steam. They argue that the more romantic fiction really should have another name, such as Gaslight Fantasy/Romance, or Retro-Futurism. And, in all honesty, they do have a point. But the label has stuck, for good or ill. And, on the other side, there are folks who require that everything be period-accurate: more "steam" than "punk". The Neo-Victorian movement derived independently from steampunk, and has been co-opted by it, so there is naturally a bit of friction. But, for the most part, people seem to get along. The vast majority have embraced a credo that crystallizes the social aspect:
"Hate the factory, love the machine".
Steampunk culture embraces the individual craftsman, rejecting the cookie-cutter, disposable nature of modern society. It replaces grim & gritty with hopeful & romantic. And that appeals to a lot of people. I've been doing panels on steampunk for 3 or 4 years now, and they've ALL been standing room only. And, at the last Arisia, they held a Steampunk Ball on Sunday night. It was packed.
So, in the end, what is steampunk? It's taking the best of the 19th century spirit, and mixing it with 21st century sensibilities. It's sturdy, it's shiny, it's beautiful.
It also happens to be a lot of fun.
Recommended Links:
Fiction
Girl Genius
Steampunk by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer (Amazon link)
Steampunk Creations:
Brass Goggles
The Steampunk Workshop
Silof's Workshop
"Star Wars: Steampunk" Contest
Steampunk Clothing
Prof. Maelstromme's Steam Lab
Gentleman's Emporium
Commissioned by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
norda , concieved by yours truly. :)
In any discussion, the first step is to define your terms, but defining steampunk is a notably difficult proposition. Is it a literary genre? A social movement? An artistic aesthetic? The answer seems to be all of the above. It's a literary and artistic genre that takes it's cues (in one degree or another) from the Victorian era. One thing that is known is the invention of the term.
Steampunk was first used by writer K.W. Jeter in a letter to Locus magazine in 1987, when he wrote:
Dear Locus,
Enclosed is a copy of my 1979 novel Morlock Night; I'd appreciate your being so good as to route it Faren Miller, as it's a prime piece of evidence in the great debate as to who in "the Powers/Blaylock/Jeter fantasy triumvirate" was writing in the "gonzo-historical manner" first. Though of course, I did find her review in the March Locus to be quite flattering.
Personally, I think Victorian fantasies are going to be the next big thing, as long as we can come up with a fitting collective term for Powers, Blaylock and myself. Something based on the appropriate technology of the era; like "steampunks" , perhaps.
He was right, if a bit premature. The term is clearly derived from "cyberpunk", and indeed much of the early fiction in the nascent genre (especially Gibson & Sterling's The Difference Engine) was essentially Victorian-era cyberpunk. But he was only giving a name to a style of fiction that long predated his work, going all the way back to the roots of science fiction.
The grandfathers of steampunk, at least on the literary side, are Herbert George Wells and Jules Verne. Of course, they were writing using the technology of the period, only slightly advanced, but the spirit of their works was pure steampunk. Indeed, their different styles point up a divide that exists in steampunk fiction to this day.
Wells was all about social commentary. And a lot of early (what Jess Nevins calls "first generation") steampunk writers consider this a critical part of the genre... the "punk" in "steampunk". Verne, on the other hand, was more adventurous, and a bit geekier. While Wells glossed over many technical details, Verne gladly spent entire chapters discussing the nuts and bolts of his science. His collected works have been given the title "Les Voyages Extraordinaires" or "Extraordinary Voyages". Those modern works (like Foglio & Foglio's Girl Genius) that focus more on the romantic side are his literary descendants.
Their early works combined with American dime novels to create Edisonades, stories about an inventor (often quite young) who goes out into the frontier to find their fortune and/or shoot people. The "Tom Swift Jr" adventures are a classic example, and helped keep the idea of steampunk alive even as science fiction moved on. By the 30's and 40's, the ideas of these stories had mutated into the more Art Deco stylings of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, and the Victorian adventurer mostly faded away.
He never disappeared entirely, however. Shows like the Wild Wild West and movies like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang kept the basic idea of steampunk alive, even if it was mostly seen as a source of humor. And some writers, including Michael Moorcock in his Nomad of the Time Streams trilogy, wrote alternate histories that used a lot of steampunk tropes. These took more from Wells than Verne, however, and the first generation steampunk writers, born of the New Wave movement of the 1970's, were more political than romantic.
Meanwhile, in Japan, the search for the exotic lead many anime & manga creators (especially the great Hayao Miyazaki) to explore the genre. Much of it made it back to our shores, but by that point, it's exoticness came from the fact that it WAS Japanese, not because it was steampunk.
And so it stayed, for many years. Every once in a while, a steampunk movie or TV show would come out, like Brisco County, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen & Back to the Future III, but they never seemed to catch fire with the zeitgeist. Probably the biggest steampunk work of the last decade was the Wild Wild West film, and that bombed. But around 2002, something changed.
Exactly what is hard to say. Some say it was the LXG film, others point to the Girl Genius comic (now on the web), that reveled in "Adventure, Romance, & MAD SCIENCE!!!" as the kindling point. I once spoke with a young lady who suggested that it grew out of the Goth movement, as younger members searched for a less depressing way to wear cool clothes. :)
Whatever the reason, steampunk metastasized beyond literature, and into the real world. Some craftsmen, including Jake Von Slatt & Richard "Datamancer" Nagy, have made steampunk versions of computers and other modern devices. There are entire online galleries with steampunk versions of the Justice League & Star Wars. There are steampunk bands, like Abney Park and Vernean process. And then there are the clothes...
Neo-Victorian gowns. Waistcoats embellished with brass gears. Mechanical faux-cyborg parts. And, of course, the ubiquitous googles.
With any subculture, there are folks who argue about what is "true X". As I mentioned above, the early fiction writers and fans were more about the Punk than the Steam. They argue that the more romantic fiction really should have another name, such as Gaslight Fantasy/Romance, or Retro-Futurism. And, in all honesty, they do have a point. But the label has stuck, for good or ill. And, on the other side, there are folks who require that everything be period-accurate: more "steam" than "punk". The Neo-Victorian movement derived independently from steampunk, and has been co-opted by it, so there is naturally a bit of friction. But, for the most part, people seem to get along. The vast majority have embraced a credo that crystallizes the social aspect:
"Hate the factory, love the machine".
Steampunk culture embraces the individual craftsman, rejecting the cookie-cutter, disposable nature of modern society. It replaces grim & gritty with hopeful & romantic. And that appeals to a lot of people. I've been doing panels on steampunk for 3 or 4 years now, and they've ALL been standing room only. And, at the last Arisia, they held a Steampunk Ball on Sunday night. It was packed.
So, in the end, what is steampunk? It's taking the best of the 19th century spirit, and mixing it with 21st century sensibilities. It's sturdy, it's shiny, it's beautiful.
It also happens to be a lot of fun.
Recommended Links:
Fiction
Girl Genius
Steampunk by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer (Amazon link)
Steampunk Creations:
Brass Goggles
The Steampunk Workshop
Silof's Workshop
"Star Wars: Steampunk" Contest
Steampunk Clothing
Prof. Maelstromme's Steam Lab
Gentleman's Emporium
Commissioned by
norda , concieved by yours truly. :)
