You may have heard the term ‘steampunk,’ a word I’ve used in several blog posts. Perhaps you’re wondering what it means. The word sounds vaguely repulsive with that ‘punk’ part, as if it’s something distasteful you’d want no part of.
At first the term referred only to a genre of literature where stories take place in a time or setting where the primary technology is steam power. The word arose when science fiction author K.W. Jeter sought a term to apply to novels then being written which seemed to have branched out from science fiction into their own subgenre. In a letter printed in the science fiction magazine “Locus” in April 1987, he proposed the term ‘steampunk’ taking a cue from another genre called ‘cyberpunk.’
Since cyberpunk is dark and gritty, very dystopian in outlook, some assumed steampunk should be the same way. Many consider a story isn’t steampunk unless it not only takes place in a steam-powered society, but also uses the seamy side of that society to make a corresponding point about some weakness in our own. That would be the ‘punk’ part.
However, an interesting thing happened after that airship left the station. It seemed these authors had tapped into something deeper and much stronger. Steampunk became a style, a philosophy, a way of life. Readers loved the steam, not the punk. It took off in popularity, capturing people’s imagination in interesting ways. Search on the web for steampunk images and you’ll see what I mean. People enjoy dressing in steampunk style and inventing steampunk gadgets. (Pictures are from photobucket.com)
Consider the major fictional genres: Action-adventure, Crime, Detective, Fantasy, Horror, Inspirational, Mystery, Romance, Science fiction, and Western. Of these, only Western and Fantasy come complete with ready-made ‘worlds,’ and unique styles of dress. In all the others, the author must describe her world in some detail. With steampunk (a subgenre of science fiction), and with Western and Fantasy, all of that comes built in.
Why did steampunk become so popular? Here are some possible reasons:
- We can still relate to the time period. It wasn’t so long ago.
- It celebrates the last time in history when people held a purely positive outlook on technology. It was a time of unalloyed optimism about science; everyone knew science would make life better. It was a time before the Titanic, before World War I, and well before nuclear weapons. Technology had no dark side.
- The technology is elegant, appealing to the eye. It has a delicate craftsmanship to it, and delightful metallic curves. Aesthetic beauty is a recognized part of it, an aspect of its very purpose.
- Steampunk technology is understandable by the common man, and tangible to the senses. You can see the exposed gears, the pistons. You can watch the motion and hear the steam hissing. It isn’t esoteric like today, beyond explanation, hidden away inside black boxes.
- Steampunk appeals to both women and men. I don’t know exactly why, but each gender finds aspects of steampunk to enjoy. The clothes may have something to do with that; perhaps our casual-dress age looks back with fondness on all that Victorian formality. Part of it may be social; those were the times when women first began to realize the exciting potential for more equal rights; the early glimmerings of the social upheavals we’re still adjusting to today.
- To carry that last idea further, perhaps steampunk appeals to us because social roles were so rigid then. As we struggle today to understand the new chaos of gender relationships, steampunk harkens to a time when those roles were fixed and well-understood. Perhaps we feel superior to the people of those times, but just maybe something inside us longs to know, with their certainty, where we belong.
In the ‘Stories’ part of this website, you’ll see I’ve written a few steampunk short stories myself. (I couldn’t resist the personal plug there.) If you’re still not certain whether you’d like steampunk, read some steampunk stories, watch some steampunk movies, make some brass goggles and try them on. You might find you like the whole milieu enough to go to a steampunk convention. Pretty soon you might be giving three cheers for steampunk, along with–
Poseidon’s Scribe
