The New Steam Age

It's sometimes strange living in the world of the internet where cultural trends like Steampunk are almost ubiquitous, but then in talking to friends who've never heard of it here in the often small-town Pittsburgh realize that Steampunk is still somewhat of an underground phenomena. Of course, thanks to this article on Steampunk in The New York Times, and a new Steampunk Anthology [both via Boing Boing], the whimsical neo-Victorian aesthetic of this sub-sub-genre may be coming to more public spotlight.



I first became aware of the term Steampunk in relation to Neil Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, a somewhat sci-fi styled series of novels set in 17-18th Century Europe. As opposed to the term Cyberpunk, which designated a genre of similarly-themed but slightly futuristic works, Steampunk began being used for works set in historical periods that nonetheless focused on the advent of technology, adventure, etc. Apparently such authors as Jules Verne with "Around the World in Eighty Days" and H.G. Wells with "The Time Machine" could be considered the grandfather's of Steampunk fiction. Personally I was always considered the "Little Nemo in Slumberland" comics of Winsor McCay, with their airships and Victorian sensibilities, to be another foreshadowing of this aesthetic (though perhaps the aesthetic yet to come of "Dreampunk"). From a slim genre of writing, Steampunk quickly became a fashion statement full of vests and petticoats and a DIY tinkering model full of brass plating and clockwork, and is slowly taking over other mediums such as music, video games, and film (at least according to the New York Times article and depending on how one wants to slice your sub-cultural definition). One of the biggest challenges apparently is that still being a rapidly growing sub-culture there is no exact definition of what makes something Steampunk. Similarly there are many artists who are currently drawing from this Victorian aesthetic, from Burlesque shows to fashion designers, without being aware that they might fall under a sub-cultural umbrella. Either way, what appeals to me in all this is Steampunk's sense of whimsy and elegance, the appeal to DIY ethics and a sense of adventure somewhat lost in the post-post modern world.