I don’t get Steampunk.

Steampunk seems to be all about Victorian clothes, with Goggles and Boots and Brass Gears and Tubes.   Am I missing something?

Yeah, I heard it’s all about Jules Verne (The Father of Sci-Fi, yada yada yada) and stuff… but I don’t get it.  It’s less Geeky than Cyberpunk, I’ll give it that.   And the people seem smarter and better looking that Cyberpunks… but I’m just not getting Steampunk.

Someone, please explain this to me.

36 thoughts on “I don’t get Steampunk.”

  1. Gidday Og’

    Well, its one of those cross-genre deals really. Sometimes when you mix stuff up it falls flat on its arse, but essentially, its taking old technology, and reinventing it, or, giving modern concepts an archaic feel, a rustic feel. Much of it, as you’ll see is pure asthetics, style.

    My old home town – well, always lived in the country, but its the closest, Oamaru, proclaimed itself the Steampunk captial recently, here in New Zealand.

    Chaos Engine is an old top-down video game in the genre. William Gibson, who you know, wrote “The Difference Engine” with Bruce Sterling, a well known novel in the genre. And that was really a alternate history thing…

    That probably doesn’t help mate.

  2. I actually like Steampunk when it is done well.
    And therein lies the problem, most people just throw goggles and gears on some neo-victorian clothes or modern gadgets and call it Steampunk.

    Few people can actually be uniquely creative within the Steampunk aesthetic.

  3. Yeah, I don’t get it either.

    Now lets dress up in LBE and 5.11 and practice our captain Kurk rolls, while working on an active shooter in a mall scenario.

    😛

  4. Yea, as others have said, it’s an alternate history, neovictorian sort of thing.
    It isn’t all about Jules Verne,necessarily, but he is a big figure in the genra.

    THe movement has it’s own sub generas, such as ‘Weird West’.
    Refrence “The Adventures of Brisco County JR.”, or the origonal t.v series ” The Wild Wild West”

    In practical terms, it means that when attending an sf convention, you can wear your
    western wear, along with some goggles or somesuch, and claim to be in costume.

        1. I also would be breaking the rules of the internet if I failed to
          mention the band Abney Park. I think all steampunk threads are required
          to have some refrence to them.

  5. I get what you’re saying, Ogre. I like the “idea” of Steampunk better than the realization… Jules Verne nailed it, however. ‘ nuff said…

  6. You know that scene in Back to the Future III where doc uses that really complicated machine to make an ice cube? I think that one scene is the origins of the whole steam punk thing.

    I view steampunk as an astetic, yes but also as a nostalgia for a time when technology was understandable. A lot of us would like to think that we could design microchips, mutate DNA, and invent groundbreaking new things. But to be honest, in this day and age no single person can design (or understand) modern tech.

    You ever want to build some kind of Rube Goldberg machine while simultaneouly exploring back in the day when there were areas of the earth left unexplored? You want to look dashing, adventurous, geeky and cosmopolitan all at the same time? That’s steampunk.

  7. Steam punk is what the world would look like if it never met the transistor. So instead of electric switches (what a transistor really boils down too..) everything is mechanical. Everything is steamed powered, cars, guns, planes, boats, etc.

  8. Forget the “steam” part, I’m wondering how they get away with calling themselves “punk”.

    The whirring sound you hear is Sid Vicious spinning in his grave.

    1. It’s an offshoot of Cyberpunk. In the same way wildcat cartridges incorporate the parents name,e.g. the 22-250 has nothing “250” about it, it is a 22 cal based on the 250 Savage case.

      So Steam-age cyberpunk became Steampunk…

      But, yea, there’s nothing punk about it. It’s almost the opposite of “punk”.

  9. A key idea behind Steampunk is asking What if we had today’s understanding of physics then?

    One of the reasons for steampunk’s appeal is that so much scifi is getting lame. Psychic powers and gizmos and computers (magic and talismans and oracles) have turned too much science fiction in to Fantasy in Outer Space. Seems everyone is trying to trump the Jedi concept, even the guy who made the Jedi concept.

    The drama grows false*. If you put the characters into an impossible situation, just miracle them out! Only, the answer was always there, it’s just that we, the audience, didn’t know about it.

    Give us a world where the heroes win by their guts and wits, not by gadgets and spoon fed answers.

    Where the problems happen in real life, that we can directly relate to, and where the solutions are ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

    What’s the appeal?

    It’s a bit like the appeal of the 1911.

    Metal, not plastic. Science and tech in your hand but without computers. Old world charm and class, not built for the lowest common denominator or production efficiency, but still functional and highly effective.

    You can make it yourself, you can fix it yourself; no bankrupt mentality of if it breaks you throw it out and by a new one from some factory.

    The clothes of steampunk? They show a self-respect. You take time and care to dress yourself. You suggest rather than flaunt. Or you suggest a lot and flaunt a little. (Or you suggest that you like to flaunt, when the time is right…)

    What if we could have yesteryear’s ethic but without societies bigotries? No discrimination but no political correctness either?

    Men could be men and women could be women, and no one was blamed or held back for it?

    Most people want to be normal but they also need to be independent and unique.

    Sometimes you can’t do that enough in the modern world.

    Would you like step into that other world?

    As for the cosplayers? Maybe they just like to dress it up.

    1. As I’m still new to blogging, I’m not up on the ethics yet. I cross-posted the above (overly long) piece at my place. Let me know if I did anything inappropriate.

    1. You make some good points, as have most of the posters in this thread. I like the part about the self respect to dress well. I mean, look at the normal “Street Punks” running around with their belt lines below their buttocks. Tell you what, I’d rather hang out with some Steam punks than Street punks. The Street guys just have no dignity… and that’s important to me.
      I’m beginning to understand all this a little better. Thank you.

  10. As near as I can tell, Steampunk is how technology would have evolved if gasoline had never been discovered. Steam locomotive technology and design applied to everything. Plus airships, apparently. I don’t know, it’s confusing.

  11. Very well stated Clint1911.

    Sohmdaddy, if you want gasoline and grit with your retro-scifi, Dieselpunk is for you. This is the world of Sky Captain and Corriea’s “Hard Magic” (to some extent.)

  12. There is a nostalgia for Victorian and Edwardian technology. Top break revolvers, semi-autos made with metal and wood grips,(Why yes I have a version of 1911 with a radioactive front sight but it has a Series 70 style safety system, pay no attention to be beaver tail grip safety with the memory bump and the low ride thumb safety.) There are still a shocking number of people who carry revolvers made from METAL would you believe.
    It was once said that certain technologies will break your heart if you try to get them to work in the modern age, rigid frame dirigibles, steam engines, and flying wings. They do keep coming back though. Semi lighter than air rigid frame, stealth bat wings with computers to keep them stable…kind miss the point though not enough wood and meta.
    http://girlgeniusonline.com/

  13. I grew annoyed when Larry told me people were labeling Grimnoir “diesel punk”.

    A lot of the steampunk genre, as found on the internet, boils down to 21st century, postmodern hipsters transplanted to the Victorian Era with a bunch of steam powered gadgets and goggles on their heads.

    (Before anyone takes my head off, I’m sure there are many examples of the genre that are better than that. But that’s how it seems to this layman.)

    Larry did a ton, and I mean a ton, of research for Grimnoir. None of the characters have 21st century values or beliefs. He worked very hard to make sure everything fit the time period; the dialogue, the attitudes, the values, etc. It’s as legit as it’s gonna get from someone who’s not actually a professional historian.

    Frankly, calling it “Diesel Punk” doesn’t do justice to the amount of research he did. How many Steampunk authors actually do any research on the Victorian era?

    And, of course, it has absolutely nothing to do with punk rock music, or the punk rock music scene. John Browning and Blackjack Pershing are characters in Grimnoir; one has a hard time imagining them loading Sid Vicious or Offsping on their mechanical .MP3 players.

  14. From the title “Grimnoir” which I assumed was a play on the words noir, grim, and grimore, the book was going to be a combination of the film “Noir” concept and fantasy. There are arguments amongst film buff about just what constitutes Noir but the peak period is gritty black and white films from the 1930’s to the early 1950’s. I consider “The Maltese Falcon” to be one others’ don’t.

  15. Honestly a think a lot of the popularity is because the genre is well suited for people to dress up in costume. Not my thing, but the whole dress up thing is very appealing to a lot of nerds.

  16. I liked the two Monster Hunter Internationals that I’ve read. I was given a beater of a 1994 S-10 Blazer. I had to sell my little motorcycle in exchange since I couldn’t afford both. Insurance, maintenance and stuff. My riding gear was starting to wear out and I needed a new helmet. I had to put a new battery into the Blazer this month so I won’t be able to get any new books until July. The sample chapter over on Baen Books looked good.

  17. “The Peshawar Lancers” (2001) By S.M. Sterling, one of the best EVER novels of the type with strong Steam Punk leanings, like the national computer (“Engine”)that uses punch cards. Very strong 1870’s style adventure and combat story lines in Victoria English society moved to India by a meteor impact in the late 1800’s. I will never be without a copy.

  18. Why is it popular?

    Science fiction spent 50+ years telling us that the future was going to be awesome and cool and interesting. Well now were here in the future and low and behold it sucks. We didn’t get moon bases, flying cars, or jetpacks. All we got was some cool phones, plastic guns, two wars, and a boatload of debt. So people want to look back. They want a future filled with awesome machines powered by imagination, Air Pirates, and improbable corsets. They want to see a future that never was and never will be and frankly I can’t blame them.

    1. I’m not sure what you mean. But let me clarify… I’m not against SteamPunk… I find it interesting… but I just don’t understand it. It seems to be all about a reason to wear goggles with any outfit… Business suite + Goggles = SteamPunk. Dress + Goggles = Steam Punk.
      If you want a good reason to wear goggles and not be out of place or anything… Get a Motorcycle.

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