Bizarre arbitrary collective fantasy mileu

[urbpan]

So this steampunk thing has caught on like gangbusters lately, and I think it's weird. Its origins go back a long time, but unlike a lot of collective cultural fantasies, there's no group of high-profile pop-culture works to propel it. The space opera collective fantasy, simmering for the entire 20th century in Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon comic strips and serials and such, suddenly got a huge boost with Star Wars in 1977, and has never looked back really. The vampire collective fantasy got its big launch with Bela Lugosi's dracula, and Universal pictures milked it successfully to the point that there's a vampire breakfast cereal, and vampire romance novels for teen girls.

But as far as high profile steampunk movies go, all I can think of are some serious bombs: Wild Wild West, League of Extraordinary Gentleman (the comic book source probably did more to help out the steampunk meme than the almost universally hated movie), and the tepid Hellboy sequel. I have no doubt that a hugely successful movie that exploits the steampunk trope will come out in a matter of months, and this discussion will be forgotten. But at this moment, it's baffling to me how many people in my life, on livejournal, and so on. seem to be fascinated with brass goggles, clockwork robots, and high tech plumbing. Can it all be from fantasy novels?

Some grad student somewhere is working on a paper explaining the appeal--the combination of nostalgia, hopefulness, fashion sense, ecological awareness, the alternate reality of the industrial/technological revolutions. I bet you have some opinions, too.

EDITED TO ADD: Please post a picture of yourself in your steampunk costume along with your comment.

Comments

[morgi.livejournal.com]

I dunno how widely-watched it was, but The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. seemed to wander into steampunk occasionally.

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

I adored that show so so much. and yes, it kind of did.

[morgi.livejournal.com]

That show (and its cast) was seven kinds of awesome. I was so sad to hear that Julius Carry had died. :(

[mandy-moon.livejournal.com]

It is an attractive look, but damned if I can come up the smash-hit that inspired everyone. I've only got once picture of the most recent night I went to X-Mortis. I thought "steampunk" meant "goggles" so I went with it, even if they weren't the brass kind.



Your first paragraph reminded me that the mod/hipster/The Pill thing seemed to begin right around when Austin Powers went crazy-famous as it came out on video/DVD. Though a mod/hipster would never, never admit that the two things are linked.

[kryptyd.livejournal.com]

In a way steampunk was sort of ready-made before it ever became a genre with a name. I have this book:


It's full of illustrations that the artists had tried their very best to make futuristic and fantastical, but so much time has passed between when they were drawn and now that to the modern eye they look arcane, nostalgic and steampunk. Some of the drawings that were probably just very quick sketches for cheap, tacky novels, nowadays make the steampunk enthusiast drool!

There's been elements of it in loads of things, which I always found cool, long before I knew there was a thing called steampunk too. I can't really think of any examples though! Sorry, I'm crap at writting stuff like this!

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

i think a certain degree of elegance is required for steampunk and sadly, there is no elegance in the mad max universe.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I'd say that the Mad Max franchise ended up with some steampunk-looking things (especially the third movie) but was coming from almost the exact opposite mindset. Mad Max is a future gone worse, while steampunk is a past gone better.

[jolantru.livejournal.com]

No steampunk costume picture at the moment - perhaps after the birth of my child, I can work on my costume design.

But well, to me, steampunk strikes me as very DIY, a "can-do" spirit embodied by the adventurous culture of design, art and history. When I write my stories (which are occasional, since my braincells seem to go into baby-making mode), I either write steampunk or dystopia. I am drawn to steampunk because of the hopefulness and AR (alternative realities). Dystopia - well, I want to see what would happen in the future.

The icon I am using is my Bene Gesserit icon - well, dystopian, in a far-distant future (much like Warhammer 40k).

[kryptyd.livejournal.com]

Warhammer actually has a lot of steampunk elements, dated from befoer the huge explosion of steampunk populartity. At least, the Dwarves and Skaven do. Oh how I love the Skaven.

[jolantru.livejournal.com]

The Empire also has a lot of steampunk elements, I think: the steam-powered cannon gun (if I recall correctly). Oooh, a Skaven fan. I am actually more Dark Elf, though my husband is Dwarven.

The steampunk elements can also be seen in the 40K universe, especially when it comes to the garb/costume.

Another universe that has steampunk elements - Warmachine. :)

[barbmg.livejournal.com]

Looking back I think Jules Verne would be pretty excited to see steampunk has become so popular, he was all over some Edwardian/futuristic mash-up. While flipping channels a few months back I came across and old sixties voyage-to-the-moon movie (I don't know what it was called) and the space ship was tastefully appointed in dark wood and red velvet, the men were wearing waist-coats and the hot chick had a corseted dress with a bustle. It was awesome, and I'm kicking myself for not finding out what it was called. (for all I know it might have been another Verne story.)

Neal Stephenson's Diamond Age is my favorite steampunk novel.

[weofodthignen]

My housemate, despite having kept up with SF unlike me and being a genuine geek unlike me, had never heard of it. Casting around for a way to describe the fad, I referred to The Difference Engine and discovered she'd never read it. I think that was a big source of it, and Wikipedia seems to agree.

I'd add for the esthetic, the Disney movie of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. To my eye, a lot of the interior decorating in San Francisco offices and so on is derived from that, including the bulkhead-style curves.

In terms of the fad and its eruption in costuming and cons, Girl Genius bears hefty responsibility, although the Foglios insist on "gaslamp fantasy" instead because the tech goes beyond steam.

M

Have no costume :-)

[hissilliness.livejournal.com]

This comment says most of what I'd wanted to.

[urb-banal.livejournal.com]

well, i had two guys here replacing dry wall and putting in some pot lights yesterday and they looked like the types. One admitted to collecting machine parts for no reason...

(they found my glass bottle collection)

[sacredchao23.livejournal.com]

I think work like The Difference Engine and even (in a fantastic reality as opposed to an alternative history) China Mieville's novels have been pretty influential. Comic books too were a big influence, though I'm not versed enough to point out which.

The place where I began seeing it most though was actually within Goth. I might be wrong about the kind of shift, but the aesthetic in the late 90's and early 2000's seemed to be moving into "cybergoth" (with the influence of rave culture). From there I think there was a kind of reaction and an interest in a slightly different aesthetic. So a few years after I started seeing guys in clubs doing the cybergoth thing I saw guys dressed in tailcoats, riding boots, and wielding goggles.

This is all based of course on my random club experiences in the U.S. and U.K. and very little else.

[sacredchao23.livejournal.com]

I would like to add, by the way, that it has become prevalent enough (at least for people interested in the 19th century) that one of my Victorian literature professors commented on it (and commented on it outside of literature and in the real of lifestyle).

[klingonlandlady.livejournal.com]

comix: Girl Genius!!

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

i think it's merely an example of the getting tired of the smooth, plastic "futurism" of the past half-century. What's the opposite of a the injection molded future we've been promised since the 70's, all controlled by invisible computer circuitry? Why, steampunk! With it's exposed machine elements, lots of metal, and extraneous bits hanging off everything, it's the exact design antithesis to the iPod.

[pipu.livejournal.com]

This is what I was going to say.

[bdot.livejournal.com]

damn... i had a long comment going and it got eaten... :-(

anyway, i was saying that i seem to live in steampunk central. everyone i know that is involved in dicken's fair or science fiction also seems to have an affiliation with steampunk. there is a huge geek fest here called maker faire where steampunk is very evident. at the link, there is a funny looking house in the background of one of the photos. it is a working steampunk house. there are also motorcycles and all sorts of other gadgets that use steam. even the great dicken's christmas fair has a steampunk section now! there was a steampunk day at the fair this past christmas season and everyone was running around in their victorian costumes and goggles with their corsets on the outside of their costumes!

i find it intriguing, but also very expensive if you really get into it....

[iandavid.livejournal.com]

The game Fallout 3 has a very steampunk sensibility to it. Also the folks at BoingBoing are always drooling over steampunk stuff, and they're a pretty popular blog.

Does the locomotive time machine in the end of Back To The Future 3 count?

[chalepa-ta-kala.livejournal.com]

Pointed here by bdot.

I'm the "Steampunk Geek" in the 2009 Geek Girls calendar. Photo taken at Maker Faire (Bay Area) 2008, by tutordennis. Read more about The Whirlygig Emoto, Tom Sepe's steam-assisted motorbike, here: http://www.steampunkworkshop.com/steampunk-motorbike.shtml. Watch the brief video interview we did for NBC demonstrating steampunk's affiliation with the green movement here.

And I agree about the DIY scene affecting steampunk to a great extent. In addition, many of the large-scale art installations I know (the Steampunk Treehouse, Neverwas Haul) are affiliated with Burning Man. Check out our recent feature on the Make magazine site here.

The Etsy Steam Team is a team of makers, tinkerers, mad scientists and unnatural historians who are interested in creating and promoting the steampunk genre. We're affiliated with the handmade marketplace, Etsy. Many of our members feel an affinity with the bricological and crypto-historical movements, and yes, there's certainly overlap between steampunk and the goth/cyberpunk community.

[Edited due to link mania.]

[elainetyger.livejournal.com]

LJ is a small world. My real-life young friend jedusor put the project together. She still has calendars left. Get one for your sweetie for Pi Day (3/14).

[ziggysinamerica.livejournal.com]

The Final Fantasy series has some steampunk elements in it, some games more than others. Final Fantasy 6 is the most steampunk of them all, but magic does exist in the universe (which may or may not be a deal breaker).

[sacredchao23.livejournal.com]

Not really a deal breaker. Magic elements also exist in China Mieville's work and it is a definite influence even if it isn't in a historical or alternative historical setting. And it does seem that the Japanese were doing this stuff in video games pretty early on.

[lakidaa.livejournal.com]

SHAME ADMISSION: I remember liking Wild Wild West when I watched it the first time. If only for the giant spider machine.

Also, steampunk is just kinda nerdy in a DIY way. I got into the aesthetic (without knowing the name) back when I played Final Fantasy 6, which someone else mentioned. It's pretty steampunk. v(._.)v

It combines the nerdy passions of older styles of clothes (vests! spats! Goggles and tophats!) with exotic machinery (someone I saw at Dragoncon had this amazing rifle she made) and mad science.

also corsets geeks are into corsets.

Not me, but the one on the left had the rifle:

(http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v70/Lakidaa/?action=view&current=100_0174.png)

Also note the not good things in this picture ( ._.)./ the shorts, the crappy storebought toolbelt that has not been properly aged or anything, the bra under the corset without a shirt. And while not present in this one (thank goodness) SO MANY REPAINTED NERF MAVERICKS FFFF.

There are bad things in all costuming.

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

I confess to repainting a Maverick. It was in the house already an it looked so good. It was good practice for when I get around to creating more stuff from scratch.

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

I'm quite fond of Steampunk for a number of reason, a major one being that my favorite comic creators work in the genre. This is of course, the aforementioned Girl Genius.

One of the reasons I like it and why I think it has great appeal for costumes is that it supports a wide varitety of body types. A 300 pound Vulcan or a 98 pound Captain America look ridiculous. Put those same people in a steampink costume and chances are they'll look pretty damn good.

You need more nerdy costume friends. There aren't nearly enough costumes pics in this post. You've seen these before, but for the edification of your readers, here I am as Professor Phineas Throckmorton. After putting on the costume I discovered that he is not a good person. Ignore the pirate. there everywhere and they won't take the bait in traps.

[deathling.livejournal.com]

I'm really not a fan either and don't do it well.


(look I has a little booby watch)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Maybe it has something also to do with more human-oriented science? No dilithium necessary? Something like Star Trek specializes in removing constraints, so that's the direction imagination takes, but with steampunk, you add in extra constraints and put the adventure inside those?

Plus people do just enjoy costumes. Or maybe it's to allow people to put their science fiction in a world of Victorian values, etc., as opposed to progressive-style Star Trek values?