An Odd Mixture of Elements - Why I Loathe (and Adore) Steampunk

Don't get me wrong, I have a large soft spot for steam fantasy and vintage science fiction, but I am becoming sick unto death of kids running about in rubber bodices and goggles with gears ripped out of a watch hot-glued all over their persons for no good reason (as if
anyone in a steam fantasy world would consider that fashionable or useful. It is, quite simply, self-referencing (yes that is a derogatory term).

From Cyber to Steam...

If you're a die-hard SF fan, then this argument will not apply to you, though you may recognize these trends flowing by as you stand on the banks. Generally speaking, the plausible futures of popular science fiction, both positive and negative, are fast becoming boring for the general public. Steampunk is becoming ubiquitous now as a welcome change of direction for those seeking fantasy escapism expression. Hardcore SF and "Cyberpunk" in particular are waning in the minds of people who are not bookworms. Now that we're so much closer to the dystopian vision of cyberpunk, it's not so much fun any more. Meanwhile, the media machine has more or less hammered those themes into the ground. Look at the milking of the Alien storyline or the corporate foot-shooting of the Matrix trilogy.

Increasingly, the darker visions of the genre are at the same time depressing and depressingly mundane. I'll posit that this is why science fantasy such as Star Wars and high fantasy such as The Lord of the Rings remain so popular. Themes of moral crisis and easy-to-swallow Good vs. Evil are easier to take in troubling times, if not all together necessary for our collective psyche.

Hither cometh Steampunk the Marketable Youth Fad. Steam fantasy appeals on several levels to a wide potential audience. It can be ooky dark (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ["LXG"]) or inanely innocent and light-hearted (Girl Genius). Yet in either case, it is a purer escape with easily defined boundaries. It doesn't make us uncomfortable by reminding us of dark realities that from a distance seemed romantic but up close are truly frightening (terrorism, corporate world domination, epidemics, computerized dehumanization...).

Similarly, it is easy to paint any product in tones of brass, copper and rust and thus reanimate your zombified plot lines one more time. After taking the hint from the popularity among geeks (term of affection) of books like The Diamond Age, the comics industry is leading the way with such window dressing. Examples: Steam Transformers, Steam Marvel Heroes, Steam Batman, Steam Indiana Jones (not yet, but just you wait). The movies naturally follow suit - hence LXG adapted clumsily from Alan Moore's graphic novel. It's all a sort of pop culture trickle-down effect. We've seen it before.

Fa- Fa- Fashion

Steampunk is most certainly a scene in its own right, albeit most of the social interaction among aficionados happens online. Check out the "Anachrotech" and "Gears and Steam" Live Journal communities for a start. Unlike many Neo-Victorians, I don't think people wear their most steamy gear on a daily basis. The fashion elements I am tired of are club wear - fancy dress. I'd suspect most of them look like average gothy types or quasi-Victorian eccentrics most days. (I resemble that remark)

The thing is, the fashion is an outgrowth of the scene and not the core of it, but some folks don't get that, or don't especially care. I know for certain there are people who have followed the literary, comic book, film/anime "scene" since the 80s who are dismayed to see things being watered down by people who have seen Steamboy and LXG but have no idea what The Difference Engine was.

Am I a stick in the mud? Too serious? Too old? But of course!

But the question still remains - what good is steampunk as a fad and how should hardcore Victoriophiles approach it? How should one react if some yungin asks you for help with wardrobe, but after you give him your research-driven insights, he remarks, "Great! That will look awesome with some rips in it and these copper cables I got for my fake prosthetic arm!"

What is the place of steampunk in our attempts to revive and incorporate 19th century modes and aesthetics into a 21st century lifestyle?

I'd say that the steampunk phenomenon can still be fun, even for old fuddy-duddies like myself. And "youth shall have its fling". But it is the materials-hacking end of SP that I think deserves the most attention, not the fashions or pop-media. I just am less interested in the narrow focus and relative simplicity of these hobby horses.(Girl Genius is fun, but would you build a lifestyle around it?) Conversely, I have always very much enjoyed applying Victorian aesthetics to modern technology and my environment, though my efforts have hardly ever reached the heights of 'The Steampunk Workshop' and others.

Where Steampunk gets it wrong, from the historian's perspective...

Indeed, real Victorian styles, technology, and design, are all more human, more organic than what we have coming out of today's third-world sweatshops. Ironic that, given that the Victorian world was sooo radically mechanized compared to the hundreds of years that came before. Everything is relative, I suppose.

To a large extent, Victorian design aesthetics (even including Art Nouveau), were a reaction to the ugliness of the industrial age. Most did not wish to live in the shadow of their machines, but to either ignore them (hence the plight of the poor factory laborer) or civilize them enough to bring them home to meet mother. To bring them to heel and domesticate them enough to be a comfortable fit in the human home.

This basic human reaction to the machine age is an essential part of what made the Victorian and Edwardian ages look and feel the way they did. Not understanding that, the result of not studying much actual history, is where Steampunk goes off kilter. People did not revel in machines for how they looked - they reveled in what the machines could do. They usually tried to mask, or beautify the looks of the machinery (sometimes to good effect, sometimes with laughable results). They also had less sense of impermanence than we do, but that's a whole other topic.

Philosophically, I think the noblest goal of being a Victoriophile should be to cherry-pick the best and most interesting aspects of the age to re-use and encourage people to do likewise. We live in an increasingly sterile world. Sometimes even just a veneer of wood, or a less-than-streamlined wardrobe can do wonders for reminding us of our humanity -- that life is worth savoring like a fine cognac.

Similarly, there is a lot to be said for acknowledging the grace and resourcefulness of a world without the technological conveniences upon which we depend (or are trapped by, as some would argue). How many of us have ever spent an evening at home with all the electrical devices shut off? I mean really unplugged - not even a stand-by LED. I know one or two who have, either by choice or by necessity, and my hat is off to them.

Given the state of the planet, I think we would be foolish not to examine how people worked, survived and entertained themselves 100+ years ago. The technology of our own time is in need of a certain degree of domesticating and civilizing. It needs to be put in its proper place like the servant it is meant to be. Doing without some of it, even temporarily can have salutary effects. Isn't reading by lamp or candle light just wonderful? After the frenetic pace of our daily grind, isn't silence truly golden?

As lovers of the 19th century, I feel that ours is a much more holistic approach to life and a more philosophical attitude than the average steam fantasy fan cum club/convention goer has. I'd even go so far as to say it is a classic Victorian attitude. To wit: "Here is a problem of our Society. Let us endeavor to repair and civilize it in the name of Progress!"

It hardly seems to matter that in some cases we are actually de-constructing "progress" in order to preserve civilization.

Ours is also a typically Victorian attitude in that it looks both backwards and forwards in the same breath. Once upon a time, Victorian engineers created a series of sewage pumping stations for the city of London. They were the height of 19th century technology (and saved many lives from cholera) and yet were built to look like gothic chapels. They still stand today. As engineers of our lives, can we not do the same? Can we not look to the past to ennoble the present -- even when it is terribly mundane?

Originally, the pop-culture term "punk" implied doing it yourself and making it your own. That's the essence of Steampunk I would like to see more of.

Well then, something to chew on, wot? Betimes, I am off to play some G&S on my steampunk-theme skinned Ipod.

Yours very rabidly,

- TG

Being a journal of the life, times and inflated opinions of Mr. Theridion Grallator, a would-be gentleman of leisure.

Being a journal of the life, times and inflated opinions of
Mr. Theridion Grallator, a would-be gentleman of leisure.