What is Steampunk?
Steampunk is a word
gaining increased use and popularity in our lexicon. What is it?
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery, especially in a setting
inspired by industrialized Western civilization
during the 19th century.
Therefore, steampunk works are often set in an alternative history
of the 19th century's British Victorian era
or American "Wild
West", in a post-apocalyptic future during which steam power
has regained mainstream use, or in a fantasy world that similarly employs steam power. Steampunk perhaps most recognizably features anachronistic technologies or retro-futuristic inventions as people in the 19th century might have envisioned them, and is likewise rooted in the era's perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, and art. Such technology may include fictional machines like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or the modern authors Philip Pullman, Scott Westerfeld, and, most notably, J.K. Rowling in her Harry Potter novels.
Steampunk also refers to any of the artistic styles, clothing fashions, or subcultures that have developed from the aesthetics of steampunk fiction, Victorian-era fiction, and films from the mid-20th century. Various modern utilitarian objects have been molded by individual artisans into a pseudo-Victorian mechanical "steampunk" style, and a number of visual and musical artists have been described as steampunk.
Steampunk-inspired
Hogwarts Diary
William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's 1990 novel The Difference Engine
is often credited with bringing widespread awareness of steampunk. This novel applies the principles of Gibson
and Sterling's cyberpunk writings to an
alternative Victorian era where Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage's proposed steam-powered
mechanical computer, which Babbage called a difference engine and led to the dawn of the information age more than a century "ahead
of schedule".
An assortment of steampunk collectibles
"Historical" steampunk usually leans more towards science fiction than fantasy, but a number of historical steampunk stories have incorporated magical elements as well. For example, Morlock Night, written by K. W. Jeter, revolves around an attempt by the wizard Merlin to raise King Arthur to save Britain in 1892 from an invasion of Morlocks from the future.The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers involves a cabal of magicians among the beggars and thieves of the early 19th century London underworld. And of course, most recently, the Harry Potter novels.
Steampunk design emphasizes a
balance between the form and function. Like the Arts and Crafts
Movement, this blurs the line between tool and decoration. Various
modern utilitarian objects have been modified by enthusiasts into a
pseudo-Victorian mechanical "steampunk" style. Example objects
include computer keyboards
and electric guitars.The
goal of such redesigns is to employ appropriate materials (such as polished
brass, iron, wood, and leather) with design elements consistent with the
Victorian era, rejecting the aesthetic of industrial design.
A steampunk computer keyboard
A steampunk-inspired watch
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