Monday, November 22, 2010

Steampunk

Gentlemen and Ladies, I bring to you from the strangest parts of the world... Steampunk!

Please, hop into my dirigible, mind the pipes and gears, and let us set out upon an adventure of literary proportions to attain a basic grasp on this genre.

What is Steampunk?
The best definition I can use is an amalgamation of my own thoughts mixed with the differing definitions on the web from several different authors (not to mention Wikipedia).
Steampunk as an art is the joining together of the Victorian historical period with alternate/sci-fi history, characterized by anachronistic items. Modern-day technologies, if imagined then, would be powered by steam, and heavily decorated with the elegant and graceful design motifs of the Victorian era. The use of brass fittings, copper pipes, cogs, wheels, gears, clockwork and metalwork filigree would be ubiquitous. I will speak primarily about the artful aspect of the genre, although I shall allude to the other facets as well, especially the literary aspects.
Steampunk, speaking historically and categorically, came into existence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, although it has roots that reach more than a century prior to that. Authors such as Jules Verne and H.G. Wells have inspired the category heavily, as well as films like Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and The Time Machine (which happen to be based on the books by Verne and Wells).
Steampunk has become a sub-culture that thrives on the Internet through blogs and forums dedicated to making Steampunk a way of life. I consider this aspect of Steampunk to be rather superfluous and escapist; this is the arena where the “punk” in Steampunk comes out.

How is Steampunk used?
In most stories and art that I have viewed that use Steampunk heavily, I have noticed a common trend. One of them is the extensive use of the genre as a forum to present postmodernism and feminism in a positive light. Also, the genre's mood is very dark, usually depressing. Foggy skies and monochrome colors make us think that we just stepped into post-apocalyptic 2506 instead of the late Victorian or Edwardian era of Europe. There are usually anti-heroes, cynical protagonists that use whatever means necessary to makes things happen. Nihilism is presented as the only option left in a world powered by steam, monitored by robots and ruled by tyrannical dictators.


A few of my favorite examples of Steampunk within film production design are these:

Van Helsing

Okay, I understand: vampires and werewolves don't exist. But Steampunk does. Here is an excellent portrait of how extensive Steampunk should be emphasized... hardly at all, unless there's an express point. Helsing is only as awesome as his Steampunk-influenced gadgets, which he uses at every turn.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Aside from a stellar performance by Jim Carrey, the production design seems to mix sub genres, with Dieselpunk and Steampunk gladly embracing each other to formulate an attempt at timelessness, which I think the film accomplishes to an extent.

Sleepy Hollow

Several tools that quirky, introverted constable/physician/mortician/inventor Ichabod Crane have some semblances of Steampunk about them. Interesting that Rick Heinrichs was the production designer for both this and Unfortunate Events... Coincidence? I think not.

How should Steampunk be used?
I believe that Steampunk is merely the frame to place your picture in; a setting, which should never take the place of story; style, not substance. Steampunk as a lifestyle or philosophy is complete bogus. It should be nothing more than a genre of art, a sub genre of science fiction. Therefore, it should never take precedence within whatever capacity it is used merely by virtue of its presence; in other words, it should never take the limelight because it's cool. The levels of Steampunk usage should be relevant to the needs of the story. In fact, whatever you use, make sure it's up to standard with God's Word and the story's needs. During the design process on Heumoore's Ace Wonder, I utilized a few Steampunk motifs to signify and accentuate the quirkiness of the grandfather. Several times, I was struck with the thought that maybe it was out of place; perhaps I was merely catering to my own desires; to have one thing to which I could point and say, "That was my idea!" Many times the temptation was to over accentuate the presence of the Steampunk motifs, and I had to remind myself that the design was merely the servant of the story. Altruism... I gots it.


Concerning the time-pertinence of Steampunk, my personal preference is to have it within the time frame of an alternate 1820-1900, although I think that it would not be without it's historical or scientific bounds if it were used at any time within the last 1000 years, alternately speaking. I prefer the former era because I am very attached to the Victorian-era roots of the genre. I think it would be pretty spectacular to see Steampunk technology in use during the Middle Ages. King Arthur would have so totally pawned Mordred...

Anyhow, to sum up my post: pay attention to what your story calls for. Don't use anything just 'cause it's neat or hip or cool. Think through everything thoroughly, as best as you can; research, compare, seek counsel. Remember that any piece of art you create has the potential to influence millions. Don't take that lightly.

Also, you'll have to forgive me if I gear all of my points toward filmmaking. You have to understand, however, that that's what I'm called to, and I can't help but write about how to utilize it for the glory of God.

I enjoy the art and style of this genre very much. It piques my imagination like none other. It's such a fantastical joining of history, science and fiction.

I hope you have enjoyed this brief journey through the epic landscape of Steampunk. I hope it was coherent enough to understand, and hopefully you can apply one or two things that I spluttered forth onto this humble blog.

I will remain,

Your Faithful Rambler,

John Scott Reighard

P.S. Steampunk was used 25 times in this post. Epic.

10 comments:

Joshua Titus Phillips said...

Good thoughts, Johnny. Particularly your thoughts on how Steampunk should be used. Personally, I am a huge fan of the genre.

Blookie said...

I fell in love with it when I first discovered it. I'm rather disgusted with the "punk" portion of it. I would prefer it to be Steamclass or perhaps Steamproper.

C.R. Scott said...

Yeah... I'm wondering about mixing this in a novel I have in my head... how many other types of ______punk art are there? You mentioned Steam Punk and Diesel Punk, so I wondered if there were more.

BTW, good use of the word epic. :). I'm a fellow mis-user of the word. :).

C.R. Scott said...

I checked it out, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk is where to find it, and I'm apparently a fan of "clock-punk." That means I like springs and gears powering things (IE, I'm the kid who designs and draws automatic crossbows/ballistas/sniper-bows. :D.

Unknown said...

To tell you the truth, the first time I saw this post I didn't read it, because I didn't know what Steampunk was. (Which was dumb because you explain it in the post)Then I saw some art work and found out what it was called! Then I remembered that I had heard that word somewhere before. :) Good work on Ace Wonder by the way. I can totally see how Steampunk influenced your work in the movie. Very cool.

Blookie said...

Ah, very good. I'm glad that even the title served to be educational.
Thank you for the compliment, by the way. I'm glad that the Steampunk theme is noticeable. During the design process I was constantly asking myself, "Is this too much? Seriously, people are gonna get confused!" Then after the film I thought to myself, "I coulda put way more Steampunk stuff in there!"

Unknown said...

I think it was a good amount though. Did you have free reign with the design work? Or did John pretty much know what he wanted?

Blookie said...

John did have an overall idea for what he wanted and even had some ideas for specific characters, environments and sets. I merely extrapolated from that. Granted, I did suggest many things that seemed to be totally unrelated (such as the Steampunk theme) but at the end of the day, it was in the same vein as John's original ideas.
My one regret is that time and money constrained us from being able to implement all the design themes we wanted.

Unknown said...

After the movie comes out, would you consider posting some other ideas that you had that you weren't able to implement? (If it's okay with John.)

Blookie said...

Amy, I realize this is a few months late, but yes! I will definitely be posting more stuff relating to our design on Ace Wonder.

-Johnny