The Steampunk philosophy

[Myrtil]

I need your help!!!!!

Ok, so, let me explain a bit :
My RL sister has got a ten minutes talk to do about a topic of her choice for her English course, and she asked me which topic she could choose. Dumbly, I answered "Steampunk".
She liked it...
She gave the topic she chose to her teacher who commented with a "Oh, yes, that will be interesting to hear about the Steampunk philosophy". My sister nodded but had no clue.
So of course she got back to me... BUT I don't really have much knowledge about the Steampunk Philosophy, although YOU may have :op

So now I'm asking if any of you would be kind enough to tell me a little about what they think the "Steampunk philosophy" could be described as.

Thank you !

PS : this isn't to be turned into a fight, just an exchange of polite opinions, there's no problem if people don't totally agree with each other, just give me an overview :)

[Ceejay Writer]

Hmm. From my POV, it's hard to attach "The" to Steampunk Philosophy. It's many things to many people. So here's a snippet of "A" Steampunk Philosophy. It's a shortie version, but I'm crunched for time. Others will no doubt have their own takes.

My earliest memories include being plopped on our back patio and given a boxful of equipment, along with a screwdriver and other tools. This was my parent's best method of getting me out of their hair and occupied. I would spend hours tearing apart old radios to rebuild into new creations. I also crafted rockets to fire to the heavens with my dad. And there was the romping on the roof, to the horror of my mother, monitoring my weather station.

As I came into my teens, I began to realize how strong a Victorian woman had to be in her time. I gleaned the wonders (kitchen skills, crafts, journal-keeping) and discarded the oppressive notions.

Science fiction came into play at a young age too. My brain was a swirl of Bradbury, Asimov, Lovecraft, and dozens more.

All these elements have been parts of my life, since I was old enough to understand them. In recent years, 'steampunk' has been a label attached to the combination of these elements. I don't mind. :)

Basically, I'm just me, the bratty creator-child who romped on roofs - I'm still her, but I leave the rooftop to others these days. Getting old, ya know. ;) And this is Steampunk to me, whether it's a philosophy is muddy... it's just who I am.

[Doctor Obolensky]

Well, the origin of the term was something of a cast-off of cyberpunk.

Of course, these days, it means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. But I'll express my opinions on what I think it means.

The Steam part to me, doesn't just entail the airships and wonderous devices of another age, although that's certainly a big part of it. It's also the idealized culture of the age, with it's appreciation of manners and doing things the right way. It is, by and large, an age of optimism, and that has a great appeal.

The Punk side is rebellion, pure and simple. Just as the cyberpunks used their technology to work against establishment and uniformity, so do the steampunks, often using the tech of their age, to rebel against authority. Even as they embrace technology and it's wonders, they resist being just another "cog in the machine".

But of course, to some, it's just an excuse to wear a top hat in public. :)

[Moses Mureaux]

Some excellent information can be found in Wikipedia's Steampunk entry. The article doesn't really attempt to nail down an exact, pinpoint definition, but does sight some of the "hows", "whys", and "whats" of the theme. The notes, references, and links might be helpful too.

Another site I enjoy browsing is the Steampunkopedia.

Hope these are helpful.

[Aeolus Cleanslate]

A couple of sources for thought:
* our Wiki has some basics, and a more detailed manifesto.
* A list of steampunk must-reads is also a good place to start, as is this effort in our Wiki to start a film equivalent.

Doc is right: the original coining of the "steampunk" term was an attempt to associate/differentiate the genre relative to the (then-hot) "cyberpunk" idea. The moniker worked (sort of) and stuck. I personally think the movement has outgrown the term. It's inaccurate, and as a result does us a disservice and prevents us from being understood by the mainstream. I've been arguing for some time, privately, that we need something new. But "steampunk" is what we've got, for now, and so we must live with it.

As I see it, steampunk is many things, but at its core is a romance with the culture and technology of the industrial revolution. That culture (a eurocentric one, assuredly), was essentially one of certainty - certainty in the inevitability of reason as a means to order man's affairs, certainty in the concept of linear technological progress, certainty in the obvious superiority of all that over everything else. In the real world, World War I happened - and destroyed that certainty utterly. Suddenly it was arguably *more true* that science and technology would *destroy* us, not improve us - that runaway reason could result in pointless mass suffering and death, not enlightenment and utopia. Steampunk returns us to that reassuring, romantic world where that line of thought was poppycock - and those who espoused it were dismissed as prima facie lunatics. There are many common subthemes within the steampunk genre - individualism, technological innovation, class transparency - and by now, as many subgenres as one could imagine after being around for thirty-plus years, but I would argue that a fascination for cultural certainty is the one thing they all have in common.

The Doctor's answer above highlights what I see as the contradiction in the term "steampunk". He's right that steampunk celebrates the "idealized culture of the age, with it's appreciation of manners and doing things the right way," but it's hard to square that with the "rebellion" implied by the -punk part. Honestly? It's always been both. The role of the establishment and the role of the rebel are both celebrated within steampunk literature. A careful reading of the canons of the genre shows that few steampunk protagonists are "rebels" against their society per se - in fact they are almost always intimately connected with it. Edward Mallory (Difference Engine), Oswald Bastable (Nomad of the Timestreams), Lyra Belacqua (Golden Compass) - all are, at their core, firm supporters of the status quo, but choose to pursue their own path within it, on their own terms. So "punk" isn't quite right - the origins of punk were synonymous with utter rejection of the status quo (aka anarchy) - which is not steampunk. You may get closer if you choose to define "punk" broadly as "individualism" or "an aggressive do-it-yourself ethic," which works better. But the logical extension of "punk" leads to *self* destruction, irrationalism, nihilism and hopelessness - and steampunks are never that. We are the opposite: self-improving, highly rational, creative, hopeful.

More than you bargained for, I'm sure. Maybe it will help. *grin*

[Phineas Frakture]

in addition to what was said, I've found several references that the 'punk' aspect had alot to do with the lower class workers rebelling against society and rising up to change the status quo...hence many depictions of the gritty mechanics and machinery taking on the aristocracy

[Myrtil]

Eh, thank you all for your replies and links, that will be very useful. Much appreciated :)

[Viv Trafalgar]

Hi Myrtil - here are some links related to the Steampunk exhibition at Oxford University. BBC Radio also did an interview on the topic, which I think Tenk linked to earlier. Hope this helps.

http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/SteampunkProgramme.pdf

http://www.steampunkmuseumexhibition.blogspot.com/

http://www.mhs.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/broadsheet9.pdf

[Jedburgh Dagger]

Well, since you asked...

The first part is the allure of the works of Wells, Verne, etc...where the world was still a much larger place, where there were still undiscovered places to explore. There was a certain shiny optimism in the future, one where science could make amazing and wonderful things...

OK, we do have lots of that now, but look at the mindset difference of the 20th century after two world wars, an innumerable number of smaller ones, the knowledge that the world is a much smaller place in many ways and all the grim things that modern life offers...

The punk part of it? This is where we get to blur the edges of what was in Victorian society. I mean, if this was a REAL Victorian era sim, I'd be baking cookies and having babies, rather than being a detective, a soldier of fortune and an ironclad captain...

[Katherine Montpark]

I personally see the "punk" side of steampunk as rebelling against the mass-produced, streamlined sort of world we have today. Back then, the workings of things were easy to observe and understand; you could take apart a clock with your own two hands, see how the gears meshed and the levers pulled, and put it back together. Nowadays, take apart most modern machines, and you not only irrevocably break it, you void the warranty, ruin the mechanisms, and have no idea how it works.

Things today are made to be bought cheap, used, and thrown away. I'm enamored with a time when even the simple things were works of art made to last years, if not generations. It was a time when the impossible could still be probable, when all the corners of the map were not filled in, when everything was a miracle cure, when science could only lead to a better and better world, and when at any day a new invention could produce miracles.

[DreddPirateBob]

for me its a bunch of stuff really. But to try and make sense of it:

Good manners. There seems to be a kick back against the general uncouthness of GenX

The love for machines, understanding and delighting in the artistry of engineering.

Jonny Payphone, a bit of a hero of mine, said somehting along the lines of "Never buy what you can't repair yourself". That kind of throws us lot out with our spanky processor chips but i get his drift :)

The chance to wear some smart clothes for once, and the ability to wear as many bags and belts as one desires. Goggles just win.

Steampunk stuff looks damn cool to a certain kind of mind. The 'i have a house full of junk i found in the street' kind of mind :)

However, mr albus weka emailed me today with "Steampunk = When 'Goths' discover brown!"

HAHAHAHAHAahahahahahaha

[Loki Eliot]

I have a few ideas about steampunkism.

Overall to me the under laying principles of Steampunk is its a reaction to modern living, a reaction to the clean cut minimalist design of the modern world, and a reaction to a modern society that does little to retain the values once held important to ones self. It's all about backlashing todays world, getting back to the grit & grime, the craft & art, the honor & chivalry and community spirit where we help each other better ourselves as humans.

Thats how i see it :) So i think the term Steampunk still fits since to me it's a rebellion against modern culture.


I also have two steampunk terms....

1.Hyper Steampunk = Historical eras with design, art, functionality and Technology beyond what was possible at that time.
2.Retro Steampunk = Design, art, functionality and Technology that inspired or been incorporated into Modern day.

[Myrtil]

Thank you all again, so much food for thoughts!
Apparently the term "Steampunk" means lots of different things for everyone but still the same kind of things. I guess it is hard to express really what it is and I guess there isn't really one complete and restricted definition for it. Which makes it more welcoming and interesting I suppose.
At least, you made my little sister happy, and maybe after her talk there will be a few more newly-Steampunk-converted wandering around ;)