Steampunk:roots and branches

Stephen D. Poe

Teslacon 2014

• The history and interpretation of Steampunk varies.

• There are as many definitions as there are Steampunkers.

• This is my interpretation.

• YMMV.

ROOTS

First, there was Science

Fiction/Fantasy

• And, from there in the early 80s, evolved

Cyberpunk.

• Dystopian SF; a genre noir. Highly focused

on cybernetic futures, high tech and failing

societies.

4

The Cyberpunk genre expanded

Writers created cyberpunk-type worlds but without

cybernetics; some were set in Victorian England and

copied conventions of Victorian Literature.

5

And suddenly a new genre is born…

Dear Locus,

Personally, I think Victorian fantasies

are going to be the next big thing, as

long as we can come up with a fitting

collective term for Powers, Blaylock

and myself. Something based on the

appropriate technology of the era;

like 'steam-punks', perhaps.

—K.W. Jeter

6

Published April, 1987

Older works were retro-actively

fitted into the new genre

Steampunk

Literary

Novels

Short Stories

Comics

Graphic

Novels

Multimedia

Movies

Anime

Games

Immersion

Music

Cons

Cosplay

DIY and

Maker

Performance

Art

Crafts & DIY

• DIY and Maker

• Aside from cosplay, most other

subcultures do not have such a

strong emphasis on DIY

• Not do they have such a strong

emphasis on sharing

Music

• Abney Park

• Charles von Vitic

• The Clockwork Dolls

• The Clockwork Quartet

• The Cog is Dead

• Corset

• Darcy James Argue'sSecret Society

• Doctor Steel

• The Extraordinary Contraptions

• H U M A N W I N E

• Insomniac Folklore

• Jon Magnificent

• Jill Tracy

• Les Claypool

• The Men That Will Not Be Blamed for Nothing

• Poplock Holmes

• Professor Elemental

• Psyche Corporation

• Rasputina

• Steam Powered Giraffe

• Sunday Driver

• Thomas Truax

• UnextraordinaryGentlemen

• Unwoman

• Vernian Process

• Veronique Chevalier

• Voltaire

Performance Art

• Rocky Horror

• Steampunk

• Airship Isabella

• Carnival Epsilon

• League of STEAM

• Penny Dreadful Productions

BRANCHES

And promptly spilt into multiple

Sub-genres itself

• High Vic

• Low Vic

• Airship

• Dieselpunk

• Far East

• Clockpunk/Watchpunk

• Wild West (cattlepunk)…

14

Steampunk

Genre

Family Tree

Cyberpunk

Postcyberpu

nkCyberprep

Retrofuturist

ic

Steampun

k

Teslapunk

Dieselpunk

Decopunk

Atompunk

Futuristic

Biopunk

Nanopunk

Other

Stonepunk

Clockpunk

Splatterpunk

Elfpunk

Mythpunk

15

Steampunk Genre Family Tree

Postcyberpunk

• New authors, grew up with

cyberpunk, take it to the

next generation. Typically

not dystopian.

• Neal Stephenson's The

Diamond Age

• Ghost in the Shell: Stand

Alone Complex

Cyberprep

• Writing with a utopian

vision instead of a

dystopian vision.

16

Steampunk Genre Family Tree

RetroFuturistic

• Depictions of current or

future times based on what

previous times had

projected.

• Steampunk

• Neo-Victorianism

• Teslapunk

• Dieselpunk

• Decopunk

• Atompunk

17

Steampunk Genre Family Tree

Futuristic

• Variations of Steampunk

set in future environments

rather than retro-future

environments

• Ribofunk by Paul Di Filippo

• The Windup Girl by Paolo

Bacigalupi

• Nanopunk, Nathan McGrath

• Biopunk

• Nanopunk

18

Steampunk Genre Family Tree

Other

• Not really classifiable

• Stonepunk

• Clockpunk

• Splatterpunk

• Elfpunk

• Mythpunk

• WizardPunk

• NerfPunk

• RococoPunk

NEW GROWTH

And it’s Still Growing

From Adam Heine’s Blog.

Data from Wikipedia,

retrieved July 7, 2012.

21

Whimsical Directions… NerfPunk

22

New Directions… WizardPunk

Core Differentiators

From Adam Heine’s Blog.

Data from Wikipedia,

retrieved July 7, 2012.

• Canon

• There is no canon for Steampunk

• “There are no rules”

• Across media

• Not just a book, or a movie, or a game

• Cross-pollination

• Everyone borrows off of everyone else

• And that’s OK

Future Trends?

From Adam Heine’s Blog.

Data from Wikipedia,

retrieved July 7, 2012.

• IBM

• Steampunk a “New Retail

Trend in the Making.”

• “During 2013-2015, IBM predicts that steampunk will shift from low production, high cost “craft” manufacturing to mass production.”

• IBM Social Sentiment Index

Summary

From Adam Heine’s Blog.

Data from Wikipedia,

retrieved July 7, 2012.

• Since its start in 1987

• Expanded in people, media,

popularity

• Split into many subgeneres

• Gone from a splinter into a subculture

and now going mainstream

• “No Rules”

• Allows it to grow, morph, expand

Questions?