Let me start by explaining when I was first introduced to Steampunk.
When I was first introduced to Steampunk it was not called anything other than Victorian science fiction. When I was quite young, before I could read and television was still quite new and exciting, one of my favourite childhood activities was spending a Saturday afternoon watching a show starring Superhost. He did a little pre-movie show called “Supe’s On” followed by an afternoon of monster movies under the banner “Mad Theater”. This is where I was first introduced to The Time Machine, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, Dracula, The Wax Museum, everything by Poe…I could go on and on (This was my initial introduction to Steampunk and gaslight fiction). Two of my favourite television series of the time were Wild, Wild West and Dark Shadows. My preferred books growing up were the original stories by Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Bram Stoker, Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe.
Much later while earning my history degree and museum technology diploma I concentrated on the Victorian period. I especially loved the diaries and accounts of women explorers and pioneers. Today, I’m quite lucky to have a husband with similar interests. Our home dates to 1899 and it’s been a joy to work on restoring it from a flop house to a family home with our unique Steampunk twists. Specimen jars, skulls and unique art have been a part of our decorating scheme for many years.
My husband and our friend Adam introduced me to today’s version of Steampunk. Through various internet connections I was thrilled to find so many others that shared my interest. To find it now had a name, even if originally concocted in jest, was quite exciting.
Over the past few years of being immersed in the Steampunk community I have come to find that although its roots are firmly planted in the original stories from the past, it has grown into something that stands on its own and that is still evolving. It still has the original elements of imagination that came from the great writers of the period, but it now encompasses more modern ideas. The costuming that is most often in the media is but a very small part of this genre. We are looking at and emulating inventions of the period, whether of steam, electricity or mechanical moving gears. We are making new literature, art, games, home décor, music, and anything else one’s mind can envision, into things of beauty and wonder that reflect the Victorian aesthetics of that time, but with our modern sensibilities and knowledge of technology. Many describe this as the old becoming new again, or a blending of old and new. The one thing that keeps Steampunk from being a simple reinvention of the historical is its basis in science fiction.
Steampunk is about imagination! The Steampunk “world” does not have to be strictly set in the Victorian period or the British Empire. The idea of time travel in The Time Machine opens up an infinite avenue of possibilities. You can take the ideas, machinery and look and use them around the world and into the future. I especially like the idea of a post-apocalyptic era where the world has gone back to using easily made and maintained items cobbled together from what has been left behind. A return to being makers, whether it be tools, machines, clothes, food – anything. This is where Steampunk becomes something bigger than just a science fiction genre.
Many makers today, whether mechanical, musical, art or fabric, are recycling and using green methods in these creations. Recycling both relives the old Victorian practice of reusing everything until there is nothing left, as well as sustaining our quest to reuse modern waste and save ourselves and the earth from a garbage explosion. It breeds creativity and produces some amazing pieces that people can be proud of. A huge part of the population is getting tired of mass production and waste. This is the past being reborn into the future.
I would like to see the Steampunk community more involved in promoting our genre as a fresh way to introduce and educate children about our great scientists past and present. Who doesn’t like crazy inventions and bizarre biological specimens? Many teachers, museums and others are using the genre to inspire and encourage children (and adults) to learn more about the past and to create for the future. There is something for every age and every interest. Educating in fun and interesting ways is something I believe everyone can get behind, whatever their views on “what is Steampunk” may be.
What is Steampunk? For me, it’s a love of the historic with a sense of fun and a dash of imagination.
