Try watching the 2009 Robert Downey Jr.-starrer “Sherlock Holmes” (and its 2011 sequel both directed by Madonna’s ex-husband Guy Ritchie) or read Cherie Priest’s award-winning sci-fi novel, “Boneshaker” (the zombies are referred to as “rotters”), or Alan Moore’s three-volume comic book series, “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” (or see the movie of the same title with former James Bond, Sean Connery leading the cast), and chances are, one can have an idea of what steampunk is all about.
And if not, well, one can still check out artworks reflecting or showing machineries, or pieces of clothing reminding one of the Wild West or the Victorian era, for additional hints.
What really is steampunk?
That one, according to Steampunk.com, “is a good question that is difficult to answer.”
Generally speaking, steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction.
SteamPunk Magazine said on its website that it promotes steampunk “as a culture.”
Steampunk.com views steampunk primarily as “a literary genre . . . that includes social or technological aspects of the 19th century (the steam).”
An online contributor at Urban Dictionary by the name of Kankuro said that there is Medieval Steampunk (“speculative fiction set during the Middle Ages”), Victorian Steampunk (“a modern science fiction work (post-1930s) that is set in the early parts of the Industrial Revolution”), Western Steampunk (“science fiction set in the American Old West”) and Industrial/Modern Steampunk (“science fiction taking place in the late industrial age, early modern age”).
U.S.-based online store Medieval Collectibles, which sells steampunk clothing, said that steampunk “portrays a world where steam is king: without higher technologies to replace it, steam is the dominant source of power.”
The award-winning website The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences might agree on that one. It said, “Steampunk is modern technology--iPads, computers, robotics, air travel--powered by steam and set in the 1800s.”
Fingers point to American sci-fi and horror author K.W. Jeter (Kevin Wayne Jeter) to be the one responsible in coining the term.
Jeter, now 65 and with more than a dozen novels penned, wrote “steam-punk” in a letter sent to Locus, a California-based magazine publishing sci-fi news, in April 1987, according to Jesse Sheidlower, editor-at-large of the Oxford English Dictionary.
When it comes to steampunk art, Steampunk District said on its website that it “comes in all shapes and sizes, from pocket watches, to redesigned laptops, to entire vehicles or houses.”
The website of England’s Museum of the History of Science features a steampunk photo album.
China has its very own steampunk artist in the person of 44-year-old former businessman Zhu Benyu.
Zhu spent some four months in 2014 to make a steampunk lantern, which a Taiwanese bought at a vintage fair he participated in, reported the Global Times.
He said to the Global Times that he now frequents vintage fairs where he would sell his works, and he even accepts orders mostly made by foreigners.
The Penticton Art Gallery in British Columbia, Canada, will organize a steampunk art show on March 18 and a steampunk-themed dance party on March 19, according to Penticton Western News.
Some steampunkers in New Zealand attended the “Splendid Teapot Racing” in New Plymouth’s Huatoki Plaza on March 12, reported Taranaki Daily News.
The race featured “individually decorated teapots fitted to radio-controlled cars” and “competitors dressed in the type of clothing worn during New Zealand's Empire days, but with a futuristic twist.”
The annual Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention, now on its fifth year, took place from March 4-6 in Arizona, USA.
For those who are interested to have some steampunk items, they can purchase online, with prices ranging from $2-$4,000.
Any steampunker out there?