Theresa Fuller's Blog, page 2
October 19, 2018
The Steam in Steampunk
Steampunk is a composite of two words: steam and punk.
And the ‘steam’ really refers to the industrial or the inventor era. In other words—the Industrial Revolution, which is why it is essential that every steampunk story be based either in Victorian England or else in a Victorianesque setting.
So what is the big deal about the Industrial Revolution?
The Industrial Revolution began in the 18th Century when society, which until then was mainly agricultural, began shifting away to becoming more urbanised and industrial. It was the time of the rise of the middle classes, who with more disposable income, were able to afford the goods that the newly emerging factories produced. It was a time when thinking changed, from seeing the church as the seat of reason to seeing science in its place.
Novels like Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN helped the seismic shift.
Inventions like the steam train also helped the revolution. No longer were people ‘trapped’ in their part of the country, but were able to travel, broaden their minds, communicate.
And it was the time for independence. Remember the suffragettes?
But not everyone was enamoured of change.
The luddites felt threatened with job losses. Even today, automation still threatens jobs. One surprising result of this was that many luddites were transported to Australia which at the time was a prison colony.
Which brings us to the ‘punk’ aspect of steampunk.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industr...
And the ‘steam’ really refers to the industrial or the inventor era. In other words—the Industrial Revolution, which is why it is essential that every steampunk story be based either in Victorian England or else in a Victorianesque setting.
So what is the big deal about the Industrial Revolution?
The Industrial Revolution began in the 18th Century when society, which until then was mainly agricultural, began shifting away to becoming more urbanised and industrial. It was the time of the rise of the middle classes, who with more disposable income, were able to afford the goods that the newly emerging factories produced. It was a time when thinking changed, from seeing the church as the seat of reason to seeing science in its place.
Novels like Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN helped the seismic shift.
Inventions like the steam train also helped the revolution. No longer were people ‘trapped’ in their part of the country, but were able to travel, broaden their minds, communicate.
And it was the time for independence. Remember the suffragettes?
But not everyone was enamoured of change.
The luddites felt threatened with job losses. Even today, automation still threatens jobs. One surprising result of this was that many luddites were transported to Australia which at the time was a prison colony.
Which brings us to the ‘punk’ aspect of steampunk.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industr...
October 16, 2018
STEAMPUNK and THE WILD WILD WEST
In the second half of the 20th Century, there was a television show staring Robert Conrad and Ross Martin.
Although I didn’t know it at the time, the combination of the Victorian time period and the use of fantastical gadgets combined to make THE WILD WILD WEST the most visible origins of the genre steampunk in the late 20th Century.
I had no idea. I simply watched the show because I loved the combination of James Bond type espionage and the steam train!
That train had everything!
A stable, a laboratory, a drawing room, and best of all, a train that seemed to be able to magically transport the two spies wherever they needed to go!
But already a trend can be seen emerging.
Although steampunk doesn’t need to be set in Victorian England itself, a Victorianesque setting appears essential to steampunk.
😊
So what exactly is steampunk?
What does the steam refer to?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wil...
Although I didn’t know it at the time, the combination of the Victorian time period and the use of fantastical gadgets combined to make THE WILD WILD WEST the most visible origins of the genre steampunk in the late 20th Century.
I had no idea. I simply watched the show because I loved the combination of James Bond type espionage and the steam train!
That train had everything!
A stable, a laboratory, a drawing room, and best of all, a train that seemed to be able to magically transport the two spies wherever they needed to go!
But already a trend can be seen emerging.
Although steampunk doesn’t need to be set in Victorian England itself, a Victorianesque setting appears essential to steampunk.
😊
So what exactly is steampunk?
What does the steam refer to?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wil...
October 14, 2018
I LOVED STEAMPUNK EVEN BEFORE I KNEW WHAT IT WAS
A couple of days ago, someone asked me the definition of steampunk.
The question made sense, seeing as my first book THE GHOST ENGINE is a steampunk.
She asked if I could direct her to sites where she could learn about steampunk.
Sadly, steampunk is a dying genre and most of the sites don’t exist anymore.
But for those who are still interested in steampunk, I have decided to post my journey into the world of steampunk, from a time when even I had no idea what it was.
And maybe in that way, answer the question: What is steampunk?
Because it really is a hard question to answer.
According to ranker.com, one of the greatest steampunk movies is Howl’s Moving Castle. Now I actually mentioned that movie in a workshop once and was told by my teacher that it wasn’t steampunk.
See now, why I am hesitating to give an answer?
😊
So why is Howl’s Moving Castles considered steampunk and not?
https://www.ranker.com/review/howl_s-...
The question made sense, seeing as my first book THE GHOST ENGINE is a steampunk.
She asked if I could direct her to sites where she could learn about steampunk.
Sadly, steampunk is a dying genre and most of the sites don’t exist anymore.
But for those who are still interested in steampunk, I have decided to post my journey into the world of steampunk, from a time when even I had no idea what it was.
And maybe in that way, answer the question: What is steampunk?
Because it really is a hard question to answer.
According to ranker.com, one of the greatest steampunk movies is Howl’s Moving Castle. Now I actually mentioned that movie in a workshop once and was told by my teacher that it wasn’t steampunk.
See now, why I am hesitating to give an answer?
😊
So why is Howl’s Moving Castles considered steampunk and not?
https://www.ranker.com/review/howl_s-...
