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May. 9th, 2009 12:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mirrorshardFurther to the paperblogging in my con report, there's a really interesting essay on steampunk & colonialism here.
There are basically two steampunks - I'll call them the Morlock and Eloi trends. The first is about all the incredibly cool things the Sons of Martha can do, hacking metallurgy and thermodynamics and then decorating the results with random twiddly bits Because You Can, while the second is about poncing around in interesting costumes with shiny brass accessories, and generally being a Victorian Gentleman (or Ungentle Lady).
They can both be read as responses to a highly abstracted technological environment, either knowingly (punk versus goth - react to an ontological threat by spitting in its eye, or by dancing on the volcano) or unknowingly (two different and equally valid ways of Having Fun).
I think there's some perceived difference in the nature of that ontological threat, though. To the Morlock trend, it's out to destroy their agency - their ability to build, modify, control, or subvert the world around them. I'm less sure about the Eloi, though. Anyone care to venture an opinion?
(crossposted from DW)
There are basically two steampunks - I'll call them the Morlock and Eloi trends. The first is about all the incredibly cool things the Sons of Martha can do, hacking metallurgy and thermodynamics and then decorating the results with random twiddly bits Because You Can, while the second is about poncing around in interesting costumes with shiny brass accessories, and generally being a Victorian Gentleman (or Ungentle Lady).
They can both be read as responses to a highly abstracted technological environment, either knowingly (punk versus goth - react to an ontological threat by spitting in its eye, or by dancing on the volcano) or unknowingly (two different and equally valid ways of Having Fun).
I think there's some perceived difference in the nature of that ontological threat, though. To the Morlock trend, it's out to destroy their agency - their ability to build, modify, control, or subvert the world around them. I'm less sure about the Eloi, though. Anyone care to venture an opinion?
(crossposted from DW)
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Date: 2009-05-09 05:51 pm (UTC)I always thought steampunk was compelling simply because of the sheer narrative potential the industrial advances and colonialist era provides: both for "non-fantasy" fiction and the escapist, fantastical fiction we actually associate with the name.
I agree that technology is key to the genre, which is why I'd disqualify Mary Poppins (in particular, as it was mentioned in your paperblog) as a potential ancestor of it simply because that story is children's fantasy in a Victorian setting. That makes me wonder what your Eloi trend actually is - does it require a Morlock-inspired setting or mindset to be separate from Victorian roleplay/culture?
To answer your question about the Eloi ontological threat: I would speculate that, like much other fantasy/sci-fi, it's the closing of doors and lack of adventure the mostly-explored, increasingly depressing modern-world with its infrequent and generally uninspiring technological jumps presents. Where the Morlock wants to retain control of their ability to create, and creates something specific in the steampunk theme to prove that they have, the Eloi is happy to simply revel in the steampunk genre (perhaps particularly in "generic steampunk" which hasn't been taken anywhere specific?), when things were (perceived) hopeful, the enterprising spirit was in full (perceived) force, and Things were waiting to be Discovered.
Well, that turned into a bit of a ramble. I hope I correctly understood what you meant by Morlock and Eloi trends, and that my speculations on the motivations of the latter (as someone who mostly enjoys fictions from the former) hasn't fallen too wide of the mark!