Greetings and felicitations. You are all invited to attend Asheville’s first ever steampunk convention, SPATSFest 2009, on September 26th, at Firestorm Cafe. SPATSFest is being put together by SPATS (Steam-Punk Arts & Technical Society), Asheville’s own steampunk association.
The itinerary for the “Daylight” portion of the festivities includes:
12:00 Opening Ceremony, and short presentation entitled
“What is Steampunk” by the Rev. Johnny Lemuria
At its most basic, steampunk is a variety of science fiction, like cyberpunk (begins yells of “NERD!!!” here.) Switch out the cyberspace, VR, monolithic multi-national corporations, and black vinyl of cyberpunk with airships, aether, steam-powered robots (hell, steam-powered everything), and corsets (and goggles, mustn’t forget the goggles), and you have a superficial description of of what steampunk looks and feels like.
There is also a romantic and philosophical component. There’s a nostalgia for the genteelness and civility of the Victorian age (without the pesky racism, sexism, and classism that was a hallmark of the historical 1800’s). The Victorians had style. And when you view the Victorians through a punk lens, you get style to an almost ridiculous degree. Philosophically, steampunk has a strong crafter and DIY vibe. Things should be made strong, they should be customized to the individual, and they should be made beautiful.
There is also an environmental aspect, as really “going steampunk” would require tooling down and a reimagining of technological civilization. Wonder what life would be like after Peak Oil? Steampunks think about stuff like that a lot.
Of course, as with any interest, its possible to really immerse yourself in it, finding depths and fringes unknown to the outside world, and considered, from an outsider’s point of view, to be quite mad. For most people, steampunk is an excuse to dress silly, meet interesting people, and read or hear a good ripping yarn or two. And that’s a good thing.
No. No, there wasn’t. much like there was no 2nd “Highlander” movie, there was no Will Smith “Wild, Wild, West” movie. Any indication you receive otherwise from your brain is the result of drugs. Drugs are bad.
However, the visuals of that non-existent movie are suitable steampunky. Other good steampunk TV and movies includes the “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” movie from Disney, and “Brisco County, jr.”
No. No, there wasn’t. much like there was no 2nd “Highlander” movie, there was no Will Smith “Wild, Wild, West” movie. Any indication you receive otherwise from your brain is the result of drugs. Drugs are bad.
However, the visuals of that non-existent movie are suitable steampunky. Other good steampunk TV and movies includes the “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” movie from Disney, and “Brisco County, jr.”
If you watch the great anime STEAMBOY, then your head might explode.
Meh. Steamboy is pretty, but the story is so-so. Steampunk is, at least to me, fundamentally a literary genre. I need plot. I need character. I need text.
Girl Genius is enormously steampunk. This and more will be discussed at Asheville’s first Steampunk convention, SPATSfest, on September 26th, at Firestorm cafe!
