STEAMPUNK AND THE VICTORIAN CONNECTION

What is this strange fascination of Victorian meets future invention?  How did it find its way into our modern fashion and artistic expressions?  Oddly enough, while the term “steam punk” did not appear until 1980 in Locus Magazine by science fiction writer K. W. Jeter, it was a characteristic of invention and industrial visions born due in part by influences of Victorian authors Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.   In the 1980’s, a new fascination with steampunk had begun when those admirers of 19^th century literature took a fancy to imagining the machine quality of our modern day inventions and imagined them functioning as a machine instead of digitally.  In the Victorian era it was merely science-fiction.

Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, Around the World in 80 Days, A Journey to the Center of the Earth, Master of the World, In the Year 2889 and From the Earth to the Moon, presented an aesthetic look at an imaginary future that at that time seemed unobtainable as science-fiction.  However, what are some of the inventions and ideas which were imagined in his literature?  Submarines, the submersible ship; electric batteries as an alternative energy source, helicopters and the landing on the moon were all part of his vision of the future, which fed the minds of many scientists and inventors that read his work back in the Victorian Era.  Even filmmakers of the 20^th century captured this aesthetic expression of steampunk with the film of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Wild Wild West.   Jules Verne was hardly a scientist.  Yet his vision was years ahead of his time and gave the Victorian inventors and scientist much to look forward to.  

H.G. Wells delved mostly into the biological aspect of his story-telling.  However, his most noted works The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine won him favor with science fiction fans around the world.  The War of the Worlds shocked the world with his visions of horror.  The Time Machine became a playground and setting for time travel themes, which would later be used by future writers.  His other works lending to his field of expertise were The First Men in the Moon, The Invisible Man, and The Island of Doctor Moreau.  The War of the Worlds was the first piece of literature to depict alien contact with other worldly beings which threatened survival of mankind.  This introduced the concept of defense and fighting for our world, which would later become part of the “steampunk” fascination with futuristic yet antique weaponry.  Modern day filmmakers borrowed H.G. Wells’ time machine concept for the movie Time After Time where Herbert, or H.G., Wells finds himself using his time machine invention to track down Jack the Ripper who had escaped London authorities to inflict his horror on the future population. 

Some of the characteristics and accessories of steampunk are watches, clocks, mechanical gears, steam engines, top hats with darkened round lens glasses or goggles, antique nautical mask, formal Victorian women’s and men’s clothing (usually black or brown), brass or metal contraptions, antique versions of modern weaponry such as a laser gun or a mechanical weapon attached to the arm (such as in the literature of Jules Verne or H.G. Wells).   Steampunk fashion and accessorizing has now become one of the popular ways our modern society celebrates the literary genius’ of the 19^th century.  Even in the midst of technological and modern advancements, the magic of the Victorian Era stays strong and alive in its appeal to our youth today, as we stay strong looking to the past, expressing and defining ourselves, staying forever young. ~~By Lana J. Brock