In Gear(s)
Feb. 8th, 2020 08:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
puppetmakerToday is the birthday of the patron saint of Steampunk, Jules Verne.
His works have influenced many both in literature and invention.
Things he wrote about came into being like electric submarines, computers, and elevators.
Funny thing is that most people don’t know that his adventure novels were actually a series published by Pierre-Jules Hetzel called Voyages Extraordinaire. There were 54 books and stories in the series, and it was set out to explore the science and knowledge of the time and extrapolate what might happen next.
My favorite is 20,000 Leagues under the Sea but Master of the World is really good too.
The term Steampunk came into being in the late 80s and there is some variation as to where it came from. Most people give K.W. Jester the credit since they can point to the letter in Locus. Others give the credit to the gaming industry which was developing games with a steampunk vibe. It was a twist on the popular cyberpunk tropes.
Once the word was out there, fandom embraced it with both hands.
For costumers it gave the excuse to bring back their version of Victorian and Edwardian fashion with a science fiction element. It is now an entire fashion type.
For writers it gave another genre to work in. It fit in well with the other popular genre at the time Alternative History.
But Steampunk has always been there in the corners. The TV series Wild, Wild, West proved that one. There is Disney’s version of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. Even Doctor Who had a bit of a steampunk vibe since the beginning.
And then there is the works of Jules Verne who is a writer of speculative fiction.
So, on this day let us raise a glass to Verne and all that came after him.
They made it cool to wear Top Hats again but only if they have gears on them (joking).
I am grateful for the whole steampunk movement because it really is my aesthetic.
His works have influenced many both in literature and invention.
Things he wrote about came into being like electric submarines, computers, and elevators.
Funny thing is that most people don’t know that his adventure novels were actually a series published by Pierre-Jules Hetzel called Voyages Extraordinaire. There were 54 books and stories in the series, and it was set out to explore the science and knowledge of the time and extrapolate what might happen next.
My favorite is 20,000 Leagues under the Sea but Master of the World is really good too.
The term Steampunk came into being in the late 80s and there is some variation as to where it came from. Most people give K.W. Jester the credit since they can point to the letter in Locus. Others give the credit to the gaming industry which was developing games with a steampunk vibe. It was a twist on the popular cyberpunk tropes.
Once the word was out there, fandom embraced it with both hands.
For costumers it gave the excuse to bring back their version of Victorian and Edwardian fashion with a science fiction element. It is now an entire fashion type.
For writers it gave another genre to work in. It fit in well with the other popular genre at the time Alternative History.
But Steampunk has always been there in the corners. The TV series Wild, Wild, West proved that one. There is Disney’s version of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. Even Doctor Who had a bit of a steampunk vibe since the beginning.
And then there is the works of Jules Verne who is a writer of speculative fiction.
So, on this day let us raise a glass to Verne and all that came after him.
They made it cool to wear Top Hats again but only if they have gears on them (joking).
I am grateful for the whole steampunk movement because it really is my aesthetic.
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Date: 2020-02-08 10:12 pm (UTC)