In one sentence: "What is Steampunk?"

[SgtPepper]

Hi folks,

Another thread floating around here suggested that a good steampunk really should be able to explain in one sentence what steampunk is.  While I agree this is a useful skill, I have yet to be able to do this myself.

Can you do it?  What's your one-sentence explanation of steampunk?

[Capt. Dirigible]

Make your mind up, squire! The thread title says 'What is Steampunk in one sentence' and then you ask for 'what is steampunk in one word'

OK I'll give it a bash!

In one sentence: "It's whatever you want it to be"

In one word: 'Awesome'!

[SgtPepper]

Did I really say that?  Dear me.  I'll fix it.

[Mr. Boltneck]

Let us not mince words: the marvelous is always beautiful. Anything marvelous is beautiful, in fact only the marvelous is beautiful.
Andre Breton, 1924

An International word. Just a word, and the word a movement. Very easy to understand. Quite terribly simple. To make of it an artistic tendency must mean that one is anticipating complications.
Hugo Ball, Dada Manifesto, 1916

[Rockula]

In one sentence: "What is Steampunk"

Look at this fing wot I dun what is Steampunk

[Guinevere Meander]

Make your mind up, squire! The thread title says 'What is Steampunk in one sentence' and then you ask for 'what is steampunk in one word'

OK I'll give it a bash!

In one sentence: "It's whatever you want it to be"

In one word: 'Awesome'!

Yep, there You have it
'nuff said Guin

[Augustus Longeye]

"Not easily definable in a single sentence."
~Longeye~

[Dr Fidelius]

"Steampunk is what I am pointing at when I say 'That is steampunk.'"

For a nominal fee I can come to your home and point at things.

[Captain Brandsson]

One sentence, eh?

*clears throat*
"Steampunk is grander than one sentence." 



And as for this nonsense:

Another thread floating around here suggested that a good steampunk really should be able to explain in one sentence what steampunk is.

Must we bumper-sticker everything?
Fantastic internet forum technology uniting steampunks from around the globe and rather than discuss and explore ideas, concepts and notions in depth the ability to reduce steampunk to a single sentence is somehow desireable?  I think not.

[Just call me Rob]

There's a thread here about the same sort of thing.
http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,31186.0.html


I don't think it's possible to define steampunk properly in one sentence, but sometimes a regular person will ask what steampunk is and we're expected to offer some sort of reply.

[Flynn MacCallister]

"Not easily definable in a single sentence."
~Longeye~

I am absolutely in agreement.

[J. Wilhelm]

I'd say Steampunk is an industrial folklore and aesthetic based on an alternative history revolving around the 19th Century.  Or maybe not 

"Steampunk is what I am pointing at when I say 'That is steampunk.'"
For a nominal fee I can come to your home and point at things.

"Coffee Pot" *points*                                   $0.25
"Dog" *points*                                             $1.00
"Angry wife --wondering who I am" *runs* $5.00

Subtotal                                                       $6.25

Medical bills from chair impact to the head...$325.00
Total (Tax included)                                         $331.25


Cheers,
JWD

[TimeTinker]

"Steampunk is a name coined in the 1980s which has come to identify a movement; aesthetic, artistic, literary, fashion and social,  which draws inspiration from history (primarily the late 19th century) but with a healthy dash of science fiction and imagination and underpinned by modern social values."

[Abraham Cog]

"Steampunk is a name coined in the 1980s which has come to identify a movement; aesthetic, artistic, literary, fashion and social,  which draws inspiration from history (primarily the late 19th century) but with a healthy dash of science fiction and imagination and underpinned by modern social values."

BEAT THAT!

[The Traveller]

The aesthetic appreciation and beautification of technological advancement by hearkening back to the dawn of the modern age, with all the imagination and genius that entailed; or, high fashion meets engineering.

[Dave the Troll]

"Start Victorian and then get silly."

[akumabito]

"Start Victorian and then get silly."

That.

[TimeTinker]

May I politely point out that the OP asked for people to attempt to EXPLAIN "steampunk" in one sentence.  I too am very interested in this as an idea since I am asked daily (sometimes many times in a single day.)

I am sure we are all agreed that it is something we cannot define and since it is constantly evolving and means different things to different people it is likely to remain so.  It is also very easy to resort to a throwaway line but if we are being honest that is really a bit of a cop out if we use it as an answer to a questioner (or simply an amusing line for ourselves.)

When someone asks you "just what is steampunk?" how do you explain it to them succicntly yet accurately?

[Capt. Dirigible]

Does 'Google it' count as an answer? Seriously..I try to explain steampunk to people who ask "why are you dressed like that?" and I see their eyes glaze over as I reference Verne, Wells..(and it's frightening how many young people have no idea who Wells or Verne were..)...Victorian England..'retro-futuristic sci-fi from an alternative past' and I realise they have no bloody idea what I'm talking about. It's easier to say 'Google it'  and if they are genuinely interested they'll make the effort and get a comprehensive answer.

[TimeTinker]

I will admit that I often resort to suggesting people google it but usually after offering an explanation.  (Of course there are some people who do not really want to know and these are told simply "google is your friend - why don't you just go and find out?"

The point about Verne and Wells etc is well made hence why I am very interested in getting a workable introductory explanation.

If people are really interested they will come back with a supplementary question. If they ask about the "science fiction" element I am coming to the opinion that this would be the time to mention Verne and Wells et al rather than in the opening sentence.

Of course different people ask for differing reasons and context has a bearing. The answer may be varied for different audiences.  (Perhaps someone might design a flowchart to select the appropriate answer.)

Any of the flippant answers are actually just likely to make someone who was actually interested or intrigued think that steampunks are arrogant or concieted.

[Just call me Rob]

In the past year I have been asked 'what is all this then' by a confused but polite family on a day out in Lincoln during the asylum.

I've been asked 'what is steampunk' by a mate when I mentioned that I'd been to a steampunk event.

In Wales I was asked why I was dressed up by a well dressed and well spoken gentleman in a blazer and tie, he was surprised that someone was dressed smarter than him – I was in a top hat and frock coat.
Earlier in the day while wearing a safari outfit and pith I was stopped and asked about my 'fancy dress' by a gas fitter who stopped his van to ask.

At MCM expo I was asked by a bald chap in a t-shirt what steampunk is and what books or films to read to get it.
Later on in the expo I was asked by a teenager in sports gear what steampunk was because his 4 mates (also in sports gear) had tried to explain it and didn't make any sense.

I've also tried to come up with a short sentence to define it to myself, or to write on a card.
In all of these cases I have given a different answer with different points of reference.

But, all of the answers have included the phrases;
"Victorian" and "Science Fiction".

So, my answer is
"Victorian Inspired Science Fiction".

It's not the whole truth at all, and not a full definition.
But, it's close enough to the truth to open a discussion if required or answer the question and let them go on their way.

[Dave the Troll]

My original answer stands since I don't take Steampunk too seriously.  If I need to answer it in one sentence, then that'd be it.

If I'm resorting to two then those sentences will, like Rob, include the words Victorian and Science Fiction and probably mention Wells and Verne.

Tink, your sentence nicely states what Steampunk is.  It would be a good dictionary definition or FAQ answer.  However, it makes it sound far more serious than I take Steampunk.

"Steampunk, to me, is the hobby that collects a group of people ostensibly under the auspices of the enactment and recreation of Victorian Science Fiction."

To me, the people are as important as the thing.  If you lot weren't nice, I'd not be doing this by myself.  I do know that others would.

[Captain Reech]

"Steampunk is a name coined in the 1980s which has come to identify a movement; aesthetic, artistic, literary, fashion and social,  which draws inspiration from history (primarily the late 19th century) but with a healthy dash of science fiction and imagination and underpinned by modern social values."

Perhaps we should have cards printed of the above statement, just to hand to people who ask......"Thank you for your interest in Steampunk, please take this and share it with your friends and family."....

[TimeTinker]

With respect directed primarily at Dave:

To me, the people are as important as the thing.  If you lot weren't nice, I'd not be doing this by myself.  I do know that others would.

That Dave is precisely why my sentence is serious; mind you I may just be equating serious with respectful.  (I am, I hasten to add, just as guilty as the next man of being flippant at times though.)
 
I agree entirely that steampunk can be too serious and I hope that my history of inspiring and organising silliness bears this out but if someone asks the question and I think they are asking it seriously then I think it deserve a serious answer. (This goes back to my comment on context.) This does not mean one cannot go on to qualify it and stressing that it is fun etc.

May I refer back once more to the original post which was:

What's your one-sentence explanation of steampunk?

  (My emphasis)

If people are as important as the thing then does your original sentence not do you a diservice since it makes no mention of the people?  (If we wish to get pedantic you do not offer an explanation of what steampunk is but rather an instruction on how to be or become steampunk.)

Commenting generally:

I really am not looking for an argument about the nature of steampunk (e.g. how silly or serious it is) since I consistently express the view that steampunk is whatever the individual wishes it to be. What I am looking for is a good single sentence explanation of what it is that I can trot out when asked in line with the original post. 

I am interested that both Rob and Dave have included the word "Victorian".  Do people feel this is a better shorthand for the historical inspiration?  What about readers who may not be British?  Would my reference to "late 19th century" read better if I were to replace it with Victorian?

Thank you for your indulgence gentle (hopefully ) readers.

[Just call me Rob]

Using "Victorian" to describe steampunk is a convenient lie.
It's not the whole truth, but it is part of the truth.

Most people will have seen a period drama at some point, they might be aware of one or more of Dickens, Holmes, The Railway Children, Philleas Fogg or Upstairs Downstairs or some sort of media set in the Victorian era (or just before or after).
They might be aware of the Steam Age of Isambard Kingdom Brunel or steam trains.
I think that "Victorian" is easier for most people to instantly grasp than 'late 19th century'.

Also, most people are aware of science fiction in some form or another.

So, "Victorian" and "Science Fiction" are two elements that most people will be able to understand and put together.

Although – this merely defines what steampunk is, it doesn't explain what we do with it.
Rather that ask "what is steampunk?" perhaps as "What are steampunks?"

Steampunks are people who get involved in a community based broadly on Victorian and science fiction influences.