The Magic of Time and Thought
If you happen to follow my blog (or like reading archives), you’ll remember that rant I had about steampunk going mainstream and whatnot and so on, filled with ire and indignant affrontedtry (I do so love making up words).
Well, the other day I suddenly realized that I don’t care anymore. It’s not resigned apathy, either. I just realized that even if the steampunk that spreads through common knowledge and mainstream culture is simply a cheap thematic aesthetic, I will still be able to enjoy my steampunk ideals and creations and aesthetics and what have you. Other people will be able to enjoy theirs, and we can still discuss the deeper and more substantial aspects of it. And we can do this regardless of how many things with gears printed or glued over the surface are being sold and labelled as steampunk.
So perhaps there will be shallow and negative connotations stuck onto the term steampunk. Maybe it will go the way of punk and goth and enter the eye of popular culture as a “look”. It still spreads the term, gives the opportunity for us to share our thoughts and interpretations of the concept with more people. Besides, the core aspect of steampunk being centered increasingly on the creative aspect – the whole making things yourself according to your own personal take on the idea – lends itself well to surviving such a thing. And not only surviving, but taking advantage of it for the spread of the more interesting parts. Like building your own machines.
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