The Asylum
Just What is Steampunk?
Well to begin with let's clear up the name. "Steampunk" started as a joke. There was a movement in science fiction to write in a genre known as "Cyberpunk". When various writers began exploring similar concepts and ideas but setting them in a pseudo Victorian world the term steampunk was jokingly coined. The name stuck but even steampunks are constantly debating "well what is steampunk?" Like all communities however steampunk has grown and developed a life of its own. It is now a rich and vibrant social scene attracting people from all walks of life.
Steampunk encompasses a wide variety of input from a highly creative and artistic community. It includes writers, musicians, dancers, sculptors, model makers, costume makers and a host of other disciplines and skills. It has been summed up as "Well can you imagine what things would be like if the Great Exhibition had never finished?" Steampunks try to take some of the very best parts of the past and make them part of a bright future. We value good manners and polite conduct and try to encourage this by setting an example for others. We think things should be made to a high quality and to last thus helping the environment. We value and encourage creativity and have been asked to collaborate in educational and arts projects across the country. Whilst things are set in a pseudo historical world which harks back to our Victorian heritage we do not promote any of the inequalities of that past. Indeed ours is deliberately an all inclusive community. You will find steampunks of all ages, genders and ethnic backgrounds. We also come from all walks of life from students to academics and from comedians to solicitors.
Whilst Steampunk started as a science fiction genre it is now a community and has its own fashions, music and tastes. We are a community that enjoys socialising, often dressing up in steampunk clothes. We visit historical sites as well as enjoying music gigs and performances. Steampunks often make or modify everyday objects to fit the neo victorian aesthetic. This could be making a wood and brass cabinet for your PC or a mock raygun suitable for an adventure with Jules Verne.
As far as the public is concerned we are often mistaken for Victorian re-enactors. Since our community is looking at a science fiction future perhaps we should more accurately be called Victorian pre-enactors! It's a difficult set of ideas to get across but suffice it to say we are perhaps simply a little eccentric. Well dressed and impeccably mannered steampunks strive to make life a little less boring.
