Steampunk: The Romantic Connection

I’m was asked to write a number of more philosophical pieces on steampunk culture, so I thought of a few subjects and here is the first one. Now, I am trying to portray the community in a general sense, not just the views of writers and the like. If you want their perspectives, look for the Steampunk Gazette, Vintage Tomorrows or the Steampunk Bible. As for now, Steampunks relationship with the Romantic Movement.   

The Romantic movement of the nineteenth century still has a great influence on our culture today. But how can it not with known writers such as Charles Dickens, Mary Shelly and Lord Byron. Nowadays, however, the word romantic is often associated with sappy love stories and is often used to describe the perfect moment in a couples relationship, but historically it’s a literary movement that started in the wake of the Industrial and French Revolution. That is no coincidence. First the small farmers disappeared for the country side, cities grew out of proportion and factories started to dominate the landscape. If you were a person born in 1740, by the end of your life you would experience social, economic and technological whiplash. No wonder this rapid change in environment sparked lots of protest. The capitalist model and laisse fair approach of the government were soon contended by ideologies like Marxist Communism and the ideals of the French Revolution that survived that survived the Napoleonic wars. Meanwhile in the London salons writers were being inspired by the growing economic disparity, social wrongs, but most of all change; for better or for worse.

Change brought new opportunities for science, market economy and expansion. All business was booming. But while the fortunate elite raveled in in all these advances, the poor longed for the good old days were there were no machines, that were too competitive for the traditional crafts, and innovation wasn’t a necessity. So the idea of a superior past grew very strong.
The Romantic movement pleaded for a return to the simple life. In their vision power and wealth corrupts while simplicity guaranties purity and goodness. . This is called the ‘blank page’ approach to human development. People do good or evil because they were taught to. Poor people steal because the evil powers that be forced them into a situation where had to in order to survive or because evil deeds were deemed good by people in power. So bad environments lead to bad people.
So who create these bad environments. There were plenty of suspects, but the people in authority got the brunt of the blame. Writers attacked traditional institutions like the church, parliament and queen of England. Apart from causing controversy by changeling authority these authors explored the human condition and the (possible) dangers of science inspired horror stories like Frankenstein. Even those day they already realized that science wasn’t the enemy, but human ambition.

Now, I assume it doesn’t take that much imagination to understand how Science Fiction lead to Cyberpunk, what brought forth Steampunk. But are there still still some remnants of the romantic ideals in Steampunk culture today?
To outsiders Steampunk seems to glorify the past. It doesn’t just focus on archaic technology, but also fashion and literature. In a technological and esthetic sense Steampunk is a critique of current feds and sleek design with little sense of uniqueness. Steamers want to give their devices and household items their own little twist, making it unique to them. Unlike the New Age, anti-materialistic inspired movements of the last twenty years, Steamers identify themselves with the objects they own. Therefore they want, maybe even need, these objects to last as long as possible rather then replace them every time a newer model is released. This translates well into the DIY-activities and items that circulate with the sub-culture. So, yes. Steampunk has a reactionary streak, just like the Romantic Movement. It, however doesn’t have the shock value that the romantics used to have. It’s weird, but Steampunk doesn’t strive to change society; Yet.

But don’t Steamers want to return to the time of the Romantics and the Industrial Revolution? Now this is the point were some of the more seasoned Steamers would yell: ‘Stop!’ The point is that Steampunk looks for inspiration in the past rather than inventing the next fed. It strives for a sense of transcending beauty that survives the ever changing sensibilities of human tastes. Therefore they often look towards Victorian designs for inspiration.
Another thing that survived past centuries is the ideals of the gentleman. It is Important to keep the ideal of the gentleman separate of the historical gentlemen of Victorian England. Unlike the cliché, Steamers in general care little for history and certainly don’t care for the injustices of the era. It pains me to say this as a historian, but most Steamer I have encountered could care less about the eighteenth century. Many can’t even tell me what the Industrial revolution is about, but they love the idea. Steampunk is about ideas, not history, no matter how much I, or others like me, want it to be. Steampunk isn’t about activism, but creativity; were I have no problem with.

Now many people, not just Steamers, have this ‘romantic’ notion of Victorian values and behavior between gentlemen and ladies that is inspired by the works of Charlotte Brontë and similar writers and less by gritty fiction such as Gangs of New York. These ideals are somewhat reflected within the community itself. Ask a random Steamer how they feel about the current society, and you have a good chance they’ll say something like. ‘Society is unfair and people are cogholes towards each other.’ Now scientific investigation and statistics have proven the opposite. The world has never been this peaceful, people have never been this equal and violence has never been this low. Now this doesn’t mean the present is perfect, but humanity has made great strides since the nineteenth century. A matter affect, we are still trying to wash the stains of that time out of our moral fabric, like the notion racial superiority, laisses faire economics, nationalism, imperialism and I could go on. This that were being questioned by the Romantics of that era. But like I said Steamers don’t care about history, but the idea of a better time were people cared more about their, personal and modern values. So all these things don’t matter to them and it is unfair to force these issues down the throats of these people (as long they are not activists). In this context it’s (science) fiction, not history. So blaming steamers for Victorian perceptions about slavery and race is like blaming trekies for the negative depiction of Klingons. To paraphrase Rob Brown, ‘I would like to have born in a past that never existed.’

To summaries. Steampunk has been inspired by the Romantic Movement, but Steampunk found it’s own way into the twenty-first century. Rather than romanticizing the past it created it’s own canon based on a fictional past, without turning it into political bulletpoints. Like the Romantics, it is a reaction to contemporary grievances, but it focuses more on the lack of individuality and the wastefulness of our current economic models and aesthetics. So it’s community is more focused on escapism and creativity rather than activism. This doesn’t mean there aren’t any Steampunk activists, but they aren’t an organized movement in to itself. Therefore, when Steamers are asked, ‘why do you do this? They’ll reply with: ‘For fun’.

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Why Steampunk is so important to me

Yesterday was International Steampunk Day. I kind of forgot about it, but then again. How many steamer are aware it exists at all? Anyway, it’s is a great moment to reflect on my odd relationship with Steampunk. I already talked about this a year back, but it was in Dutch and… Well, I realized about a week ago were I want to go with my professional carrier. But let’s start at the beginning.

During my youth I was one of those people that didn’t fit in. I was slow, and still am, to conform to feds, wasn’t interested in sports, current events or the future and I sure as hell didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I was interested in about everything, from fiction to science, but never discovered my true passion. This becomes a problem when your trapped in an educational system that makes you choose a carrier before you even now what you want to do.
So imagine this. A young boy with no true passion, no clue and inability to connect to his fellow students. And then he also turned out to have a learning disability akin to dyslexia, but it couldn’t be diagnosed so no real attention was paid to it. I just had to perform better.
Learning theory wasn’t the problem, I liked it actually. Logic weren’t the problem either. I was one of the top scoring students a matter affect. But calculations and spelling were a mayor issue and the reason why wasn’t uncovered when I was about thirty years old.

So my education was a bit of a mess. I tried becoming a programmer, tried becoming a history teacher, twice, but ended up as a history bachelor with no clue what I wanted to do. But these were the year university students could become anything. An idea I found really appealing: ‘My professional future is kind of like a box of chocolates.’
However, than 2008 happened. When I got out of university there were no jobs anywhere. I had to little experience and was to highly educated for the few jobs available.  So after all that struggling, turning a papers filled with spelling errors because, as it turns out, my brain fills in missing letters and words  by itself, I got nowhere very slowly. And with the current jobculture, you won’t get hired without the proper piece of paper.
Thanks to a government program and the wonderful support of my parents I got the opportunity to acquire one of those pieces of paper and actually I got to work for a couple of years and finally buy my current home.

Now, what does all of this have to do with Steampunk? Actually, I think many of you already know. A geek with problems fitting in, a bit socially awkward and not knowing what to do with his or her future. Nobody recognizes this scenario right?

I had a lot of passions as a kid. Many of them involved collecting, armies and historical objects. But there was no rime or reason to it. One of my collections were MacDonald’s toys that came with the happy meals. I could build entire cities out of the cardboards boxes; those could be transforms into houses, and the like, back in those days. Does anyone remember those. Why did they stop doing that? Other collections were toy armies, Lego’s, dinosaurs and printing plates from old electronics; foreshadowing I suppose.
My first real hobby was Magic the Gathering. A few years later Warhammer. I actually won painting competitions for those (I still have the prizes and miniatures), but I rarely played the game. I thought of myself of a sore loser at the time.
 It was an odd period for me because for the first time I found a place were I belonged. Were I felt save and got praised for my skills. I wasn’t used to that.

When I was eighteen I started with fourteenth century reenactment with the then unknown Compagny of Cranenburgh (first it was called, The Soldeniers). These days the group is a staple of Dutch late medieval reenactment and it’s chairman Menno Brouwers has his own eventsbureau ‘Cranenburgh Events’. I am honored to have been there wen it started, for I still believe it is something really special. Within this group I literally rising through the ranks. Becoming both the second in command and also taking place on the board for a couple of years. Imagine, a socially akward boy forced in a position of authority with genuine responsibilities on safety, leadership and finances. Uncomfortable to say the least, but responsibilities once acquired also hard to let go. For fourteen years this was a place were I belonged, more then with Warhammer or previous hobbies. But something in me already realized I had to move on, and age thirty-one, I did.

Last Exile (2003)

Let’s go back a decennia. I think I might have been eighteen. I already heard of Steampunk somewhere, from the GURPS Steampunk rpg-book. But that wasn’t what inflamed my future passion. It was a cover from a club magazine which depicted a fantasy elf with a futuristic device on her belt. In hindsight it might have been from the cyberpunk rpg Shadowrun called (still one of my favorite settings), but I loved the anachronistic elements.
My real passion for steampunk came through Japanese anime. I loved series like Trigun, Escaflowne ands other that combine the old and the new. I started identifying it with Steampunk when the series Last Exile was launched in 2003. Not only did it have awesome airship battles I haven’t seen anywhere else since, it also had great Arte Deco-inspired designs by Range Murata. The world was culturally diverse and drew inspiration from multiple cultures and timeperiods, like 1800 and the 1930’s and also included antiquated idea’s on chivalry and feudalism.  This series has a great influence on my own worlds and designs to this day.

Photo, Brainstorm Photographix,
models: RAGTAG and Ebenezer C. Whitford 

Back in 2010 I learned something about myself. It turned out I wasn’t dyslexic. I am a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), kind of the literal opposite of autism as it is the overstimulation of the right brainhalf, instead of the left one (although it’s more of an hypothesis at this point, not actual science). Dyslexic properties and an inability the respond in highly social environments are a few of the known symptoms. So is an overactive imagination and an ability to turn idea’s into images. I can’t say this was unknown for me, but for the first time I could put one and one together and formulate what was right for me and what wasn’t: like numbers, following protocols or reading.
My logical reason wasn’t because I could follow causality, but my inability the keep consistent thought on certain problems as my mind unconsciously reads or sees something in different ways all the time. Therefor it is hard for me to focus on anything and doubt most of my decisions on every turn. Therefor I like painting and crafting so much as it turns out. Because it forces my mind to focus on one thing while idea’s form on the go.
 ‘Makes kinda sense,’you can say. ‘But didn’t you say you suck at writing?’ Funny thing, the same lifestyle coach that diagnosed me, encouraged me to write stories. So I did start writing fiction. It turned out to be a grueling process as my dyslexia keeps being a problem, but it’s getting better. My inability to focus on something makes it hard to actually finish a story, still a problem. But my brain, that keeps finding solutions for story plots etc. is what keeps me going. It’s a kind of therapy on this point. So if you are grateful that this blog exists, you have my lifestyle coach to thank for that.

So there is the history and psychological reason for my passion.

But there is way more to it. Not only have I succeeded in writing this blog for over three years now, and counting, I have started my own projects while looking for my own way within the genre and it community.  I developed my own alterego’s and their backgrounds, crafted my own masks and other items, turned my home into a décor people look at for inspiration. I thaught myself new skills, got acquainted with new people and learned from them. I inspired other people to pick up the hobby or work towards a common goal. Somethings with no or little success, but somethings it did, like RAG-TAG. While doing this I leaned allot about myself. That there is more potential inside of me than I realized. That I find happiness more important than status or a carrier. But also that I can inspire people and I hope to do so for many years to come. So, when someone now asks me, ‘what do you hope to do in the future,’ my answer is. ‘I hope to work within a team of creative people.’

I’ll stop here. So, please let me know why Steampunk is important to you in the comments below or on facebook. 

Interview with Tidus Flame

The smog was clearing when I entered West Smithfield. Once again I went to London, this time to meet Tidus Flame. A German artist with many talents. We agreed to meet at  the Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital , or Barts, that stands in the shadow of Saint Paul cathedral. West Smithfield truely of of those odd places were multiple periods of our history that seem to run through each other. 

Just past the Henry VIII Gate I find mister Flame in the courtyard were he's sitting there behind an easel, penceling away on large piece of paper. 

'Guten Tag! Mister Flame I presume?'
The artist looks up from his work and nods.'Guten tag.'
Immediately I want to satisfy my curiousity and have a glance at his drawing. But Flame stops me. 'Please don't look. It isn't finished yet.'
'Oh, all right.'
Meanwhile Flame keeps drawing franticly. 'Are you sure I shoudn't come back some other time.'
'No please, ask your questions. I'm nearly done'

Dankaert Lexicon: Ok then. Let's start with what do you do in your daily life?

Tidus Flame: I´m a male nurse, musician (Piano) and I do my pencil drawings. I play roleplaying games on my Computer. Jrpg’s, like Final Fantasy and Zelda, but also titles like Skyrim. I also write steampunk and science fiction stories for my own PC games. That’s it.

I make also make my own videogames and characters. But those are secret projects

Dankaert: What kind of drawing do you make?

Tidus Flame: I draw portraits for about a half year. Is easy to find these because we live in a selfie-world. All people like to photograph themselves. There are so many creative selfies, with some nice lighting and great facial expressions. Apart from those I sometimes draw videogame or movie characters, but this is a small number at the moment.

Do you have any favorite artists?

Not really, but I have a favorite composer. Joe Hisaishi from studio Ghibli. I love the way he plays his piano and I can relax very well to his music.

Dankaert: When did you start drawing?

Tidus :  I draw my whole life. At fourteen I started with some 

Mangasketches. During my training as a   male nurse, I started to sketch some portraits out of my head. Since October last year I draw the selfie-stuff.

Dankaert: How did you learn about Steampunk?

Tidus:   I never really learned about Steampunk. I feel like, I live it?! All things that I have done so far belonged to Steampunk. I have never really thought about it beyond that. It just part of me.

Dankaert:  What makes you want to draw Steampunk?

Tidus: You can draw Steampunk? 

Dankeart: Good point. Maybe a poorly phrased question.

Tidus: I think the combination of retrofuturistic elements make a subject steampunk, but in the end I draw people. I love the way people live their Steampunk. There are so many creative men and women and I want to capture on paper. I visit many Steampunkers and show them my drawings. All of them were very enthusiastic and motivated me to continue my work. 

Dankaert:  You usually use photo-portraits as models. How do you choose these portraits? What do you look for?

Tidus: I often look at light, shade and interesting expressions, because I like draw these things. I also aim to improve of skill in drawing lighting and shades. I use photos because it gives me time to try things out and develop new techniques.

Dankaert: What do hope to do in the future?

Tidus: I want to get much better in my art and the music I write. My desire is to draw a portrait, that looks like, 'WOW, this face is real and looks at me'. Also, I am working on game. I’ll have a demo ready later this year.

Dankaert: And who is that you're drawing?

He turned the drawing towards me. 'He was a patient that stayed here for a few days.'

I look at the face and pondered why it looked so fammiliar. 'I know that cap from somewere. Were was he from.

Tidus shruged his shoulders. 'He didn't speak much. I wish I could tell you more, but it appears his story has yet to be told.

Drawing by Tobias Eser, aka Tidus Flame. Model Bonsart Bokel