On Misleading Titles, Steampunk, and Unnecessary Subculture

((no pics on this one. I want this to stand on it's own, given the subject matter. Funny pics later, quasi-serious discussion with humorous input now.))

I have been contacted by the outside world, a veritable pantheon of the walks and ilk of humanity under a single standard, and raising their voices in a single chorus, and the message they bring is: “We are confused”.

Ok, so maybe only a few people are confused. I just enjoy couching that in dramatic imagery.

So, given that the title of the blog is “The Clockwork Geek”, it's easy for me to understand the confusion. I'm not entirely blind or blameless to misleading copy. It's easy to assume that the blog would be yet another entry into the sphere who's pre-programmed targeting guidance would seek out only the most valuable of targets in the Steampunk genre alone. Where are the DIY brass-and-gear tchotchkes? Where can I find the filligree-slathered corsets? WHERE ARE MY FAUX-BRASS RETROFITTED NERF GUNS?! WHY THE HELL IS HE WRITING ABOUT MASS EFFECT 3?!?!?!

...Some may cry. Dramatic, no? Yes.

I'm sure the title image for the blog does no favors to clear things up either; what with it's arabesque swirls and hipster-come-lately subtitle typeface. Perhaps next time I'll employ comic sans or papyrus, and listen to the soothing sounds of millions of font-obsessed designers cry out in ultimate suffering. Well, not really. Again, it's just nice dramatic imagery. Besides- I'm not popular enough to inspire more than a derisive sneer and a closing of the browser.

Oh, the slings and arrows of outrageous helvetica.

(warning: Xero is not a hipster, but is not above self-depreciating humor.)

So I get the confusion, given the title; it's a misleading bait-and-switch when taken at face value. Well, that's kind of the gag. Steampunk's only one small part of the wide and sprawling landscape of geekery that I choose to stroll through. It's a side-destination; a curiosity to visit and revisit as I cruise down the mental Route 66 of my fandoms. It's one more flavorful bit that's thrown into the collective stew.

I now want a road-trip and a bowl of soup. Ffffffffffffffff-

Don't get me wrong- I'm not diminishing it by any means. I love Steampunk. I've loved it since I first discovered Jules Vern and Steampunk-flavored off the shelf RPG supplement books back in the early 90's. But that's not the catalyst for the blog title. You see, I'm fascinated by clocks. More specifically, their inner workings. So the leap from “gear-driven devices are cool” to “gear driven technology/aesthetic is cool” was a simple one for me. “The Clockwork Geek” is about as literal a handle as it gets. I'm a geek, and I adore clockwork machines. It's just that simple.

But since we're here, and you and I are having such a lovely discussion about it, I'd like to delve into Steampunk for a bit, if I may.

I'm going to assume you said I may. I'm also going to assume that you've officially blamed me for bringing sexy back. You can assume I'd thank you for both of these suppositions.

The first novel I'm currently writing is a Steampunk Fantasy work. You better believe I loves me some punk-o-the-steam. (note: no one in their right mind ever calls it “punk-o-the-steam”, but I've never been accused of being in my right mind.) The works of Vern, Wells, and Gernsback are as stimulative to me in terms of my fascination with futurism as the contemporary works of Pullman, Westerfield, Hunt and Priest are to my adoration with alternative reality period pieces.

I love the former authors, because I genuinely consider them dyed in the wool futurists. Regardless of the fantastical trappings they employ, these guys were trying to preemptively call the future. I'll grant that there were luddite overtones in there, but by and large it was all about looking ahead. They used terms and descriptions that appealed the a broader audience while relying on the technology of the time as they understood it, with a narrative push that took it from mundane to the wondrous “what if” of tomorrow. The example I often use to explain the mindset of these forefathers of science fiction is Warren Ellis. Seriously, check out this guy's work not only on Extremis, but on his personal writings too. Ellis is constantly keeping his finger on the pulse of developing technology and using that to give his narrative a little push to explain fantastic concepts. I could easily name other like authors, but Ellis and his I-shot-a-fanboy-at-Comicon-just-to-watch-him-die beard always pops up in my mental contact list first.

Meanwhile, the contemporary counterparts take a route dictated by the developed fandom; this results mostly in alternative history pieces; i.e. pieces using the radical far-end spectrum of steam technology and how it's used in an alternate version of locales from our past. They also, like me, delve giddily into completely new lands with their own quirky rules, birthing new realms of fantasy. All of this is, of course, the byproduct of fans of the genre and tone rather than the purposed future outlook of the authors who began it all.

So what you have, at it's core, are writers inspired by looking back at writers who were looking forward. Your mind, she is blown.

Well, my mind is, anyway.

And that's what I personally love about the genre. Mind, I'm talking about this in terms of when I personally discovered it and fell in love. This would be a time when the genre was very niche, and by and large not on the collective world's radar in terms of saturation and popularity. Oh, but the drums... the drums! The drumbeat of the emerging widespread fandom loomed in the distance, and was getting ever closer.

I remember sitting at my table at A-kon in Dallas in in the early 2k's, ( I want to say 2003, but don't pin me down. Cons blur together.) sketching out something for a customer, and a friend tapped me on the shoulder and pointed over at a young lady who was dressed to the nines in Victorian fashion laced with copious amounts of brass-and-gear couture. He asked, understandably, if that was some new take on the Gothic Lolita craze he had seen around the con.

I smiled and replied; “Nope. That's Steampunk.” Yes, I said it in such a way where the capitalization was self-evident.

He fixed me with a dubious look and said, “What the hell is steampunk?” He said it in such a way where his confusion would suffer no capitalization to pass.

I laughed and replied- and this is verbatim, “Give it a few years. You'll know exactly what it is, and it will be everywhere.”

I knew it was coming. All the signs were there. This was going to be the next big thing on the con circuit. When Weta pumped out their own line of retro-futurism laser guns shortly thereafter, I knew I wasn't alone in seeing the portents that told of the coming explosion.

And explode it most certainly did. I was thrilled, because that meant even MORE people I could geek out with about yet another subject I dearly loved. However, I was also equally terrified, because I knew what would come next. Steampunk, to me, is more than just taking something established or mundane and coating it in brass tubes and clockwork.

But that's still cool, too. I'm not immune to what I'll hereafter call the Steampunk Aesthetic. That basically means “fandom for the look rather than the substance”, and that is a perfectly viable fandom to have. But to me, it's not what Steampunk's about. At least not in it's entirety. Steampunk Iron Man is still pretty neat, though.

The problem, if you want to look at it like that (I only do in some aspects) stems from the subculture phenomenon. Note I say “subculture” here and not “fandom”. I firmly believe and can provide evidence that the Steampunk craze has achieved subculture status.

Small aside: I consider myself a well-rounded geek, but also one that doesn't fall into any one particular sect over another. I was never sequestered off into any one group growing up. I had friends from all the myriad “cliques”, and not fitting into any one category brought it's own set of unique challenges. This simply evolved into the odd genre-and-fandom spanning person I am today. I've been called a gamer, an otaku, a gear head, a fanboy, a trekkie, a browncoat, a Whovian, a comic nerd, a fantasy nut, a music snob, cosplay enthusiast, ren-faire dork, D&D geek, and many more self-contained descriptive soundbites.

They're all true, they all fit, and not any single one of them is the whole of me.

Because of that, I've never approved of or supported emerging subcultures that seem to attempt to crawl out of the primordial ooze of the various fandoms. Subculture, by definition, breeds exclusivity. I see no reason for exclusivity in any geek fandom. Let's be honest, as geeks we're ostracized enough, and there's no sane compelling impetus to engage it it ourselves with newcomers. That, to me, is just stupid.

Before I go on, I need to point out that I'm not painting the fandom with broad strokes. No, not all enthusiasts are like this, but the love of the genre has reached the critical mass of subculture, so many are. If you're not, like my friends who gleefully embrace all aspects of Steampunk, then take no offense. I promise you, you've seen these things happen, and therefore you should take it as a call to arms rather than a critique on your person.

Steampunk has reached subculture status. It has boiled over and out of the confines of conventions, and has spilled into the world beyond to propagate itself. And, like any good subculture, it does so by differentiating itself from the established norm and rules of society by creating a new one with it's own established norm and rules. And the merchandising! Lands!

There's products above and beyond the pale of standard merch fare. You can go into any costume shop and buy odds and ends that are aimed at the Steampunk Aesthetic. Hell, even seasonal horror shops have been cranking out Victorian and Steampunk-flavored props for the Halloween fan who wants to mix his Slasher-flick sensibilities with a gilded flair. And don't get me started on the Steampunk Aesthetic * cough * sexual aids...

Now, I will never, ever, begrudge anyone who is introduced to the genre, or even the subculture, by way of “that looks cool! I wanna try!”. That's perfectly fine, and a really great way to introduce anyone to something you personally love. Getting in on the basis of only embracing the Steampunk Aesthetic is absolutely fine.

I mean, it was the look and the theatrics that turned me on to bands like Doctor Steel, Abney Park, Gwar and by extension Lordi. I'm not one to throw stones. However, that exclusivity raises it's ugly head again, when the genre fandom stumbles onto the subculture. Let me illustrate by way of personal experience:

At my second-to-last Oni-Con that I hit, they were holding a full blown Steampunk Ball. Awesome, says I. It was a fine chance to go meet other enthusiasts, and check out the latest hard work from the truly talented designers and costumers of the fandom. Sky Pirates, Adventurers, and Brigands, oh my!

Upon arriving on the perimeter, I spied a young lady who was in a fantastic setup, complete with light-up goggles with adherent superfluous gadgetry. I approached and struck up a conversation, breaking the ice by asking if she had purchased the goggles or made them herself. It turns out it was both. Fantastic! I love the spirit of creation by way of adaptation. I then, being a genre enthusiast sensing a possible kinred spirit, asked her what some of her favorite works of the fiction were. She blinked, and asked me what I meant. Undaunted, I said, “Oh, you know. Like, what are your favorite works by Wells or Verne, or Westerfield.?”

She blinked and asked “Who?”

Alert alert alert! Conversation approaching phase Awkward. Deploying topic circumvention countermeasures.

“Ok,” I continued, “who are some of your favorite Steampunk writers?”

“What? There's books about Steampunk fashion?”

At this point, you have to imagine the sound of a large balloon deflating. That's about as apt a description I can give for what my expression did. I chalked it up to her being a fan of the Steampunk Aesthetic rather than the genre. Perfectly fine. I've met Cosplayers who've never read or seen a single work featuring the characters they're made up as. Totally fine.

Then, a friend of hers (also bedecked in fantastic clockwork finery) sidled up to join the conversation. I'd like to think it's because she was really interested in what we were talking about, but given my demeanor it was probably for the intent of saving her friend from the “weirdo”. Yes, I am fully aware of the irony of that idea at an anime convention, but trust me: it's not that far fetched, and I am a weirdo to some.

Introductions are made, and explanation of the conversation is delivered. When I profess that I'm a huge fan of Steampunk, the friend gives me the up-down eyeball once-over, ending in a particularly exaggerated eye-roll, and says “I doubt it, poser,” before tugging on her friend's arm and losing themselves in the core whirl of taffeta and metal that was the Ball itself.

True, I was wearing my casual attire of jeans, sneakers, and my ever-so-rad “Know your Roots” Nintendo controller tee, but... seriously? What in the direct fuck was that about? Is it still ok to use insults like “poser” post late 90's? When did being a fan require a dress code?

And then it struck me- being a fan doesn't. Ever. Sadly, being a member of the CLUB does. Houston, we have reached subculture. Welcome to Club Gear.

I liken it to a very apt pic I saw the other day regarding the difference between a hipster and a geek. Hipster's a chosen subculture, whereas geek is just an appellation that's broad-term. If you've not heard a particular band, read a particular book, or indulged in a particular piece of entertainment or culinary creation, the Hipster is more like than not to dismiss you as a waste of their time. If you've not heard a particular band, read a particular book, or indulged in a particular piece of entertainment or culinary creation, the geek is more like than not to begin vibrating in place and going out of their way to share these things with you and introduce you to why it's so amazing. I felt that, upon seeing that I was not wearing the same ceremonial skins as they, the Steampunk Hipster Tribal Females ™ retreated back to a safe distance, away from the outlander. I was, in essence, that poor preppy sap who tried to approach the Goth kids.

Replace any of those descriptive phrases with the one of your choice and it's opposite, and you get the idea.

Is that an isolated incident? Could those two simply be stuck up iconoclasts of the scene? Absolutely. The problem is, it wasn't an isolated incident. I can point to three others I've personally had, and a score more relayed to me by friends both in the scene and out of it. I recall the slight cry of “bullshit” from some Steampunk fans over what they saw as stereotyping the fandom that came from the end of the last season of The Guild. (Don't know this show? Look it up and watch it. It's fantastic! Or I'll send you a link. You've got to watch this show!)

Sorry to break it to you folks, but that's not stereotype. That's caricature. It's parody by way of exaggerating evidenced characteristics. That's the end run and backlash to subculture saturation. It is the inevitable by-product of subculture entropy cycles. It's a coping mechanism for the outlanders.

Hi. How ya doin'?

And that's what I feared. Subculture breeds exclusivity. Exclusivity breeds ostracizing. Ostracizing, and witness thereof, breeds backlash, caricature and parody. The end of the heyday of any subculture based on a fandom is finally stereotype and bias for the sake of popular bias. Think I'm being unkind or without precedent? Ok. How many of these have you heard?

“I don't feel comfortable going into that comic store. It's like they don't want me there.”

“I was really proud of my costume, but these other cosplayers made fun of the cheap materials.”

“Anime? What. Big eyes, tiny mouths, raver hair and airplane-wing sized swords and tentacle porn.”

“Comic nerds are all virgins.”

“I wanted to give that game a try, but they just called me a noob and wouldn't teach me the rules.”

And now my own: “I wanted to talk about Steampunk with them, but they blew me off because I wasn't wearing the right clothes.”

This all sounds very one-sided, but please believe me when I say (again) that not all adherents to the Steampunk fandom or subculture (be they in it for the look or fans of the work) are like this. My problem is, realistically, NONE of them should be like this, because Steampunk shouldn't be it's own rebellious thing that's set aside. It was born in the convention. It should be one with the consensus; unique but accepted and flourishing.

Now, aside from the lucrative fan-service and promotional blitz, comic, fantasy, anime and general geek conventions work on one solid principle (or should, if they want to go past their first year): ALL ARE WELCOME. We understand you, and not only do we have kiosks and sights that appeal to your specific taste, but other panels and demonstrations and items that will introduce you to all the myriad sub-genres of the Great Geek Galaxy (patent pending). While snobbery and attitude can appear at cons, it's quite easy to find someone else to talk to about something you are interested in; most notably the professionals or staff who are running/overseeing/selling whatever you're curious about. We're all geeks, and you are welcome among us.

The subculture spilled out beyond that, and my problem with that is the backlash is going to hurt the people we have to THANK for the explosion. Artists, musicians, and the very writers I'm working hard at joining; all stand to lose once this has run it's course and the violent anti-fandom backdraft erupts.

Does this mean an end? No. I'm not prophesying the doom of all things Steampunk. I am, however, calling it a damned shame bordering on tragedy. In a time where you have a great flourishing of the creative side of a fandom, and a real opportunity for it to establish itself as medium influence rather than an oddity-turned-meme, it's downfall or decline will not be due to the work itself, but rather the outskirt fans of it: the Steampunk Aesthetic Subculture, and the Brassier-than-thou set.

You've seen it. Hell, you might have engaged in it. The point of interplay within a subculture wherein the only way to set yourself apart is to out-steampunk the rest of the people there. More gears. More lace. More tubes. More filligree. MORE MORE MORE. Finally, it becomes a self-propelled self-parodying monstrosity. Gears that connect to and drive nothing. Gears for the sake of their existence. That one lacks gears in the appropriate amount and propensity; we shall declare them anathema among us.

And who is Jules Vern? In the room where the women come and go, having no clue of Michaelangelo.

Meanwhile, there's this group. This lovely group. They've loved the aesthetic and works all along. They're reading The Time Machine. They've loaned out their copy of Boneshaker to a friend to introduce them to the genre. They're burning a song by The Cog is Dead or The Clockwork Quartet or figuring out how to work a track from Aether Shanties into Rockband for their friend to play. They're checking in on Girl Genius or Lady Sabre & the Pirates of the Ineffable Aether for updates, and sending the link over to their new-webcomics-hungry friends on Facebook. They're writing books. They're creating music. They're adding hand-crafted pieces of real working clockwork onto their old Fender Stratocaster to turn it into a Nautilus-themed masterpiece. They are the fans of the work, the inspired works, and the look, and a fair few of them avoid the larger gatherings of “the scene”, for fear of not being accepted.

I'm one of them. And you, yes YOU (hopefully) are not one of the ones who are pushing the newcomers away. They are the lovely group that is repeated with anime, comics, Sci-fi, Fantasy, novels, movies, cartoons old and new and developing and fantastic.

You and I have a lot of work to do. It's equally our due and onus to make them feel welcomed and appreciated.

Steampunk forever! Trekkies Forever! Whovians and comic nerds and gamers and Otaku and technophiles and and and...

Maybe, but how about...

Geeks forever, forever united. See you at the con.