Who Put the “Punk“ in Steampunk? The Roots and Evolution of Steampunk

Has steampunk lost its edge? What began as a kind of protest against the constraints and conventions of Victorian and Golden Age science fiction has evolved into a wide-ranging category that’s difficult to define. Is it a discrete literary genre? Is it an ideology? Is it a counterculture movement? Or is it simply an aesthetic or style? In this video, I discuss the origins of steampunk and how it has morphed and adapted throughout its history. 1:11 What Is Steampunk? 3:21 Steampunk as a Protest Movement 7:45 Cautionary SF Becomes the Exception 10:35 Early Steampunk Rebels 12:20 Mervyn Peake 13:24 Keith Laumer 14:46 Keith Roberts 17:24 Ronald Clark 19:06 Jack Finney 20:06 Michael Moorcock 26:07 Japan’s Steampunk Tradition 28:40 Cyberpunk Influences 31:48 Has Steampunk Lost Its Edge? 34:12 Or Is Steampunk Inherently Transgressive? Links to some of my other videos about SFF history: A History of Gnome Press -