Cowboys & Aliens is a good movie, but it’s not technically steampunk—and that’s the key word, technically. It is sci-fi based in the 19th century within Arizona territory, but the technology is alien and utilizes futuristic electronics, mechanics, and a very advanced knowledge of physics, such as the antigravity method used to transport gold. If humans developed advanced tools from those, such a story would be closer to steampunk, but the difference I see from historical sci-fi and steampunk is that the technology is naturally derived from that period’s capabilities.
A laser printer in 12th century Europe would be a demonstration of historical sci-fi. However, if a monk developed a glove that uses pulleys and gears that transfer his hand movements to other fake hands in close proximity to mirror his handwriting onto other sheets of paper, that would be steampunk—or maybe medieval punk?
Thursday, August 04, 2011
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