Imagine a world in which the concept of electricity was never fully grasped, where the steam engine reigned supreme and the electrical circuit was a pipe dream. The people of this world would never stop innovating and would adapt, as humans often do, to the limitations of their machinery. Therefore, monolithic machinations would be constructed for relatively simple problems that we might have today, and that Industrial style of clothes would never really fall out of the mainstream. Instead it would just become more modernized, rather than exiting our lives entirely. Furthermore, imagine this world as not just fiction but a reality unto itself that anyone can join in on, and you’ll have Steampunk. Steampunk isn’t popular because of the clothing or the artistic style, but rather it’s popular because it instills a sense of wonderment in its followers through the use of seemingly archaic technology that looks foreign and outlandish when compared to our modern day electronics.
Even with Steampunk’s mounting popularity, the question of what exactly is Steampunk still finds its way on people’s lips, and for good reason. To the outside observer, Steampunk may seem to be something entirely unapproachable at times simply because the outside observer may know nothing of the genre, and therefore feel uncomfortable around it. This lack of knowledge is understandable, Steampunk isn’t necessarily taught in schools and the ‘punk’ sub-cultures aren’t exactly mainstream. It can seem complex and is often misunderstood as merely an ‘Industrial’ fashion with a few quirks.
In fact, Steampunk itself is just a derivative of Cyberpunk, an entirely different sub-culture that focuses on fusing the present with the near-future, both of which b...
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...e when we start to think about how a television or computer would look if it were entirely powered by steam is what keeps people in the subculture, what drives it forward and what will catch the interest of a new generation of Steampunk fans.
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In Justin Pearson's memoir, From the Graveyard of the arousal Industry, he recounts the events that occured from his early years of adolesence to the latter years of his adulthood telling the story of his unforgiving and candid life. Set in the late 1970s "Punk" rock era, From the Graveyard of the Arousal Industry offers a valuable perspective about the role culture takes in our lives, how we interact with it and how it differs from ideology.
What is the most important thing in your life? The answer most people give is their phone or laptop. The dependence and importance of technology has increased within the last decade. Bradbury has given us a warning of the obsession with technology in his writing, Fahrenheit 451. Montag saw how obsessed his society was with technology because he noticed how "Nobody listens anymore. . . I just want someone to hear what I have to say" (78). Montag is frustrated that people's opinions are no longer valid because the society is too busy focusing on the fascinating technology. As said by Jane Weaver on NBC, teenagers nowadays spend around 30 hours a week using technology. Thats over 4 hours a day spent watching television or playing games for no educational purpose whatsoever. The mania for technology has caused many to loose focus of more important things like achieving ones dreams.
"The Most Terrible Was Yet To Come": San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906." Map of Time A Trip Into the Past. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.
In comparing the sixties and the nineties, my first thought was how much popular culture has changed since then and how different society is today. The strange thing is, the more I tried to differentiate between them, the more similarities I found. Both the sixties and the nineties were about youth, creativity, free-thinking, and expression. With the nineties coming to a close and the popularity of anything ?retro," I decided to compare the fashions, people, music, and issues that defined pop culture in the 1960?s and its influence on pop culture in the 1990?s.
novels often show the pros and cons of technology. In the book Fahrenheit 451, by Ray
When Dorothy was six years old, the Day family packed up for a long journey from New York City to the west coast. Her father’s job as a sports writer settled the family in Berkeley, California at first, and then in Oakland. Just as the children were starting to call California home, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck this new home, striking their hearts as well. This life-changing disaster was the first experience Dorothy had of people really getting involved with helping strangers. Unfortunately the help from neighbors was not enough to fix the permanent damage within the Days’ Californ...
One of the greatest qualities of humanity is the ability to respond to the circumstances and surroundings one might find themselves in at any given time. Authors convey this quality into literature constantly with their novels and articles. “The Most Dangerous Game” is a realistic fiction short story written by Richard Connell. “The Most Dangerous Game” is a stunning short story on the human condition, the dangers of blood-thirsty hunters, and defining the true meaning of a civilized person. Connell’s wrote his novel during the time period wealthy individuals enjoyed hunting animals. TV shows, magazine articles, and even movies are based off Connell’s story. Another example of a novel that responds to the environment is James Hurst’s realistic fiction short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”. “The Scarlet Ibis” is a tragic, realistic fiction that describes the hazards of pride, the terrors of being disparate from others, and the qualities of true brotherly love. “The Scarlet Ibis” was written in the 1960’s when handicapped people were treated differently than normal people. An additional volume worth analyzing is Guy de Maupassant’s realistic fiction, “The Necklace”. “The Necklace” is a narrative about a covetous woman who dreams for impervious goals, and realizes that being prosperous is not always as elitist is as it is made out to be. In reality during periods of great danger or fear, humans occasionally experience a rush of adrenaline that allows them to accomplish otherwise impossible tasks such as mothers lifting cars off of their children. Therefore, the human condition has the ability to overpower common sense and control emotions when the situation at hand requires action.
Rich, Adrienne. “Diving into the Wreck” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. 11th ed. New York: Norton, 2013.1010-1012. Print.
In the early twentieth century, San Francisco, a bustling city full of people with diverse cultures, stood in the midst of the Second Industrial Revolution. At this time, the brilliant inventions of airplanes, automobiles, and radios were changing the everyday lives of many. San Francisco had just recovered from the four-year burden of the bubonic plague (“Bubonic”). However, right when things were getting back to normal, a destructive earthquake hit the city on April 18, 1906. Although the shaking lasted for less than a minute, the devastated city had crumbled buildings and a substantial loss of lives. The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 had a lasting effect on the city and its people, and it proved to be one of the most catastrophic disasters in history.
The Industrial revolution took place during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was a time when America switched from a rural society into an urban society. This was a drastic change in many peoples lifestyle. People moved from their farm homelands into cities. The reason for this was because there were many more job opportunities and availability for a better life. Many new inventions were discovered during the Industrial Revolution but it was a dangerous and harmful time with extremely bad working conditions, especially for women and children but helped improve the way the world is today.
I remember as a kid there was nothing more enchanting then going home to play video games. Before I knew it I had become enslaved by my video games. Back then I did not realize it but everything I did was influenced by my video games. Just as I didn’t realize the chains video games had tied around my legs, much of society doesn’t realize how they have become tied down and enslaved by technology. Technology really has come far since 1951. In 1951 it was only possible to hypothesize about futuristic technology just as Ray Bradbury did in his book Fahrenheit 451. However, Ray Bradbury would have never imagined the decisive role that technology has had upon children of the 21st century. Internet, video games, and television has a detrimental effect
The Steam Engine “In the never-ending search for energy sources, the invention of the steam engine changed the face of the earth.” (Siegel, Preface) The steam engine was the principal power source during the British Industrial Revolution in the 18th century. The steam engine opened a whole new world for everyone. The steam engine maximizes production, efficiency, reliability, minimizes time, the amount of labor, and the usage of animals.
Cyberpunk is supposed to be the vision of a new technological world. However, the negative portrayal of the integration of technology and society is a fundamental tenet of the literature. This presents a pessimistic view of scientific advancement. The genre’s dark tones, seen repeatedly in Neuromancer, emphasize the bleak images throughout the futuristic fiction. The constant conflict between the individual and a technologically advanced society is a major theme as it stresses man’s insignificance. These characteristics are interwoven into the fabric of cyberpunk and form a bleak image of science fiction and the future. Gibson is very vague when describing the specific architecture and nuances of technology used in the designs of the futuristic objects. This lack of definite details is due to the fact that cyberpunk literature resists the concepts of technology.
People who conform to society have expectations of how other people should act and what they wear in public. Anarcho-punk achieved resistance in one way by the clothes they wore. Instead of looking ‘fashionable’ they c...
Stump, Colleen Shea, Kevin Feldman, Joyce Armstrong Carroll, and Edward E. Wilson. "The Epic." Prentice Hall