steampunkontrial-blog

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ALL RISE, THE COURT OF STEAMPUNK IS NOW IN SESSION

      As honourable judge presiding over the Court of Steampunk, I, Christopher Marfisi, have the duty of bringing justice to the steampunk aesthetic one superficial case at a time. Today’s defendants are Panic! at the Disco, Taylor Swift and Coldplay (along with their accomplices, Rihanna and Jay-Z). Each of these popular music acts are similarly on trial in the Court of Steampunk for abusing the aesthetic: using it for their own superficial artistic purposes, while neglecting the ideology of steampunk. The Crown’s star witness, Sir Reginald Pikedevant, will be called to the stand sporadically throughout the course of this trial to present one key piece of evidence: his lyric “just glue some gears on it and call it ‘steampunk’” (Pikedevant 2011). Using Pikedevant’s lyric “just glue some gears on it and call it ‘steampunk’” as the foundation of my argument, I have reached a verdict about the highly debated definition of “steampunk”.

The Verdict: Steampunk is an aesthetic that gets appropriated within the realm of popular culture simply for superficial visual purposes and is consequently stripped of all ideological value.

Navigation Options: Click one of the case hashtags below to be redirected to all posts about that case, click Archive on the left-hand side and then select each post individually or scroll through the blog roll manually. 

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CASE #1: The Ballad of Mona Lisa - Panic! at the Disco

      The music video for Panic! at the Disco’s The Ballad of Mona Lisa sees the band and their background extras fully embrace the steampunk aesthetic—through costume, props and setting—while performing a fictional wake to honour the band’s lead singer, Brendon Urie. Though cliché at times, the steampunk aesthetic is captured in a fairly authentic manner throughout the video, thanks to the creative direction the band received from The League of S. T. E. A. M, an award-wining steampunk entertainment group, and its co-founder Nicholas Baumann. Baumann is credited as the creative mastermind behind the music video by one of the background extras, Austin Sirkin, who claims that all of the props seen in the video are part of Baumann’s personal collection (How Panic! at the Disco’s “The Ballad of Mona Lisa” Was Steampunked). Sirkin has also revealed that most of the cast of background extras, including himself, are personally involved with steampunk circles and wore their own clothing as costume in the video (How Panic! at the Disco’s “The Ballad of Mona Lisa” Was Steampunked).

Photo Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOgpdp3lP8M

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Brendon Urie: Captain Cog

      Steampunk is introduced early on in the music video; opening with a series of alternating cuts of the wedding chapel from the video for I Write Sins Not Tragedies (a single released six years prior) and Urie’s Topper style hat, decorated with a pair of goggles. Though seemingly stereotypical, the goggles atop of Urie’s hat contribute to the authenticity of the aesthetic’s presentation within the video, as Tinker considers goggles to be “essential, an almost ritual must-have for many in Steampunk circles, either worn over the eyes or permanently perched on the head or hat, never actually fulfilling their intended functions” (58).

      The other pieces of clothing that comprise Urie’s outfit are also authentically steampunk. His olive-coloured jacket draws inspiration from the military aesthetic; it is covered with intricate embroidery on the lapels (Tinker 67), includes a leather arm guard (Tinker 83) and is complete with various honourary medals and badges (Tinker 40). Despite the realistic quality of Urie’s costume, the jacket’s right arm appears to be a product of “just [gluing] some gears on it and [calling] it steampunk” since it is embellished with several gold gears, trailing from his shoulder down to his wrist.

Photo Source (All): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOgpdp3lP8M

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Steam-Q: Steampunk Gentlemen’s Quarterly

      Aside from these gears found on Urie’s jacket—and upon the wall seen directly behind the band throughout the duration of the video—the steampunk aesthetic is otherwise captured fairly realistically. The outfits worn by the three band members and male extras seen in the video are in keeping with steampunk fashion trends for gentlemen. Each wears a dark-coloured jacket and/or vest (Tinker 66), as well as either a Topper or Derby hat, which are almost all topped with a pair of goggles (Tinker 70). Similar to Urie, these gentlemen also have embellishments covering their jacket and/or vest, except for one man who boldly wears a burgundy-striped blazer, which is seen within some steampunk circles despite being colourfully unconventional (Tinker 67).

Photo Source (All): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOgpdp3lP8M

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Fresh Off The Victorian Runway

      Like the gentlemen, the female extras are also decked in authentic steampunk style with their corsets (Tinker 48), frilled white blouses (Tinker 46), fingerless gloves (Tinker 53) and various forms of headdress (Tinker 54). Mary (top picture) wears an outfit that combines the steampunk and gothic aesthetics (Tinker 36); she is dressed entirely in black, except for the white frilled blouse she wears under her corset and also wears dark-coloured accessories. The other female extras seen in the music video (bottom picture) are also dressed in traditional steampunk wear, with outfits inspiration ranging from Victorian madams to saloon ladies, thanks to the “saucy satin stripes” (Tinker 45).

Photo Source (All): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOgpdp3lP8M

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Mankind and The Machine

      The elaborate imaginary machines and devices that function as Urie’s backdrop further contribute to the realistic representation of the steampunk aesthetic because it is not uncommon for tinkerers to design and build such inventions (Tinker 134). In doing so, tinkerers demonstrate and fulfill one of the ideological values of steampunk: “collaboration between the physicalities of human and machine, [thus] affording machinery more respect and dignity” (Onion 147). However, there is in fact little “collaboration” between human and machine within the music video; the extent of this interaction includes Urie sporadically caressing part of a machine visible behind him and also turning its hand crank on one occasion. In addition to being limited, the “collaboration” portrayed in the video is also rather useless (from a steampunk perspective) since it fails to capture the ‘human’ quality and character of these machines, which Briony Wickles discusses: “They are alive, emotional, and full of (dangerous) possibility–unlike the sleek, streamlined devices of the digital age” (Love the Machine, Hate the Factory: Steampunk Philosophies). At no point in the music video does any of the elaborate machinery seem “alive, emotional [or] full of (dangerous) possibility”. Instead, the instruments are located on the peripheries of the video, looming in the background as a lifeless and insignificant prop that strives to make Urie look like a tinkerer, but fails. Due to the music video’s little attention to machinery, the ideological aspect of steampunk is ignored, which seeks to reimagine machines in humanistic terms in order to idealize the relationship between humans and their inventions.

      Rebecca Onion suggests “A large component of the project of human reintegration with the machine lies in the ability of the bystander or self-taught tinkerer to master important pieces of machinery that, in the current technological landscape, would be the exclusive province of specialists” (151). Though he may appear to be a tinkerer when posing infront of his inventions, Urie clearly does not follow in the tradition of the tinkerers who seek to empower themselves by inventing machinery and becoming an expert in their own creations. Urie is nothing more than a model dressed in steampunk attire standing infront of a backdrop created from inventions that tinkerers build for empowerment purposes, but are here used for aesthetic purposes instead. According to Onion, steampunk’s goal of empowerment through machinery also extends to marginalized populations: “In utopic steampunk conceptions, part of the effect of this expanded capacity for mastery is that technological knowledge is available to the disempowered: women, children, and members of the working class” (152). Urie does not demonstrate any “capacity for mastery”, as he is not seen trying to acquire the coveted “technological knowledge” steampunk aims to foster, but rather, is shown interacting with the machinery in a playful manner. Considering Urie has not gained any “technological knowledge”, despite being a man as well as the only individual to even somewhat acknowledge the machinery, indicates that steampunk’s value of empowering the disempowered has been overlooked.

      The lack of relationship between human and machine in The Ballad of Mona Lisa music video ultimately signifies that the ideological value of steampunk is absent from the video, despite its relatively authentic visual representation of the aesthetic through costume and props. Not only does the video fail to afford machinery “respect and dignity”, as steampunk seeks to do, but also reduces machinery to a background object—literally and figuratively—therefore diminishing its power to empower.

Photo Source (All): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOgpdp3lP8M

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Abney Park: Where Music Meets Steampunk

      Comparing steampunk’s treatment in The Ballad of Mona Lisa music video with its use by bands in the steampunk music scene further proves that the aesthetic is simply presented as a veneer lacking ideological depth within the video. The outfits worn by steampunk musicians “depend entirely on the individual artist but will usually contain aspects of Victoria fashion along with some technologic additions and accessories” (What is Steampunk Music?). This is certainly the case with popular steampunk band Abney Park, where the male members each wear a decorated dark-coloured vest or jacket and a pair of goggles, while the female members are clothed in corsets, fingerless gloves and headdresses. With the exception of Urie’s tacky cog-covered sleeve, the outfits worn by Panic! at the Disco and their background extras closely resemble the authentic steampunk attire Abney Park dresses in.

Photo Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abney_Park_(band)

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Pop Goes (Steam)Punk

      In addition, the aesthetic similarities visible between the music video and Abney Park also include the steampunk-themed instruments that Panic! at the Disco use during some scenes, especially Urie’s metallic vintage-style microphone. This microphone is almost an exact replica of the microphone used by Captain (Robert) Brown, the lead-singer of Abney Park, during the band’s live shows (Tinker 166). Decorating instruments in steampunk fashion is a common practice amongst steampunk music acts, whose instruments “may be in the style of the Victorian era or might be completely handmade and reinvented in that artist’s idea of a futuristic piece of Victorian music equipment” (“What is Steampunk Music?”). Though not exactly a Victorian era microphone or a futuristic version of it, the similar style of microphone used by both Abney Park and Panic! at the Disco draws upon steampunk’s love of metallic colours and vintage styling. In terms of the visual representation of the steampunk aesthetic, the music video for The Ballad of Mona Lisa is indeed comparable to the way in which Abney Park presents it; however, where the two bands differ is in their use of steampunk beyond aesthetic. 

Photo Source (Top): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Brown_(musician)

Photo Source (Bottom): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOgpdp3lP8M

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The Authentic vs. The Aesthetic

      Unlike Panic! at the Disco, Abney Park’s translation of steampunk into their work transcends the surface aesthetic. In particular, the band has created a fictional steampunk backstory “of a time-travelling band in an airship crash”, which informs their music, both sonically and lyrically  (Tinker 164). Captain Brown has spoken about the steampunk themes found in the lyrics of Abney Park’s songs: “The songs were based on my life. I started writing songs set in a faux-Victorian world, and code the things in my life by turning them into sci-fi” (Tinker 167). Like the band’s backstory, Brown’s allusions to a “faux-Victorian world” and “sci-fi” in his song writing are clear evidence of steampunk’s ideological importance to the band, rather than mere aesthetic significance. When compared to Abney Park’s translation of steampunk into their work beyond visual aspects, the music video for The Ballad of Mona Lisa, and by extension Panic! at the Disco, is exposed for treating steampunk in a superficial manner. Unlike Abney Park, Panic! at the Disco has no ties to steampunk beyond aesthetic, thus indicating steampunk has been used solely as a veneer, while stripped of its ideological values. 

Photo Source (Top): https://sites.google.com/a/depauw.edu/airships-and-corsets/music

Photo Source (Bottom): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOgpdp3lP8M

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CASE#2: Love Story (Live at the Red Tour) – Taylor Swift

     During her 2013 Red Tour, the steampunk aesthetic served as a romantic backdrop for Taylor Swift to perform a cliché love story fantasy while singing her appropriately titled hit: Love Story. As Swift sings about desperately waiting for her Romeo to come save her, her audience is invited into a superficial storybook world, which outwardly looks steampunk but falls short on telling steampunk’s ideological story.

Photo Source: http://haylordreams.tumblr.com/post/103973496873/ohsocasuallycruel-stateofsweeran-hey

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Once Upon A Steampunk Spectacular...

      The steampunk spectacular begins with Swift’s background dancers during a performance interlude while she undergoes a costume change. A female wind-up steampunk ballerina appears on stage to the sound of an orchestral score and is shortly followed by dapper a steampunk gentleman who she passionately dances with. After a short routine, a steampunk music box opens at centre stage and the rest of Swift’s backup dancers emerge decked out in a similar manner to the original couple. Though I label the dancers and the music box as “steampunk”, I do it hesitantly since the artistic design of both epitomizes “just [gluing] some gears on it and [calling] it steampunk”.

Photo Source (All): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B49af75xDXU

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Dancing With The Cogs

      Gears and cogs are the primary elements of the steampunk aesthetic visible on stage during this segment of the concert; first, stitched in the shape of a heart on the white leotards and tutus worn by the female dancers and second, printed in metallic upon the dark-coloured jackets each of the male dancers wear. The Derby style hats worn by the male dancers are also borrowed from steampunk aesthetic not only because they are covered in metallic gears, but also due to frequent pairing of this hat style with male Steampunk costumes in cosplay (Tinker 71).

Photo Source (All): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B49af75xDXU

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Swift’s Steampunk Snub

      Gears are also found on the LED screens and the steampunk music box that serves as the vehicle for Swift’s grand entrance during the opening chords of Love Story. However, when Swift dramatically emerges from below the stage and she is finally in her audience’s view, it becomes clear that she has decided not to partake in this steampunk extravaganza, wearing nothing more than a simple white gown. In doing so, Swift ignores the many articles of clothing and various accessories she could have worn to further superficially represent the steampunk aesthetic, including: some form of headdress, such as an eccentric hat (Tinker 54), a parasol (Tinker 52), fingerless gloves (Tinker 53) or of course, a corset (Tinker 48).

Photo Source: https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-red-tour-costumes-lyrics

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Androgynous Undertones - I

      Though each of these aforementioned items are stereotypically solely associated with female steampunk costume, with the exception of hats, Tinker insists, “The golden-rule, where gender-related fashion is concerned, is don’t feel bound by the rules—just remix and reimagine” (38). Considering this suggestion in relation to the steampunk-themed segment in Swift’s show signifies that the performance overlooks the ideological value of steampunk because the costumes reinforce Victorian gender binaries, while failing to capture the androgyny steampunk upholds.

      The costumes for the Love Story number, both those worn by Swift and the background dancers, equally capture the strict gender identities of the Victorian era due to the colour of these outfits. According to Martin Danahay, “Victorian gender binaries were reinforced through clothing at ceremonial occasions with ‘the men in black, the women mostly in white’, while the clothing itself linked men to work and the public sphere and women to the domestic realm” (133). Danahay’s argument is reflected in the costumes Swift and her dancers wear; all of the females, Swift included, are seen in white, whereas the males are dressed in dark-colours, primarily black. The colouring of these outfits evidently adheres to Victorian fashion ideology since the black and white establish a clear distinction between male and female. The white leotards emphasize female purity and delicacy, whereas the dark articles of clothing worn by the male dancers are a “continuing symbol of male power” (Danahay 133). 

      Though the leotards and tutus worn by the female dancers do not necessarily link “women to the domestic realm”, as Victorian clothing commonly did, these garments certainly reflect the confinement of women to stereotypically feminine roles. In doing so, the costumes fail to liberate females in the way steampunk cosplay costumes do since they do not transcend traditional gender roles: “Steampunk women don’t accept the restricted world of the 19th century—even as they lace on corsets, they aim to be airship pilots, adventurers and scientists” (Tinker 37). In dressing as “airship pilots, adventurers and scientists”, these steampunk women effectively transcend the gender boundaries of the Victorian era because they are taking on roles that are traditionally male-dominated through their attire. In contrast, Swift’s background dancers are not awarded this same sense of agency by their clothing since they are dressed in outfits that female ballerinas wear. This considered, it seems as if Swift, and her costume designers, accept the “restricted world of the 19th century” because the female dancers’ ballerina costumes uphold Victorian era fashion ideology, while simultaneously challenging steampunk fashion ideology.

Photo Source (Top): https://nivelis.deviantart.com/art/Steam-Memories-09-312810171

Photo Source (Bottom): https://www.flickr.com/photos/tyrusflynn/5953246156/in/pool-1406769@N25/

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Androgynous Undertones - II

      Like Tinker, Molly Westerman makes the argument that steampunk “mixes and matches” when it comes to gender-specific fashion (How Steampunk Screws With Victorian Gender Norms), thus further indicating that androgyny is one steampunk’s main ideological values. She elaborates on the nonconformity of the steampunk aesthetic, claiming that “masculinity and femininity are more like design elements than like absolutes of nature—which makes gender more fluid and far less moralizing than the nostalgic style might initially suggest (How Steampunk Screws With Victorian Gender Norms). Although the Love Story performance indeed treats masculinity and femininity as “design elements”, as evidenced by the differing costumes, gender is not presented as being any more fluid since these outfits are in keeping with the gender identity of their respective wearer. According to Lisa Hager (top picture), steampunk is a “deliciously flexible space” where people, through clothing, can move beyond the borders of gender and sexuality: “many steampunk women have a longstanding love affair with corsets, but, equally important here are the women who crossplay masculine personae, like myself, and the many men who have similar fondnesses for corsets and wear them exquisitely well” (Queer Cogs: Steampunk, Gender Identity, and Sexuality). Clearly, the steampunk aesthetic values androgyny, despite drawing fashion inspiration from the restrictive Victorian era, because it serves as a vehicle for men and women to transgress gender norms should they choose to do so. Yet, in Swift’s steampunk love story, there are no women in dark jackets, vests and trousers, nor are there any men dressed in corsets or skirts. Instead, the costumes Swift and her background dancers wear reinforce the gender binary, therefore ultimately signifying that the ideological value of steampunk has been overlooked in favour of Victorian ideology. 

Photo Source (Top): https://www.tor.com/2012/10/04/steampunk-gender-sexuality/

Photo Source (Bottom): https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/529313762425025692/

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Steampunk’s Unhappily Ever After

      Further proof of Swift’s disregard for steampunk ideology also lies in the fact that like Panic! at the Disco, steampunk themes are missing from her music, both lyrically and sonically. As aforementioned, Abney Park sets the standard in music as to how the aesthetic’s ideological values should be represented: song lyrics, musical composition, costumes and backstory and/or persona. Thus, Swift’s inability to meet their standards, or perhaps lack of interest in trying to, proves that she uses steampunk solely for its aesthetic value, while disregarding its ideological value. The romanticized version of Steampunk Swift presents to her audience during Love Story is purely visual because she simply “[glues] some gears on it and [calls] it Steampunk”— “it” being her costumes and props—while ignoring the underlying ideologies of the aesthetic.

Photo Source: http://selebritionline.com/real-love-story-taylor-swift-sizzles-red-tour-kl/

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CASE #3: Princess of China/Run This Town (Live at the Paralympic Games Closing Ceremonies) – Coldplay, Rihanna and Jay-Z

The steampunk aesthetic was also adapted for the stage during the closing ceremonies of the 2012 Paralympic Games in London when Coldplay took the stage to perform a medley of hits with their two special guests, Rihanna and Jay-Z. As with Swift, the appearance of the aesthetic during the performance is limited and, at times, cliché; visible only in the gigantic iron clock suspended above the stage, the outfits worn by the background extras, the lower third graphics and the massive steamship Rihanna makes her arrival upon.

Photo Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6-7MjVcyB8