Dreadpunk - is this a thing now?

[Jubal]

This is one of those topics that could go in several places, but it's going here anyway.

Apparently along with clock, steam, diesel, and cyber, we have yet another "punk" theme, namely "dreadpunk". This is basically a way to split "optimistic" cogs-and-imperialism Steampunk off from gas-lit, Jack the Ripper, victorian London style grimdark fantasy.

There's an article on it here:
http://www.dailydot.com/geek/dreadpunk-dragoncon-gothic-horror-fantasy/

Are all these labels really necessary? I feel like we're increasingly, rather than labelling aesthetics, just splitting them off from one another. And 80% of the time the "punk" aspect (which to be fair the above article does cover) of subversion and social commentary is forgotten in some of these (Steampunk being the obvious example; when I see Steampunk things steam is often absent and the punk almost always is).

[comrade_general]

Meh.

[Clockwork]

I feel this one is completely unnecessary. Steampunk definitely includes all the things that make a thing dreadpunk. Related sidenote: There's a steampunk batman comic (can't remember the name at the moment) which includes jack.


Interesting that you say the steam is often absent in steampunk, quite often I find the alternate, there isn't punk.


EDIT: They're taking Bioshock as dreadpunk? Bullarmadillo.

[Jubal]

I think the punk is more absent in steampunk, but the steam is often a bit absent too.

I guess I don't terribly like steampunk at the stage where it's a bunch of people trotting around in top hats and pith hats with pointless cogs glued on, which is what it often seems to be. I can enjoy it as a celebration of engineering and creative inventiveness, or as an interesting subversion/punk way of looking at that period and its culture... but I feel like too often in the UK at least the steampunk community is a bit of an "I just want to pretend I'm an upper class Victorian" thing and doesn't do either. Which is sort of fine, but it doesn't appeal to me much and I think can feel more exclusionary to people who originated in countries that the said Victorian elites were... not entirely pleasant too, to put it mildly.

I agree though that dreadpunk doesn't seem to differ enough from steampunk to be a worthwhile label.

[Clockwork]

If it's about being an upper class anything then it's not really punk which (by the by) while I don't think has to be anarchic, is at least each man should determine his own fate. Subversion is all well and good too but to be punk, I think that it has to be lower classes subverting as opposed to just anyone.

[Jubal]

I agree, that's the oddity of steampunk's origins compared to the steampunk community now. Nostalgic victoriana just isn't that good a theme for anything, too