Over on Jeff VanderMeer’s blog, guest blogger Caren Gussoff asks about the next movement to come along and get the word “punk” stuck on the end. She proposes “plaguepunk”:
Now, I’m only half-serious, and I know that the death of 25 million within a 5 year span is poor fodder for a half-baked comedy stick, but think about it–the loss of that large of a percent of the population in such a short time seems like a historical pivot point where you know things could have gone really, really differently. Sure, plaguepunk costuming wouldn’t be as fun as steampunk—tunics, doublets, and latex buboes, anyone?–but there were underestimated scientific strides being made within monastery walls and in agrarian technology (girl’s gotta eat).
So let’s keep that discussion rolling and ask what it is about the word punk that somehow gets it in trouble like this: cyberpunk, steampunk, clockpunk, greenpunk… and what’s it going to get itself into next? For me, it seems like the punk part gets forgotten a lot in these movements and is just there for branding purposes. What do you think? The most outstanding comment, whether it’s for insight, humor, or outrageousness, wins ten bucks at the end of the week.
Well, at Fourth Street this year it was decided the next vampires / zombies will be robots.
But, I don’t know that robotpunk really works.
I think plaguepunk is a fantastic idea and it’s gonna be tough to top that one.
With 2012 coming out this weekend and three years until the 2012 date, I’m banking on seeing some apocapunk.
You scoff? Post-apocalyptics have been done? JJA did the Wastelands antho? Oh, no, no. This won’t be a post-anything. These will be stories leading up to and during the apocalypse.
The post will maybe be an epilogue.
I love the name apocapunk.
Please note that this is quite distinct from alpacapunk.
Not at all the same.
JunkPunk.
Due to concerns with the environment and sustainable living, this genre spinoff will focus on people that live in a recycled world of scavenged goods, with heroes in opposition to an eevil overlord of ubiquitous Conspicuous Consumerism.
Plus, it rhymes.
Well, -everything’s better when it rhymes….
The -punk suffix is to SF what -gate is to politics. Its prior meaning has been laid entirely aside in favor of its use as a marker (of a subgenre, rather than a scandal).
But if we’re looking for twists which actually acknowledge the ‘punk’ aspect in some fashion, I like the idea that things will come full circle eventually and the DIY, anti-establishment, “punk” view will be free market capitalism and traditional social values. That a true rebel will wear a tie, eat lots of meat, refuse welfare entitlements and live in conclaves which foster small business and have their own independent equity markets and play loud music which mocks intergovermental institutions and environmental regulations.
YupPunk?
But if I were a betting man, I’d wager we’ll see aspects of traditional punk made digital before long. RFID body piercings–broadcast your SS#, credit card numbers and vital stats to everyone in range as a outre repudiation of the “digital identity-industrial complex”. Subdermal wifi repeaters that automatically crack local WPA encryption points and offer everyone else’s bandwidth for free. Those will be powered by your body’s own blood sugar, making your act of rebellion also one of personal sacrifice; a literal blood pact against The Man. And so on…
I guess that’s basically cyberpunk, but punkier.
And just what is the “steam” in steampunk other than a source of energy and motive power?
Let’s consider some “punk” sub-genres based on other sources of energy…
Coal Punk:
In an alternate reality where no one has thought of inventing things like power lines and batteries, all your everyday gizmos — like flashlights, blenders, and even your cell phone (as well as the nearby cell tower) — are powered by their own coal-fired power plants.
A haze of sooty smoke is always present, and applies a dusting of black on everything and everyone. Anyone “too clean” is immediately suspect. Persistent coughing is the norm, and no one thinks the overall shortened lifespan (compared to ours) is anything unusual.
Then comes along someone who espouses the theory that breathing all that smoke might not be good for one’s health. Our protagonist is denounced as a crank, a loony, and possibly a heretic. Thus, our story begins.
Water Wheel Punk:
People build automobiles powered by water wheels poking out one side.
Of course, these cars will only work on a road closely paralleling the course of a river. The cars won’t travel that quickly in the flats.
And driving them uphill might pose a problem.
Also, in the towns, real estate along the rivers will be priced at a premium, and the homes of the wealthy will feature all sorts of neat water wheel-powered appliances. But the real rebels in this society will dig their own trenches to divert a bit of the river to their hideout in order to power the printing presses for their radical newsletters and pamphlets.
Nuclear Punk:
Etsy jewelers will produce neat baubles that feature pretty flashing lights, or LEDs that spell out messages for anyone admiring your well-crafted pendant. Powering this unique piece of jewelry will be a self-contained, and well-shielded nuclear power plant.
A stout necklace chain will be included with your purchase, as well as a pamphlet detailing a recommended weight-training plan. (Plus some documented warning about possible “leakage.” But I’m sure you won’t have to worry about that.)
Pedal Power Punk:
You’ve finished reading the latest Pedal Power Punk novel, and you’re inspired to undertake a project to show off at the next convention.
You buy a cheap stationary exercise bike off Craigslist, hack a generator onto it, and install the entire kit-n-kaboodle on top of …
…an electric scooter.
People laugh at you. They ask, “Why don’t you just ride a bicycle around, for cryin out loud?”
You just shake your head, turn your back on those cretins, and walk away. There’s no sense in explaining it to them. They’ll just never understand.
They’ll.
Never.
Under.
Stand.
Horse Power Punk:
Aliens have been watching us. (Hear me out.) They’ve moved through our world unnoticed, quietly taking inventory of every last piece of equipment with a horsepower rating. They add up the world’s total horsepower, and arrive at a huge sum.
One day, the aliens launch their plan. Each horsepower-endowed piece of equipment in the world instantly vanishes, and is replaced by a number of horses equivalent to its horsepower rating. The horses — seemingly uncountable (except by the aliens, of course) — run roughshod over everything as they panic their way through dealing with their sudden existence. Civilization collapses.
The relative handful of survivors in this new world will have to figure out how to live among inconceivable numbers of horses moving across the continents in massive herds and competing for grazing land. Eventually, these survivors will figure out how to harness (HA!) this overabundance of horse power in unique ways to get done what needs to be done. A sort of odd “horse-powered” industry is born, and people begin thinking of rebuilding the world. If only things would return to normal.
But then …
A discovery: some of our characters had originally forecasted that a large number of these horses would die off by now (which would be sort of required thing before rebuilding could begin), but it slowly becomes apparent that some nefarious force has been keeping the world’s population of horses at the same massive number as it was on the day the engines went away.
Some people come to the conclusion that we’re being punished by God. Rational-thinking factions oppose that view. War breaks out, and the last of humankind is battling against itself, with both sides using massive and outrageous armored “horse-powered” weapons of war. But was this the plan all along?
Joe Sherry said:
>Please note that this is quite distinct from alpacapunk.
That made me think of Llamapunk, but I misspelled it Lamapunk (one “l”). The fashion and art will feature the trappings of Tibetan Buddhism.
If it becomes too popular, we may wind up with competing Dalai and Panchen Lamas.
Andrew said:
>But if I were a betting man, I’d wager we’ll see aspects of traditional punk made digital before long. RFID body piercings–broadcast your SS#, credit card numbers and vital stats to everyone in range as a outre repudiation of the “digital identity-industrial complex”.
I’m imagining a verbal confrontation in that society…
“HEY! I worked HARD for that money! And you’re not gonna drain my bank account? I left that thing completely unprotected — it’s practically part of The Commons now — and you’re just gonna turn up your nose at it? SCREW YOU!”
Strange combination of capitalism and communism. I like it.:-)
That made me think of Llamapunk, but I misspelled it Lamapunk (one “l”). The fashion and art will feature the trappings of Tibetan Buddhism.
If it becomes too popular, we may wind up with competing Dalai and Panchen Lamas
Isn’t that already the case with China having designated its own Panchen Lama, and being quite annoyed at the current Dalai Lama’s hint that the next DL might be born outside the PRC?
But back to out own (l)lamas, I definitely approve of the Tibetan Buddhism remix. I don’t think the urban-fantasy/steampunk mix has been exploited properly (please prove me wrong, and I admit I haven’t laid hands on China Mieville’s novels yet), especially in terms of the dubious children a marriage between technology and mythology could bring.
Of course, demon hunters using techology to zap unwelcome guests from the spirit world are already a cliche, and the concept of qi/ki/chi is one many writers run away from for many a good reason, but I haven’t seen works that have technology propelled by a substance/energy not merely supernatural but also pertaining to a mythological/cosmological system being grouped under one punk-subgenre and having their premises taken to the logican conclusion – think of the Atlantis stories of the consequences of abusing such powers! Or think of a mix of bio- and myth-punk where lesser deities and deities can power machines through their energy, and the bounty of Buddhist, Daoist, Shinto and Christian exorcism-lore that could be used to stunning effect in all this! Or think of all the math-related esotherical systems like Kaballah and the I King, and the ways one could integrate them with programming!
Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials shouldn’t be called ‘Steampunk’.
Blaylock, Gaiman and Miyazaki also seem to come close, though I have to admit I’m not that well acquainted with either of them apart from short stories, or in the case of the latter Laputa Castle in the sky.
Maybe…Pleroma-punk? Dao(De)-punk?
TrunkPunk – Add clockworks and a touch of brass (or the ilk) to any unsold “trunk” story you might have. Send it off to the latest *punk revival anthology. Voila.
(cross posted to Caren’s thread)
I have to admit, I like Todd’s, and it rhymes!
What about FormicaPunk?
ChariotPunk?
SockPunk?
Ha, Todd’s made me laugh out loud.
Alex Natch said:
>Isn’t that already the case with China having designated its own Panchen Lama, and being quite annoyed at the current Dalai Lama’s hint that the next DL might be born outside the PRC?
Ah, yes — there is that (I forgot about that revoltin’ development.) Maybe Lamapunk is already evolving in our real world.
>Of course, demon hunters using techology to zap unwelcome guests from the spirit world are already a cliche, and the concept of qi/ki/chi is one many writers run away from for many a good reason, but I haven’t seen works that have technology propelled by a substance/energy not merely supernatural but also pertaining to a mythological/cosmological system being grouped under one punk-subgenre…
You have me thinking of Wilhelm Reich’s orgone machines. But that, in turn, made me think of the potentially unfortunate term Reich-punk, which could also be claimed Third Reich punks (who may already exist). Maybe the two factions can fight for the rights to the name — orgone generators vs Nazi flying saucers (Wilhelm Reich did leave Germany right after Hitler came to power — hmmmmmm).
TrunkPunk – Add clockworks and a touch of brass (or the ilk) to any unsold “trunk” story you might have. Send it off to the latest *punk revival anthology. Voila.
Maybe the real opportunity here is to coin a new suffix:
-SteamTrunk
-CyberTrunk
-PlagueTrunk
etc.
Isn’t the very nature of punk to resist being defined at all, such that at whim a punk may choose to be whatever he or she wishes to be in order to remain aloof from the establishment? Certainly, this whatever rebellion can often be characterized by resistance to authority, unapologetic attitudes, mischief, frequent ideology shifts and a need to stylize one’s fashion in radically creative ways – which, by its outstanding nature promotes lumpingpunks* into the same general category (which is opposite to their goal, hence, the necessity of sub-punk-genres)- but personally, I think truepunk is simply in the “being.”
So, I propose “Whateverpunk.” Stories about characters who combine whatever aesthetics or ideologies that please them in an attempt to dissassociate themselves from everyone else. Common and identifying symbolism is the frequent use of the phrase “Whatever!” (either by the characters or the reader) and – or sometimes combined with – repeated character action involving the rebellious, outflung palm.
An example might be: steam-powered clockwork monkeys who wear black lipstick and wield lollipops. Their mission: to help reduce our carbon footprint by turning monster trucks (or any gas-guzzling vehicle) into pine trees. The down side is that they may decide to turn your GGV into a pine tree while you may be sitting in it, and no one has discovered yet what happens to you, or whether that’s an appropriate or legal option.
* Lumpingpunks: similar to the old shell game, but without the swindling.
I saw a news report on this last night. It might be a real-world entrant on the craft side of the “punk” stuff…
‘Yarnbombing’ Decks Out Denver In Crochet — Ladies Fancywork Society Puts Legwarmers On Landmark
DENVER — At first glance, the four women with their heads bent over crochet hooks may appear to be an old-fashioned sewing circle.
But in reality, they are an anonymous, underground group of Denver street artists whose covert crochet work is already all over the city.
From tree cozies to bike rack wraps, it’s called “yarnbombing,” and for almost three years, the Ladies Fancywork Society has been showing Denver a softer side to street art.
They meet every week with food, drink and street names — after their grandmothers.
…
A little Googling reveals that some people have already made connections between yarn bombing and steampunk, but I hadn’t heard about it before, and thought I’d pass it along.
I can imagine Victorian ladies conducting acts of rebellion with their knitting or needlework. (And perhaps when combined with sorcery…)
The next literary movement will be PunkCyber. It will have exactly as much gratuitous spiked hair as CyberPunk, and will be equally masturbatory, though in a more literal sense.