And the Theme for SLB 19 is . . . Steampunk????

[Lindal Kidd]

I think that there's a basic problem with choosing ANY theme for the SLB celebration. It will either be too general to have meaning, or it will be specific enough that some people will feel excluded. "Crystals", for me, fell into the first category, while "Steampunk" obviously falls into the second, for Scylla.

The thing is, SL is simply SO broad and SO diverse that it's literally impossible to please everyone. So we may as well just resign ourselves to the fact that not every SLB theme is going to resonate with us.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

4 hours ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

I think I find Steampunk more inclusive than Scylla's "Crystals" (if I understand her use of the term correctly). Though crystals are amenable to depiction in SL, the supernatural power of crystals only exists for those who believe in the supernatural power of crystals. Steam power exists for everyone.

It frankly never occurred to me to think of "crystals" in terms of supernatural power. I was thinking in geological terms, if that makes any sense, and when I created a "crystal" for the exhibit (which was about online feminist activism), it was the metaphorical idea of lucidity, of sharpness and organic form, that I played with.

As for steam power -- one of the things that I do like about such Steampunk as I've read or watched is its often deeply ambivalent attitude towards science and technology. The genre glories in "contraptions" and technological advances -- but so often also features a dystopian vision of an imagined past in which humans have lost, or are losing, control of their own machines and inventions.

Historically, the strongest resonances for me in the period of Industrial Revolution as the social evils that technological innovation, as applied by unregulated Capitalism, brought in. The nightmarish cityscapes of the great industrial urban centres like Manchester -- the landscapes of William Blake's "Satanic mills" documented later in Dicken's novels (esp. Hard Times), Elizabeth Gaskell's Mary Barton and North and South, and, in non-fiction, Mayhew's London Labour and the London Poor -- are often magnified in Steampunk beyond even the actual horrors that "steam power" ushered in. In fact, one of the "inventions" which we owe to steam is arguably Marxism, which ultimately became a (deeply flawed) attempt to create a "scientific" analysis of society and history. Technology didn't create the nightmare of course (and eventually helped provide solutions for some of it), but our inability to control it certainly did. And it wasn't science that addressed the problems it had produced: it was human endeavour that did that.

Which is, I think maybe, why Steampunk has cultural resonance today. We live in a world in which technology has made us both the masters, and the fools, of nature. It has enabled us to do miraculous things -- and also transformed us potentially (or perhaps truly, given climate change) into "Death, the Destroyer of Worlds."

So yeah . . . I'm no Luddite. I wouldn't be in SL if I were. But "steam power" carries some pretty complicated freight for me. And insofar as Steampunk functions, as does most science fiction, as a commentary upon us, I'd expect to see that ambivalence reflected there too. It may "exist for everyone," but our relationship with it is . . . complex and problematic.

Edited March 19, 2022 by Scylla Rhiadra

[Silent Mistwalker]

Look at all this steampunk stuff that's been around for decades. 😲

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20,000_Leagues_Under_the_Sea_(1954_film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon_(film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_Center_of_the_Earth_(1959_film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine_(1960_film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_the_World_(1961_film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Men_in_the_Moon_(1964_film)

And, of course, the list would be incomplete without:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Nemo_and_the_Underwater_City (1969 British film)

[Orwar]

1 minute ago, Silent Mistwalker said:

Look at all this steampunk stuff that's been around for decades. 😲

   Yep, some people say that Jules Verne invented Steampunk. Of course, at his time it wasn't so much 'retro-futuristic' as just 'science fiction', but. Yeah. 

[Silent Mistwalker]

Just now, Orwar said:

   Yep, some people say that Jules Verne invented Steampunk. Of course, at his time it wasn't so much 'retro-futuristic' as just 'science fiction', but. Yeah. 

I'd have to agree with them. What we know as steampunk evolved into the tech we have today so for most of you, it's ancient history. For me, it was my childhood.

[Tormented Twilight]

A New (old actually) Challenger Appears!

[Harper Held]

On the subject of Steampunk being passe or not, I submit (resubmit since I also put this in the music thread :P) this video by Ghost:

...which was just released January 2022.

Tobias Forge is very calculating in all aspects of the band and their promotion -so I'm guessing that he knows something the rest of us don't

 

Edited March 19, 2022 by Han Held

[Harper Held]

Also, I've started building my exhibit for this year...

[Persephone Emerald]

12 hours ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Yes. Unless you're not into Victoriana, science fiction, the gothic, Eurocentric themes, or role play at all.

In terms of diversity and inclusivity of its roleplayers? -- well, I'm absolutely sure that Steampunk is very open and welcoming to participants from a wide variety of backgrounds and identities. I'm sure there's a "gay Steampunk," a "women's Steampunk," and maybe even a "trans Steampunk." And that's great.

To reiterate, I have nothing against Steampunk at all, per se: in fact, of all the forms of RP that I know, it's probably the one I find most personally appealing. I'd have made precisely the same kind of objection had the chosen theme been anime, or cyber-dystopias, or any fairly clearly defined form of RP.

But the aesthetic, the cultural assumptions that it makes, the foundational "narrative," are all fairly niche. I'm sure it's a BIG niche -- Steampunk seems fairly popular. But it's not something that anything like the majority of SL residents are into. And it's so tightly defined, relatively speaking, that it's kind of hard to imagine someone whose interests and aesthetic are not goth, historical, and European being able to find a "place" here.

There are plenty of options for multicultural steampunk, not just European. Captain Nemo was Indian, though the Disney version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea didn't show this. Steampunk can be Asian, African or anything that combines historical costumes with steampunk tech. (I'm going to shut up now, because I'm far from an expert on this theme.)

Edited March 19, 2022 by Persephone Emerald
to add Link

[Qie Niangao]

14 hours ago, Han Held said:

Yep, and even in the past ...speaking just for myself...part of the appeal of it was thinking of creative ways to push the theme yet still be accepted.

Yes, this creativity inspired by constraint seems to be the point of having a theme at all.

I've never thought the problem with SL Birthday exhibits is all the slavish devotion to theme, even if it's only recently that they're officially optional.

And yet I've also never really found SLB themes inspiring. If it were up to me, I'd just make each year's theme a random draw from Eno's Oblique Strategies, come what may.

[StarlanderGoods]

14 hours ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

 I'm quite willing to believe Orwar and Catrie that it is more multicultural than my admittedly superficial experience of it would suggest.

It isnt really very multicultural in it´s origin, its 100% european victorian.  The first picture posted by Catrie I would put as Afrofuturism, nowhere near Steampunk, the second picture just has jewelry made of gears, but not a single working mechanism, not steam OR punk.  And the third one is a caucasian cosplaying asian.

Im not going to say that a multicultural steampunk is impossible, but the evidence presented for it is not convincing me at all.

And I agree that it´s super niche, steampunk was soaring 10 or 15 years ago, but it´s not trending now, and it hasnt been long enough for a revival, that´s just my 2 cents.

[rasterscan]

Steampunk ? Visually, it's going to be jaw dropping eye candy,  that much is a certainty, as seen in Lunas piccy

[Rowan Amore]

Sometimes I wonder if anyone at LL actually knows what goes on inside SL.

[Sid Nagy]

3 hours ago, Rowan Amore said:

Sometimes I wonder if anyone at LL actually knows what goes on inside SL.

I stopped wondering about 15 years ago.

Given all the decisions they made over the years: They don't get half of the potential and of what goes on or what direction to go.

Edited March 19, 2022 by Sid Nagy

[Coffee Pancake]

8 minutes ago, Sid Nagy said:

They don't get half of the potential and of what goes on.

And why they are always surprised by what the residents get up to.

[Rowan Amore]

7 minutes ago, Coffee Pancake said:

And why they are always surprised by what the residents get up to.

And why they seem surprised, too when residents kick up a fuss about something.

[Lyssa Greymoon]

56 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

Sometimes I wonder if anyone at LL actually knows what goes on inside SL.

I don’t think they can pick that for an SLB theme.

[Rowan Amore]

2 minutes ago, Lyssa Greymoon said:

I don’t think they can pick that for an SLB theme.

Why not?  The used it here...and to a non-SL community.  

 

[SarahKB7 Koskinen]

Second Life won't really be 19 years old either, it is already over 20 years old.

Don't forget that SL existed before 2003, it was then called Linden World. The name was changed to Second Life in 2003 after LW came out of it's private Alpha (2001-2002) and public Beta (2002-2003) testing periods.

Edited March 19, 2022 by SarahKB7 Koskinen

[Ayashe Ninetails]

2 hours ago, StarlanderGoods said:

It isnt really very multicultural in it´s origin, its 100% european victorian.  The first picture posted by Catrie I would put as Afrofuturism, nowhere near Steampunk, the second picture just has jewelry made of gears, but not a single working mechanism, not steam OR punk.  And the third one is a caucasian cosplaying asian.

Im not going to say that a multicultural steampunk is impossible, but the evidence presented for it is not convincing me at all.

And I agree that it´s super niche, steampunk was soaring 10 or 15 years ago, but it´s not trending now, and it hasnt been long enough for a revival, that´s just my 2 cents.

I agree with much of this. I'm not entirely sure about the first photo solely repping Afrofuturism, though. It seems to me to be a mix of a few different styles (perhaps that, a little Steampunk, a little elegant goth, etc.). I think it's the suit that's throwing me off. When I think of just Afrofuturism, my brain goes straight to the space/sci-fi and to a lesser extent, cyberpunk realm. Really "out there" looks. I can thank Missy Elliott for that, though. 😂 And of course, the fabulous Grace Jones. Black Panther had elements, as well. It's one of my fav fashion styles. Shame you can't just rock it down to the corner grocery store. 🤣

And looking through photos makes me desperately want a fashion event like this in SL, too (not for SLB, but just in general). Somebody pleaseeee organize something! This is my JAM.

 

[Lyssa Greymoon]

1 hour ago, Rowan Amore said:

Why not?  The used it here...and to a non-SL community.  

 

That’s real? I mean real from LL? I dismissed it as cheeky fan art since the credit was to Angie Pearse not Linden Lab.

[Rowan Amore]

5 minutes ago, Lyssa Greymoon said:

That’s real? I mean real from LL? I dismissed it as cheeky fan art since the credit was to Angie Pearse not Linden Lab.

It's from an SL resident.  The poster does use the SL logo so it must have been approved by someone at LL.

If I was running Second Life's ad campaign ... | Dear Philli… | Flickr

 

Edited March 19, 2022 by Rowan Amore
wrong link

[SarahKB7 Koskinen]

Found the original birthplace of Second Life !

^  333 Linden Street, Hayes Valley, San Francisco, California.

The building, or part of it, now seems to be home to a shop called Optical Underground, which sells glasses/spectacles. 😜

Have a look for yourself in Streetview

Edited March 19, 2022 by SarahKB7 Koskinen

[Lyssa Greymoon]

46 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

It's from an SL resident.  The poster does use the SL logo so it must have been approved by someone at LL.

If I was running Second Life's ad campaign ... | Dear Philli… | Flickr

 

It says this is fan art and the Austin Chronicle cropped it out. It’s also using the old logo. 

[Scylla Rhiadra]

1 hour ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

I agree with much of this. I'm not entirely sure about the first photo solely repping Afrofuturism, though. It seems to me to be a mix of a few different styles (perhaps that, a little Steampunk, a little elegant goth, etc.). I think it's the suit that's throwing me off. When I think of just Afrofuturism, my brain goes straight to the space/sci-fi and to a lesser extent, cyberpunk realm. Really "out there" looks. I can thank Missy Elliott for that, though. 😂 And of course, the fabulous Grace Jones. Black Panther had elements, as well. It's one of my fav fashion styles. Shame you can't just rock it down to the corner grocery store. 🤣

And looking through photos makes me desperately want a fashion event like this in SL, too (not for SLB, but just in general). Somebody pleaseeee organize something! This is my JAM.

 

OMG. So good!

That last piece especially!