Dieselpunk

I was in the beer aisle of the grocery store last night and came across a beer named Dieselpunk.    The label was as retro-futuristic as you’d expect from a name like that.  Curious, I did a quick web search to see if this was a unique play on the concept of Steampunk, or something of its own.  Apparently, this is an actual, named sub-genre of retro-futuristic fiction. 

There are a whole slew of era-specific, something-punk, retro-futuristic, sci-fi genres, including Steampunk, TeslaPunk, Dieselpunk, Decopunk, and Atompunk (Not to be confused with Van Halen’s “Atomic Punk”).  Prepare your reading list accordingly.

All of these genres are splinters of Cyberpunk, which itself focused on technology and its social effects.  Unlike Cyberpunk and other genres of sci-fi, these subgenres do not seem to concern themselves with the most important aspect of speculative fiction: considering what effect an idea or technology may have on the human condition, culture, society, or the individual.  Instead they focus on reimagining the past through a postmodern lens.  I find it sad that no one seems to be either excited or concerned about what the future may bring, instead choosing to focus on looking back and wondering what could have been, if only.  Despite what tales may be told in these genres, are these ultimately the genres of regret?

Also, unlike Cyberpunk, these subgenres don’t share any particular, central theme, with aesthetics being the unifying thread.  More style over substance, just what we need.  It’s sad that a patina of an idealized and stylized past that never was can account for a fashion searching for a genre.  Is an anachronistic, sharp-tongued, whip-smart Rosie the Riveter, building steam engines in her corset enough to carry a literary movement?

If any of you are aficionados of any of the above genres and can suggest a title to me that would change my mind, I can always juggle one more book.