Anomaly Con and the Steampunk Genre

Anomaly con starts on March 23^rd at the Tivoli Student Union in Denver, CO. It will be a fun-filled event filled with Steampunk genre vendors and participants. This will be their 3^rd event here in Denver at a location that is sure to inspire the participants with its historic surroundings originally built in 1866 as a brewery. It can sometimes be difficult to describe exactly what it is and is not Steampunk.  My interest in it began long after my interest in the history of the American West as a re-enactor and living historian. Although Steampunk follows along the lines of the Victorian time period and the clothing and customs of the time, it holds on to a promise of what could have been if things in our collective past happened a little differently. It is a world of steam powered computers, high tech firearms and weapons, balloon air ships that are commanded by pirates and captains of the sky that do battle to the death, and just about anything else one can imagine. Stories such as Dracula and Frankenstein that were written in the Victorian Era have added greatly and had much influence on the dress and ideas that people involved in Steampunk have today. The latest Three Musketeers movie falls into the Steampunk genre, even though it is an earlier time period then the Victorian Era. The movie Wild Wild West with Will Smith and the Sherlock Homes movies with Robert Downey Jr. fall much more in line with the Steampunk ideas and were influenced greatly by events such as Anomaly Con. Ladies have found much more freedom in the Steampunk genre than in the western re-enacting community as they can dress in period costumes as a Steampunk participant, yet have much more freedom with the character she creates and items she adds to her wardrobe. Goggles, gears and brass also make up much of what is used to help add flare and design to costumes and weapons in Steampunk. The show Brisco County Jr. tended to walk a thin line when it came to Steampunk staying with the more authentic weapons of the American West such as the revolver and rifles, but would often wonder into the realm of Steampunk with new inventions, gadgets and dress that one would not have seen in the American West. Although we tend to still think of the American West as a time when people lived lives of hard work and drudger, we tend to often forget that it was a time of invention and discovery as the telephone and electricity were often available in many large cities as well as plumbing and all sorts of industrial machinery. Sometimes, I think that as a western re-enactor we often miss out talking about the many great inventions that were created during the Victorian Age.  Some think of the Steampunk genre as something not worthy to stand next to the history of the American West and tend to stare down their nose when a group show up to an event wearing the signature goggles and gears of a Steampunker. I however think that they fall right in line with today’s re-enactors of American West history. The imagination and skills of Steampunk participants is exactly what we need to help keep interest in what we do and to help keep history alive. After all, it may be closer to the reality of the American West then most of us would like to believe, but that is just the opinion of a frontier gambler.    

If you would like more info on the upcoming Anomaly Con and everything that will be happening at this event, be sure to visit the website at http://anomalycon.com/