SF Sub-Genre Definitions

Dieselpunk

These days Dieselpunk is growing in popularity and familiarity. It's just that people don't know it. Captain America, Indiana Jones, Inglorious Bastards and even Cowboys Vs. Aliens all share a bit of Dieselpunk roots.

So without further ado, here is the cut and pasted definition according to the God of online references, Wikipedia: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieselpunk) (This definition was worked out over several months by some leaders of the DP movement, so it's authoritatively legit!)

The name "dieselpunk" is a derivative of the 1980s science fiction genre cyberpunk, and is used to represent the time period - or "era" - when diesel-based locomotion was the main technological focus of Western culture. The "-punk" suffix attached to the name is representative of the counterculture nature of the genre with regards to its opposition of contemporary aesthetics. The term also refers to the tongue-in-cheek name given to a similar cyberpunk derivative, "steampunk," which focuses on science fiction set within the Victorian era.

A feature that was first identified by the online magazine The Flying Fortress is that dieselpunk can be divided into two primary themes or styles: Ottensian and Piecraftian. The dividing line between the two themes is commonly acknowledged as the start of World War II.

One theme, named "Piecraftian" after its proponent author "Piecraft", focuses on the aesthetics of the world wars and speculates on how human culture could theoretically cease to evolve due to constant, widespread warfare. According to Ottens and Piecraft this theme continues the aesthetics of the diesel era into later periods of history by describing a world where survival (largely based on a reliance on diesel power) is placed above aesthetical evolution (as seen in such dystopian movies as Mad Max).

A second theme, named "Ottensian" after its proponent author Nick Ottens, focuses on a setting where the decadent aesthetics and utopian philosophies of the American "Roaring Twenties" continued to evolve unhindered by war or economic collapse. Ottensian dieselpunk fiction is primarily concerned with a positive vision of technology, where the utopian ideals predicted by the World’s Fairs of the times came to light. As a result Ottensian dieselpunk incorporates "an enthusiasm for the predictions about the future," and often shares elements with retro-futurism.

Keep it punk!