In the wondrous world of fiction, there are few genres that surpass the coolness and vastness of steampunk. Commonly used in sci fi stories set in the past, steampunk has turned from something found in a few books, to a culture of art and innovation. In fact, you can find it in lots of modern day media, even if you don’t realize it. It is seen in books, tv shows, video games, and even movies, although sometimes it’s not very noticeable. Yet, although the genre is quite popular, it hasn’t been used as a setting in many big budget films, or has it? When recently rewatching the complete Star Wars saga, I started thinking about something interesting; is Star Wars steampunk, and if so, how is it?
What is Steampunk?
Now before we get into all of the technical stuff about how Star Wars is steampunk, we first have to do the basics, and that’s defining just what steampunk is. Usually, it’s described as a genre or type of aesthetic that takes old fashion things from the Victorian era and gives them a modern twist, or vice versa. It can be seen in media pieces such as the Box Trolls (a recent animated steampunk film) , as an overlying setting, or be applied to something smaller such as a real life object. Now I know Star Wars isn’t exactly set in the Victorian era, but for this question I’m going to be focusing more on the steampunk concept of retro futurism in the Star Wars universe.
Our Steampunk Unit
The reason that we are talking about steampunk at all is because it is a major part of our current humanities and science project known as metaphor machines. This is a project where you and a group get to research a monumental revolution in history across the globe and then make a Rube Goldberg machine where each part is a metaphor for a part of it. Now this project is cool on its own, but it’s become even cooler for it also incorporates steampunk and circuits into it. Our group is doing the Xinhai Revolution, which was the cause of the formation of the Republic of China, and are currently in the midst of creating our machine. If you want to know more about this project, I will be writing a learning portfolio post on it shortly.
A Sketch of part of our Metaphor Machine
Where is it found in Star Wars?
1. Technology and Society vs Time Period
One of the main aspects of steampunk is having futuristic technology in a time that is not that technologically advanced. This is definitely evident in the Star Wars universe because some of the tech that they use doesn’t seem to match the time period. Now you might be wondering, when exactly is Star Wars set? Well to figure that out, we can look at a few factors. One of these topics include the economy and social systems. Despite using fancy future currency, the economy in Star Wars is very medieval, as not one currency is accepted afar and most value comes from trading instead of actual money. The social systems also match this time period for the most common populations to find across the galaxy are small villages ruled by those with the most wealth and populated by peasants. The also clear stating of the events in Star Wars happening along time ago in a galaxy far far away every movie is an indicator of its older time period.
An example of new tech in an otherwise older environment
Now if we are to assume that Star Wars is in an older, medieval type time period, then its technology far surpasses it’s time. One common example of this is the transportation. Yes, you still see animals and carts being used, but there are also speeders, walkers, starships, and even massive battle stations such as the Death Star. Another piece of futuristic technology is the weaponry. This mainly includes the storm trooper laser pistols, turrets and guns mounted on ships, and of course, lightsabers.
Darth Vader’s Lightsaber
2. Aesthetic
Another thing that is common to see in Star Wars is a steampunk type aesthetic. If your wondering what this is, it’s technology with it’s inner parts exposed that is typically made of bronze, gold, and silver plated metal, leather, gears, and wires. This is apparent once again in the clothing, for lots of it uses leather, goggles, hats, and other steampunk aspects. It’s also commonly seen in droids, such as C-3PO, who has a gold plating and inner parts exposed. Another place it is seen is in the architecture, such as in places like Naboo which have a rather Victorian style to there buildings with the massive castle type palaces and the tightly woven stone buildings.
An example of architecture on the planet Naboo
3. Plot Elements
This is definitely a less noticeable steampunk element, but plays a big role throughout the Star Wars saga nonetheless. From what I’ve observed from most steampunk fiction works, there are some plot elements that are commonly found in a lot of them. One of these is the young protagonist career trope, where a kid is in a society where one specific career or position is highly looked up upon and then they eventually work their way to it. In Star Wars, this is seen with the Jedi and young Aniken/Luke and is steampunk works such as the book Leviathan, it is seen through the storyline of Deryn and through Alek’s desire to pilot a walker. Another trope is there being a huge new invention or force that will cause conflict to the society the story is set in, which is seen through the Death Star in Star Wars, and another steampunk example is from the video game Bio Shock Infinite, where the character Elizabeth has the power to manipulate tears in the space time continuum and causes havoc to the land.
An image from BioShock Infinite
Although it isn’t classified as a steampunk series, Star Wars definitely has some elements of it. Weather these are plot crucial details to small aesthetic choices, it is definitely evident throughout the soon to be 10 movies. What are your thoughts on this? What are some other ways Star Wars is steampunk? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.