Thesis
Gothic horror, monstrous science, and steampunk
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2009
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/103726
Abstract
Steampunk, as an emerging subgenre of Science Fiction, finds itself appearing in street fashion, subculture, movies, and books. With its motifs inspired from Gothic literature and the Victorian revival of Gothic, it is surprising to find that Steampunk maintains few of the frightening morals expected from the Supernatural and Horror foundation of Gothic. Instead, this new subgenre finds itself opposing and, ultimately, reversing the fundamental Gothic belief that uncontrolled science leads to dire consequences. While this ideological shift may seem unorthodox and even offensive to the literary tradition, contemporary readers and viewers of Steampunk are enthralled with this change in attitude toward science. Expressing these new ways to indulge in their nostalgia of the Victorian era while simultaneously maintaining visual and thematic inspirations from the Gothic, Steampunk departs from those traditions with a reversal of the negatively romantic view of science, technology, and the monsters. Using a case study of the Steampunk film Van Helsing, the Gothic roots are examined using the inspirational texts Frankenstein and Dracula alongside an analysis of the changing ethos of wonderment toward and faith in "safe" science.
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Details
- Title
- Gothic horror, monstrous science, and steampunk
- Creators
- Antonie Marie Bodley
- Contributors
- Anne Stiles (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- English, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525137801842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis