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CULTURE
Appleton, Wisconsin March 2017 Volume XXII
Issue V Page 10
What’s on your playlist?
Sophomore
Blake Barber
• “Moving Out”—Billy
Joel
• “Needed Me”—Rihanna
• “Love Drought”—Be-
yoncé
• “Cold”—Maroon 5
• “Congratulations”—Post
Malone
Junior
Nicole Bezella
• “La Vie En Rose”—Dan-
iela Andrade
• “Your Song”—Elton John
• “Here Comes the Sun”—
The Beatles
• “Someday”—Cast of The
Hunchback Of Notre Dame
• “Feeling Good”—Mi-
chael Bublé
Senior
Calum Fraser
• “The Night Josh Tillman
Came to Our Apt”—Father
John Misty
• “Paranoia in B Major”—
The Avett Brothers
• “i”—Kendrick Lamar
• “Truman”—Lil Dicky
• “Don’t Stop me Now”—
Queen
Staff
Mr. Thaldorf
• “Sinatra at the Sands”—
Frank Sinatra
• “Aja”—Steely Dan
• “1”—The Beatles
• “Live at the Hollywood
Bowl”—Chuck Mangione
• “Songs in the Key of
Life” —Stevie Wonder
Freshman
Ainsley Achs
• “Happier”—Ed Sheeran
• “8TEEN”—Khalid
• “Spent All My Money”—
MOD SUN
• “Dancing On My
Own”—Calum Scott
• “Coming Out Strong”—
Future
By Henry Ptacek
Steampunk is defined as
being a subgenre of sci-
ence or science fantasy that
heavily revolves around
technology and aesthetic
designs.
The genre was inspired
by 19th century industrial
steam-powered machinery,
with works often set in an
alternative of the 19th cen-
tury Victorian era, Ameri-
can ‘wild West’ or even
a post-apocalyptic future
during which steam-pow-
ered machinery has become
the norm. An example of
steampunk in pop culture
would be Mad Max: Fury
Road and the TV show Su-
pernatural.
While to some it may
merely be a genre, to oth-
ers, steampunk is a way of
life. People young and old
pay tribute to the culture by
wearing protruding metal-
lic goggles, leather corsets
and accessories featuring
gears.
Fans often gather at con-
ventions, or cons, to duel,
discuss any advancements
in the community (new
books featuring the genre,
etc) and other steampunk-
related activities. They
often make their own cos-
tumes with unique touches
and designs.
“People come in look-
ing for gears and stuff for
their cosplays,” says Skye
Iwanski, who works at Mi-
chael’s, a store that sells
craft-making supplies.
“I love the mix between
futuristic and old,” Jaicie
Wilson, a senior at Apple-
ton North, stated when
asked what she enjoyed
about the culture. “It’s re-
ally unique.”
Indeed, steampunk is a
creative blend of mid-nine-
teenth, twentieth and twen-
ty-first century machinery.
While the exact origin
of the culture is unknown,
it rose to fame somewhere
in the early 1960’s. Since
then, steampunk has grown
largely in popularity. Many
television shows such as
Dr. Who and movies such
as Alice in Wonderland
have steampunk themes.
Shockingly, however, there
has been a slight decrease
of the appearance of steam-
punk in theatre.
“Theatre isn’t a big fan of
steampunk,” says Sophie
Plzak, a costume designer
for the Appleton North the-
atre’s costume department.
Perhaps it is the complexity
of the genre’s designs, or
the complexity of the genre
itself.
The thing that you need
to know the most about
steampunk, according to
Jaicie Wilson, is that “there
are actually many different
types of ‘punks,’ I guess
you could say: Dieselpunk
and Cyberpunk to name
two. Steampunk is a re-
ally different style and is
a commitment if you want
to make something. It’s so
much fun!”
Steampunk mixes Victorian fashion, science fiction and cosplay culture
Steampunk mixes
Victorian fashion,
science fiction and
cosplay culture
By Brooke Densmore
Appleton North’s 2015 show “Mary Poppins” used a steampunk theme for much of the costume design.
Photo courtesy of Catherine
Mckenzie.