A Meme is Born

[elfs]

Jay Lake has given us a new genre. He described it as "EspressoMachinepunk," which is apparently one step beyond Steampunk.

Now, what does EspressoMachinePunk entail?

Comments

[areitu.livejournal.com]

Minimalistic modernism, a dash of Truth to Materials, with a twist of Googie! Or pseudo-italian sophisitcation.

[dossy.livejournal.com]

If Steampunk is Victorian-era (1800-1900s) fandom, then EspressoMachinepunk should be Italian Renaissance-era (1300-1600s) fandom.

Just saying ...

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Only one problem with this. Coffee wasn't popularized in the West until 1683 in Vienna. Now, you *could* start your Period at this point, and come forward a bit... say, 1683-... 1837, sort of a superset of the Gregorian/Regency era... You'd cover the leading edge of the Industrial Revolution, the American and French Revolutions, the Napoleonic Wars... Interesting Times, all. :)

You could *have* a high-tech Renaissance fandom, but it could not be legitimately called EspressoMachinePunk. No espresso! (How sad!)

[dossy.livejournal.com]

Indeed, you're so right. Proper EspressoMachinepunk would start in the early 1900s, turn of the century, through the 1940s. Interesting times but in a very different way.

But, at least we'd have espresso! Yay.

[sirfox.livejournal.com]

Look would be like the new TRON movie, but with as much Chrome as it has Glow. The rest is Matte or glossy black to taste.

Swap out the gears and steam for nanotech, gives an excuse to then waltz just about anywhere, a'la Stephenson's Diamond Age.

I'm not sure what feel it would have.

[jaylake.livejournal.com]

The visual aesthetic of David Lynch's Dune, of course. :)

[(Anonymous)]

Isn't it just steampunk, except with ground, tamped, coffee?

[l33tminion]

Science fiction where the popular technological mechanisms are coffee-powered* and the aesthetic is heavily influenced by early-20th-century Milan.

* More obviously so than in reality, at any rate.