Frocktalk

Welcome to FrockTalk, the web’s only costume-based movie review site. The goal of Frocktalk is to shed light on the magnificent artistry of costume design in motion pictures. Reviews on this site are written by working costume designers in the entertainment industry – people who know, better than anyone, what it takes to make it all happen.

The focus of FrockTalk is not to comment on the big flashy costume dramas, but to call attention to the seemingly ordinary costume design work in film that silently and persuasively moves the audience toward understanding the characters. Costume design for motion pictures is an art form that deserves more recognition than it usually gets. Fancy, pretty costumes do not always equal effective, appropriate costumes. The art of the costume is in letting the audience know who the character is, before the actor even has a chance to open his mouth. Read on, and enjoy.

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Comic Con: Day Three – Steampunks!

Published

by

KMB

on July 28, 2009

in NOTES

. 1 Comment

Detail of a backpack worn by Professor Jager

What is steampunk?  Is it a genre?  A special-interest society?  A sub-culture?  An aesthetic movement?  I think the answer is: yes!  Steampunk has its roots in the Victorian-era science fiction writing of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne.  Consider The War of the Worlds (1898), The Invisible Man (1897), and The Time Machine (1895) by Wells, and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1872), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1871), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873) by Verne.  These books were revolutionary when they came out – it was the birth of science fiction.  Steampunk is born from this period – a time when the world was on the verge of the technological explosion that led to widespread use of electricity and automobiles.  Steampunk captures an era where steam (as a power source) held infinite potential, horse-drawn carriages roamed the land, and brass, leather and wood were king.
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