Steamboy Sociology

Steam power, from boiling water in a simple kettle to massive boilers towering a hundred feet into the air are most certainly impressive. One Japanese animated feature film captures the grandeur of steam power in Katsuhiro Otomo’s “Steamboy” released in 2004. “Steamboy” is about a young 13-year-old inventor James Ray Steam who lives in Manchester, England in 1866 who is caught in the middle of a deadly conflict over a revolutionary steam powered device created by his father and grandfather. “Steamboy” is an ideal fictional example of cultural themes of scientific responsibility, innocence, naivety and the role of science as a replacement for religion. All shown through the plights of James Ray Steam to protect his fathers and grandfathers invention. The first emerging example of scientific responsibility in “Steamboy” appears rather early in the beginning of the film. James Ray Steam’s father, Dr. Eddie Steam and grandfather, Dr. Lloyd Steam discover a certain mineral water within the caves of Iceland that can be used to create steam “at extreme densities and extreme pressures” (Eddie Steam). With this mineral water Eddie and Lloyd Steam create the “Steamball” a metal apparatus which has nearly and infinite amount of steam pressure inside it. Yet soon after the Steamball’s creation, the intent to use the device for good or harm becomes prevalent quickly. Soon Dr. Lloyd Steam and his son are divided for the purpose of the Steamball with Dr. Lloyd Steam wanting to create a theme park while his son Dr. Eddie Steam wants to use it for a more nefarious purpose. …show more content…
When James is kidnapped by the O’Hara Foundation and is shown the steam castle his father proclaims “Fires, floods and earthquakes will be conquered and controlled, we are the ones that will bring the power of science to all humanity as a shimmering gift of the gods!” to further this he proclaims to his