Cyberpunk - What is it All About?

By Domen Lombergar

Cyberpunk is actually a subtype of science fiction and punk or rock music. Cyberpunk is a twofold and the words cybernetics and punk converged to form cyberpunk. Cyberpunk is a mix of the latest technology and conveys a message to the society and also about its treatment of its members. The atmosphere in the cyberpunk may be present near the world that is more dependent on technology and futuristic but not as futuristic as the Jetsons. Artificial Intelligence, mega corporations and hackers are the themes that are explored in cyberpunk.

Such films as the Matrix trilogy, Blade Runner and the cult film Hackers has boosted cyberpunk into the spotlight. Since its rise to popularity it has sparked its own sub genres such as steampunk, biopunk, ribopunk, and postcyberpunk which can mainly be found in cyberpunk literature. Cyberpunk can also be seen as a type of modern surrealism since it is at times unclear of what is fantasy and what is reality.

Cyberpunk has developed greatly in the world of manga and anime. It is accepted in Japan but not in United States. The part of the cyberpunk that is mostly accepted is the one that comes from Japan due to its International feel and Futuristic setting and is being written and spoken in Japanese. Some cyberpunk based classic anime and manga are Ghost in the Shell, Texhnolyze ,Akira, Serial Experiments Lain, Bubblegum Crisis, Apple seed and Metropolis.

Cyberpunk which can be seen in American culture such as on television or in the movies include the following: Blade Runner, Max Headroom, War of the Worlds, Screamers, The Minority Report, Paycheck, A Scanner Darkly, Johnny Mnemonic, New Rose Hotel, Robocop, Until the End of the World, Gattaca, the 13th Floor, Harsh Realm, The Matrix trilogy and series, and Strange Days.

Basically from literature, cyberpunk was created and the editor Gardner Dozis brought the cyberpunk to the cult status. After the creation of cyberpunk, the coining of the cyberpunk was done by the author Bruce Bethke in the year 1980. Few of the popular cyberpunk authors are William Gibson, John Shirley, Bruce Sterling, Rudy Rucker, Richard Kadrey, Pat Cadigan, Lewis Shiner and Michael Swanwick. The novels based on cyberpunk are Mona Lisa Overdrive, Count Zero, Hardwired, Voice of the Whirlwind, When Gravity Fails, The Diamond Age and Accelerando. Cyberpunk has an interesting part in literature where the novels are being acknowledged by the writers that has lot of cyberpunk influence in it. Cyberpunk was envisioned before its creation in the 80s that was not very sure. The books that have cyberpunk influence are The Big Sleep (1939), Wolfbane (1959), Creatures of Light and Darkness (1968), Gravity's Rainbow (1973), The Demolished Man, The Stars My Destination and True Names.

Cyberpunk is also apparent in music, computer games, board games and videogames. It is a futuristic style but has a touch of reality. Most people cannot envision the world to be as futuristic as the Jetsons but there is certainly the possibility of these events occurring in the near future that cyberpunk lays out.

About the Author:

Domen Lombergar is a surreal artist obsessed with giving away winamp skins and boot skins for windows xp.