What is Cyberpunk?

Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction with dystopian settings and emphasis on “high tech and lowlife”. Most cyberpunk media features advanced technology, such as cybernetics, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence, juxtaposed by social and political discourse.

Origin

Bruce Bethke coined the term cyberpunk in 1982 in a short story merely titled Cyberpunk. A story about a teenage hacker. But cyberpunk tropes could be found in many earlier science fiction novels, such as Nova in 1968 by Samuel R. Delany, where people interact with computers via cybernetic implants. Or Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep in 1968, which would go on to be adapted into one of cinema’s most iconic cyberpunk films, Blade Runner.

Cyberpunk as a genre wouldn’t be solidified into culture until the mid-80s with the arrival of William Gibson’s novel Neuromancer, however. Which many attribute to be the quintessential cyberpunk work. Blending detective noir and science fiction Neuromancer set the stage for what would become staples of cyberpunk as a genre. The cyberpunk movement took off with contributions by authors such as Bruce Sterling, John Shirley, Rudy Rucker, and Pat Cadigan alongside William Gibson.

The western world wasn’t the only place experiencing the emergence of cyberpunk culture during the 1980s. Japan also had its own cyberpunk revolution in 1982 with Katsuhiro Otomo’s manga, Akira. Later being adapted into film in 1988, Akira’s influence on cyberpunk spawned a wave of works including Ghost in the Shell, Battle Angel Alita, Bumblegum Crisis, and Cowboy Bebop. Its influence didn’t stop there. Hollywood films such as The Matrix, Chronicle, Looper, and Inception took major inspiration from Akira. Western cyberpunk media often borrowed many Japanese elements. Such as Japan’s urban sprawl and dense population, Chiba City became Neuromancer’s idealized setting.

Setting and Aesthetic

Unlike traditional science fiction, cyberpunk’s focus on style and presentation set it apart. Borrowing Cyberpunk 2020’s mantra – “style over substance” – cyberpunk as a genre provoked imagery of chrome and neon, noir, urbanization, body modification, crime, unfettered capitalism, megacorporations, and slick hackers. Instead of the grandeur overtones of science fiction before it, cyberpunk focused on realistic implications of technological advancements. Cyberpunk was the antithesis of utopian futures of the past and brought coolness to science fiction by taking a peak at a bleak realistic future.

Although the imagery and style of cyberpunk is powerful, the genre isn’t just neon lights and cool cybernetics. At its core, cyberpunk puts humanity under a microscope and opens up discussion about social, political, and technological issues. Its a cautionary tale of a very real and possible future. Themes of transhumanism, merging of man and machine, distinction of artificial intelligence and human consciousness, unfettered capitalism and the rise of megacorporations, out of control urbanization and overpopulation, the divide between the haves and have-nots, genetic modification, government conspiracies, and the privatization of society ask serious questions about the future of humanity.

The themes and motifs found in cyberpunk are the real world amplified.

William Gibson sums it up nicely – “the future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.”