Cyberpunk Documentary PART 1 | Neuromancer, Blade Runner, RoboCop, Akira, Shadowrun

Summary

This documentary series explores the cyberpunk genre, tracing its origins from science fiction to its influence on modern technology. It delves into the cultural movement's themes of high tech, low life, and the societal implications of rampant technological progress, featuring iconic works like Blade Runner, Neuromancer, and Akira.

Takeaways

• 🌃 Cyberpunk is a cultural movement and genre within science fiction that explores a dystopian future characterized by advanced technology and societal decay, often described by the phrase 'High tech, low life'.
• 🤖 The genre typically features themes of crime, corruption, corporate authoritarianism, and the moral and existential questions raised by human augmentation and artificial intelligence.
• 🏙️ The setting often includes megacities with stark contrasts between the technologically advanced and the impoverished, reflecting a悲观istic outlook on the consequences of unbridled technological progress.
• 📖 Cyberpunk has its roots in the late 1960s and 70s, influenced by the social and political turmoil of the time, as well as earlier science fiction works that began to explore the implications of cybernetic technology on society.
• 🎮 The influence of cyberpunk is seen across various forms of media, including novels, films, television, video games, and even tabletop games, each contributing to the development and popularization of the genre.
• 🎬 Key films like 'Blade Runner' and 'Tron' have significantly impacted the visual and thematic elements of cyberpunk, introducing concepts of cyberspace and the fusion of man and machine.
• 📚 William Gibson's 'Neuromancer' is often cited as a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre, establishing many of its tropes and setting the standard for a cyberpunk narrative.
• 🕹️ Video games such as 'Snatcher' and 'Shadowrun' adapted the cyberpunk aesthetic and themes into interactive experiences, allowing players to engage with the genre in a new way.
• 🔍 The genre raises philosophical questions about identity, humanity, and the potential consequences of technological advancements, blurring the line between man and machine.
• 🌐 The depiction of cyberspace in cyberpunk media has been influential in shaping the public's perception of virtual reality and the potential of digital worlds.
• 🚀 Cyberpunk's themes and style have continued to evolve and remain relevant, reflecting contemporary concerns about technology, society, and the future.

Q & A

What is the fundamental definition of cyberpunk?

Cyberpunk is fundamentally defined by the concept of 'High tech, low life.' It depicts a dystopian future where advanced technology coexists with societal decay, often highlighting the contrast between the technological wonders and the grim realities of life for many people.

What cultural movement is cyberpunk associated with?

Cyberpunk is associated with the punk and early hacker subcultures, reflecting a worldview that contrasts the high-technology world with the deprivation experienced by many of its inhabitants.

How does the cyberpunk genre reflect the growing pessimism of the late 1960s and 1970s?

The cyberpunk genre reflects the growing pessimism of the late 1960s and 1970s by depicting future dystopias dominated by megacorporations with more power than governments, and by exploring themes such as crime, corruption, and the dangers of uncontrolled technological progress.

What is the significance of the term 'cyberpunk' in the context of the genre's development?

The term 'cyberpunk' was coined by Gardner Dozois, a science fiction magazine editor, and it was borrowed from a short story by Bruce Bethke. The term came to represent a brand of non-conformity and anti-establishment thinking, distinguishing the genre from traditional science fiction.

What role did Philip K. Dick's work play in the development of cyberpunk?

Philip K. Dick's work, particularly his novel 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?', played a significant role in the development of cyberpunk. His exploration of androids and the question of what it means to be human laid the groundwork for many themes in the genre.

How did the film 'Blade Runner' influence the cyberpunk genre?

Blade Runner, based on Philip K. Dick's novel, is one of the most iconic cyberpunk films. It influenced the genre with its noir aesthetics, exploration of humanity and androids, and its depiction of a dystopian future. The film's visual style and themes have been widely imitated in subsequent cyberpunk media.

What is the significance of the film 'Westworld' in the context of cyberpunk?

Westworld is significant in the context of cyberpunk as it explores themes of artificial intelligence and the ethical implications of creating lifelike androids. The film's depiction of a theme park where androids are used for entertainment and violence foreshadows many cyberpunk themes.

What themes are explored in William Gibson's 'Neuromancer'?

Neuromancer explores themes such as the merging of human and artificial intelligence, the nature of consciousness, and the dystopian aspects of a future dominated by mega-corporations and technological advancements. It also delves into the concept of 'cyberspace', a virtual reality environment.

How did the tabletop role-playing game 'Cyberpunk 2020' contribute to the cyberpunk genre?

Cyberpunk 2020 contributed to the genre by providing a platform for players to immerse themselves in a cyberpunk world. The game emphasized style over substance and allowed players to explore themes of hacking, corporate warfare, and life in a dystopian future.

What is the significance of 'Shadowrun' in blending cyberpunk and fantasy elements?

Shadowrun is significant as it blends cyberpunk elements with urban fantasy, creating a unique setting where magic and technology coexist. It introduced new types of characters and conflicts, such as elves and dragons in a corporate-dominated future, expanding the scope of the cyberpunk genre.

How did Japanese animation contribute to the cyberpunk genre?

Japanese animation, or anime, contributed to the cyberpunk genre by producing series and films like 'Akira' and 'Bubblegum Crisis', which explored themes of dystopian futures, technological advancements, and societal decay. These works often featured intricate world-building and complex narratives that resonated with cyberpunk themes.

Outlines

00:00

🌃 Introduction to Cyberpunk

The script begins by exploring the concept of cyberpunk, a cultural and artistic movement characterized by a blend of high technology and dystopian societal elements. It discusses the genre's depiction of crime, corruption, and the stark contrast between technological advancements and the quality of life for individuals. The script introduces the cyberpunk aesthetic of neon lights and rainy city nights, as well as the themes of megacities and the dichotomy of high tech versus low life. It also touches on the genre's reflection of societal fears and the influence of historical events like the Vietnam War and the rise of technology post-World War II on the development of cyberpunk narratives.

05:04

🤖 Origins and Influences of Cyberpunk

This paragraph delves into the origins of cyberpunk, highlighting the influence of authors like Philip K. Dick, whose work explored the concept of androids and artificial intelligence. It discusses the cultural and societal anxieties of the 1960s and 70s that fed into the genre's themes, including the power of megacorporations and the potential dehumanizing effects of technology. The script also mentions early cyberpunk literature and the subcultures that influenced the genre, emphasizing the genre's distinction from traditional science fiction and its focus on the darker aspects of technological progress.

10:04

🎥 Cyberpunk in Visual Media

The script moves on to discuss the representation of cyberpunk themes in visual media, starting with the film 'Colossus: The Forbin Project' and its cautionary tale of AI. It then covers the influential film 'Westworld' and its exploration of androids and the moral implications of creating lifelike beings for entertainment. The paragraph also touches on the impact of 'Tron' and its portrayal of cyberspace, as well as the significance of 'Blade Runner' in establishing the cyberpunk aesthetic and exploring the blurred lines between humans and replicants.

15:04

🕵️‍♂️ The Depth of Cyberpunk Narratives

This section of the script examines the depth and complexity of cyberpunk narratives, focusing on 'Blade Runner' and its philosophical questions about humanity and artificial life. It discusses the film's unique take on the Voight-Kampff test, which is used to distinguish humans from replicants, and the emotional journeys of characters like Rachael and Roy Batty. The script also highlights the film's technological innovations, such as the photo enhancement scene, and the contributions of concept artist Syd Mead to the genre's visual language.

20:05

🌐 The Expansion of Cyberpunk

The script describes the expansion of cyberpunk into various forms of media in the 1980s, including the tabletop role-playing game 'Cyberpunk 2020' and the fusion of fantasy and cyberpunk elements in 'Shadowrun'. It discusses the influence of cyberpunk on these games and the cultural impact of the genre, including its exploration of themes like transhumanism, corporate power, and the merging of technology with daily life.

25:18

🎮 Cyberpunk in Interactive Media

This paragraph explores the early attempts to bring cyberpunk themes to interactive media, such as the 'Blade Runner' video game and its limitations due to technical constraints of the time. It also mentions the rise of cyberpunk themes in other video games like 'Snatcher', which was designed by Hideo Kojima and featured a detective hunting cyborgs in a futuristic setting. The script notes the game's connections to 'Blade Runner' and its contribution to the cyberpunk aesthetic in gaming.

30:21

📺 Cyberpunk Aesthetic in TV and Film

The script discusses the influence of cyberpunk on television and film, highlighting shows like 'Max Headroom' and movies such as 'RoboCop' and 'The Running Man'. It describes how these works incorporated cyberpunk themes and aesthetics, such as the struggle for power in a technologically advanced society and the satirical commentary on media and violence. The paragraph also mentions the impact of Japanese anime like 'Akira' and 'Bubblegum Crisis' on the genre's visual and narrative style.

35:28

📚 Cyberpunk in Literature and Academics

This section focuses on the literary side of cyberpunk, mentioning the attempts to adapt 'Neuromancer' into different media forms, including a video game and a graphic novel. The script discusses the game's narrative style and its brief foray into cyberspace, as well as the academic symposium that debated the definition and future of cyberpunk as a genre. It highlights the genre's separation from traditional science fiction and its establishment as a distinct literary movement.

40:28

🚀 The Future of Cyberpunk

The final paragraph of the script looks forward to the future of cyberpunk, anticipating the boom of cyberpunk-themed movies, TV shows, and video games in the 1990s. It acknowledges the genre's evolution from the 1980s and its growing recognition and influence in popular culture. The script concludes by thanking the contributors to the project and expressing excitement for the continuation of the series on cyberpunk.

Keywords

💡Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a genre of science fiction that features advanced technological and scientific achievements, juxtaposed with a degree of breakdown or radical change in the social order. In the video, it is the central theme, exploring a future characterized by 'high tech, low life,' where technological wonders exist alongside societal decay and corruption.

💡Neon Aesthetic

The neon aesthetic refers to the visual style often associated with cyberpunk, dominated by bright neon lights against dark backdrops, symbolizing the contrast between technological advancement and the dark underbelly of society. The script mentions 'neon lights and rainy city nights,' illustrating the quintessential look of a cyberpunk setting.

💡Dystopia

Dystopia is a hypothetical community or society that is undesirable or frightening, often characterized by oppression and suffering. The video describes megacities and metropolises of a dystopian future where 'overabundance of technological wonders and indulgences punctuate the decrepit slums,' highlighting the cyberpunk genre's focus on the darker aspects of technological progress.

💡Cybernetics

Cybernetics involves the integration of organic and mechanical components, often seen in the form of cybernetic enhancements or prosthetics. The script discusses 'cybernetic augmentations,' where characters may swap organic body parts with machine replacements, blurring the line between man and machine.

💡Megacorporation

Megacorporation refers to a corporation of a size that gives it significant power and influence, often depicted as wielding more power than governments in cyberpunk narratives. The video mentions these entities as they 'wield more power than governments, and rule the world from lofty skyscrapers,' emphasizing the theme of corporate authoritarianism.

💡Hackers

Hackers, in the context of cyberpunk, are individuals skilled in accessing and manipulating computer systems, often in illicit ways. The script refers to the influence of 'early hacker subcultures' and the character of 'a gumshoe/bounty hunter' who must navigate a world where hacking is a key skill.

💡Neuromancer

Neuromancer is a seminal cyberpunk novel by William Gibson that has significantly influenced the genre. The script cites it as a work that 'permanently outlined the tenets of cyberpunk' and follows the journey of a former hacker, highlighting the novel's central role in defining cyberpunk themes and narrative style.

💡Blade Runner

Blade Runner is a landmark cyberpunk film that explores the line between humans and artificially created beings known as 'replicants.' The script describes it as 'the most iconic cyberpunk film ever made,' noting its influence on the genre's visual style and thematic concerns, such as the Voight-Kampff test used to differentiate humans from replicants.

💡Transhumanism

Transhumanism is an intellectual and cultural movement that advocates for the transformation of the human condition by developing technologies to enhance physical and cognitive abilities. The video touches on this concept through the idea of 'cybernetic humanoids' and the character of RoboCop, who embodies the fusion of man and machine.

💡Cyberspace

Cyberspace is a virtual environment that users can navigate and interact with, often depicted as a complex digital landscape in cyberpunk narratives. The script mentions 'cyberspace at their fingertips,' indicating the importance of virtual worlds in the genre and their impact on the characters' lives.

💡Dystopian Future

Dystopian future refers to a time period characterized by a society with oppressive characteristics, suffering, and inequality. The video's description of 'a dystopian future' as encapsulating cyberpunk’s most fundamental definition connects the genre's fascination with exploring the potential negative outcomes of unchecked technological and societal development.

Highlights

Cyberpunk is a cultural movement reflecting themes of crime, corruption, and the dark side of technological progress.

The cyberpunk genre is characterized by a dichotomy of high technology and low quality of life.

Cyberpunk's themes are prevalent in various forms of art, including novels, films, television, and video games.

Cyberpunk explores questions about the nature of humanity and the line between man and machine.

Philip K. Dick's work inspired the concept of 'androids' and empathy testing, influencing the cyberpunk genre.

The film 'Colossus: The Forbin Project' is an early example of AI taking over the world, a common cyberpunk theme.

Westworld is an influential film that explores the moral implications of creating lifelike androids.

Moebius and O’Bannon's 'The Long Tomorrow' provided a visual foundation for the cyberpunk aesthetic.

British comic series '2000 AD' and its character Judge Dredd were influential in the development of cyberpunk.

Early cyberpunk literature, such as 'Johnny Mnemonic' and 'Burning Chrome', tackled the impact of computerization on society.

The term 'cyberpunk' was coined by Gardner Dozois and represents non-conformity and anti-establishment thinking.

Ridley Scott's 'Blade Runner' is an iconic cyberpunk film that explores the humanity of replicants.

Syd Mead's concept art has been highly influential in shaping the visual language of futurist media, including cyberpunk.

William Gibson's 'Neuromancer' established many cyberpunk tropes and themes, such as cyberspace and ICE.

The tabletop RPG 'Cyberpunk 2020' expanded on the collective cyberpunk lore with its 'rule of cool' approach.

The 'Max Headroom' TV movie and character became a cultural icon of the 1980s, reflecting on media and technology.

Japanese anime like 'Akira' embraced cyberpunk themes, showcasing futuristic dystopias and the rise of Neo-Tokyo.

Video games like 'Snatcher', designed by Hideo Kojima, began to explore cyberpunk narratives and aesthetics.

The 1980s saw cyberpunk evolve into a distinct genre with its own literary canon, separate from traditional science fiction.

Transcripts

We’ve all heard of cyberpunk.

But what IS cyberpunk?

A casual explanation might end up in a ramble about cyborgs, laser guns, neon lights and

rainy city nights.

But behind that facade of neon and chrome lies a cultural movement.

It masks a seedy underbelly of crime, corruption, corporate authoritarianism, and the dangers

of rampant technological progress.

Skyscrapers extend as far as the eye can see, and for every brightly lit ramen shop or tech

emporium offering the latest in bleeding edge gadgets, you’re just as likely to find yourself

in a dingy alley surrounded by poverty and addiction.

The overabundance of technological wonders and indulgences punctuate the decrepit slums

of the megacities and sprawling metropolises of a dystopian future -- which encapsulates

cyberpunk’s most fundamental definition: High tech, low life.

It’s easy to see why these themes are so popular: it seems like every day we take a

step closer to “The Future” we saw on television : robotic arms, self-driving cars,

smart homes, killer drones, and an economy driven by our unquenchable thirst for the

newest, sleekest machine.

These themes are prevalent in all forms of art, from novels to film, from television

to video games -- and in this documentary series, we’ll explore the decades-long history

of the genre, its origins, its many influences, and how these ideas inspired neo-futurism,

both in entertainment, and many of the technologies we use today.

So let’s jack in to one of the most fascinating movements in recent history: Cyberpunk.

Cyberpunk is an offshoot of science fiction, though it explores a starkly different vision

of the future than its forebears.

The genre embraces the punk and early hacker subcultures, bringing to light the dichotomy

of a high-technology world inhabited by denizens deprived of most of these luxuries, despite

the advancement of society as a whole.

This worldview paralleled the growing pessimism in the late 1960’s and 70’s.

After the moral unshackling of the Free Love era and the emergence of modern drug culture,

America was torn apart politically by the tumultuous Vietnam War, a controversial presidency

ending in resignation, and a festering mistrust of authority.

The conflict between the haves and have-nots also feeds into another major theme of cyberpunk.

Often depicting future dystopias where megacorporations wield more power than governments, and rule

the world from lofty skyscrapers, overlooking the streets where cyberpunk heroes try to

make ends meet doing illicit jobs, either for these corporations, or against them.

Some may be able to afford cybernetic augmentations, swapping organic body parts with machine replacements

that make them stronger, faster, or more in-tune with the endless expanse of cyberspace at

their fingertips.

But are these cybernetically-enhanced people still human?

Or are they the next phase of human evolution?

At what point does the line between man and machine blur?

These are the questions and themes that drive cyberpunk.

Unlike its more optimistic science fiction predecessors, cyberpunk showed us the dark

side, revealing the dangerous side effects of the drug of futurism.

The world was sweeping up the still-warm ashes of World War II, when mathematicians and philosophers

noted the rise of cybernetic technology in modern living.

New inventions became more prominent in day-to-day life, and the embrace of these new mechanical

marvels inspired visions of the future, and what such a life would hold for mankind.

This mode of thinking inspired a new wave of writers and artists, many of whom used

these advancements to predict what our lives would be like in the far future.

One such author was the influential sci-fi icon, Philip K. Dick, who made a startling

discovery while researching his post-World War II alternate history novel, Man in the

High Castle.

Philip read a German officer’s journal, in which the soldier complained that the screams

of starving children kept him awake at night, not out of guilt, but more as a nuisance.

These startling revelations inspired PKD’s concept of the “android,” a machine that

resembled a real person, but with one critical difference: the absence of empathy.

Among a myriad of inspired work, his most famous was 1968’s Do Androids Dream of Electric

Sheep?

In it, he explored the question of what it truly means to be an authentic human being,

and not an unfeeling, uncaring machine devoid of emotions and empathy.

In the novel’s setting, entire subcultures emerged, where citizens would prove their

humanity by caring for animals, and the presence of dangerous androids would be sniffed out

through rigorous empathy testing, and enforced through state-funded bounty hunters.

“Do Androids Dream?” also explored the concept of a shared virtual reality experience,

nearly three decades before it hit the mainstream.

This revolutionary novel helped sow the seeds of what would become the cyberpunk genre as

we know it.

Even though home electronics were still primitive, the concept of artificial intelligence was

brewing in the zeitgeist of the 1970s.

One of the first films to capture this growing idea with a fearful eye was Colossus: The

Forbin Project.

The movie follows a brilliant American computer scientist who creates an all-powerful computer

program designed to solve the world’s problems: hunger, politics, war and disease.

The end result is a cautionary tale of what would happen if the world was given to a benevolent

AI that decided human judgment was too flawed to retain their dominion over the planet.

In a terrifying turn of events where a creation outgrew its creator, Colossus learns from

and fuses with another AI developed in Russia.

This new supercomputer then decides to take global matters into its own hands as it conquers

the world in the name of the unflinching march of progress.

One of the most famous films to capture this technological anxiety was Westworld, the first

theatrical movie by science fiction author Michael Crichton -- perhaps best known for

penning Jurassic Park, the highest-grossing film released worldwide at its time.

Unlike that movie, however, Crichton wrote and directed Westworld himself.

Westworld vividly imagines a near-future where theme parks are filled with lifelike androids

subservient to the whims of their mortal masters.

These constructs are used for target practice, role-playing props, and even pursuits of pleasure.

It’s a grotesque look at the moral indifference shown to those who are deemed less than human.

Unsuspecting customers enjoy the park’s many attractions across Medieval, Roman, and

Wild West settings, all without regard for the harmless androids who have safety measures

put in place so that no danger can befall the humans.

But when a glitch that goes unnoticed disables this safeguard, all three parks become slaughterhouses.

The previously helpless androids become the hunters, and their abusers, the hunted.

In a chilling pursuit, one of the last remaining park guests runs from an android gunslinger,

played by screen legend Yul Brynner (in a sort of satirical play on his role in The

Magnificent Seven).

He is an unforgiving and seemingly indestructible machine with just one purpose: to kill.

The scenes that showed the world through the Gunslinger’s electronic eyes were the very

first time computer graphics were used in a movie.

The unstoppable cyborg archetype on display here was obviously a big inspiration for James

Cameron’s science fiction thriller, The Terminator, a decade later.

Westworld was followed by Futureworld, a strong but less iconic sequel, and a TV show spin-off

in 1980, and was rebooted again in 2016 as an acclaimed TV series.

Westworld was one of the earliest and most chilling visualizations of cybernetic beings,

that doubtlessly had an influence on future cyberpunk works as they were developed.

French artist Moebius teamed up with American author Dan O’Bannon for The Long Tomorrow,

a short story in a 1976 issue of Metal Hurlant (a French comic series known in the States

as ‘Heavy Metal magazine’).

It was a visceral exploration of a depraved future, filled with flying cars, megacities,

murder and mystery.

The technology-glazed neo-noir realized in The Long Tomorrow consumed other writers and

artists, and acted as a visual foundation for many works to come.

The gloomy outlook people had at the time no doubt influenced 2000 AD’s dystopian

worldview of America -- a toxic wasteland, punctuated by colossal Mega-Cities spanning

the size of multiple states.

This 1977 British comic series was deeply influential, and one of its leading figures,

Judge Dredd, is one of the most iconic characters ever designed.

The Judge himself was a brutal depiction of law enforcement, totalitarian government and

a fallible court system all rolled into one: Judge, Jury and Executioner.

These were the early literary influences that would lay down the groundwork for cyberpunk

as a self-contained genre, distinct from science fiction.

A small band of beatnik authors would draw from these sources to create a new wave of

futuristic narrative.

One that would paint worlds of technologically-augmented societies and the underdogs and antiheroes

that lived there.

Names like Bruce Sterling, Walter Jon Williams, and William Gibson were seminal in the development

of early cyberpunk literature, such as the tech-themed short stories published in Omni

magazine in the early eighties, like Johnny Mnemonic and Burning Chrome.

These stories were some of the earliest examples of raw “cyberpunk” -- tackling themes

of the increasingly tightening grip of computerization on our day-to-day lives.

Though mostly featuring stylish technobabble and evocative imagery rather than hard science,

these stories more than made up for their factual embellishments with a chilling prescience

of what our future could hold.

These ideas were different and bizarre, and while not entirely new, had a raw edge to

them.

Their purveyors were collectively referred to as “cyberpunks” by Gardner Dozois,

a science fiction magazine editor who borrowed the term from a Bruce Bethke short story of

the same name.

It became a brand of non-conformity and anti-establishment thinking, and that distanced it from the science

fiction status quo.

And thus, the term “cyberpunk” was sealed into pop culture.

“...the purveyors of bizarre hard-edged, high-tech stuff, who have on occasion been

referred to as ‘cyberpunks’...”

After a death in the family, and a rough falling out of the troubled movie adaptation based

on Frank Herbert’s Dune, director Ridley Scott focused his attention on work to keep

his mind off of things.

With some convincing by its producer, after over a decade of development hell, Scott was

compelled towards Philip K. Dick’s proto-cyberpunk novel, ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’,

and got to work on a cinematic vision of the film.

It’s an inherently philosophical story about humanity following World War Terminus, and

the remaining civilization’s dogmatic adherence to empathy as a human ideal.

During the film’s development, Scott purchased another, unrelated adaptation’s title, simply

because he liked the name better, and so the most iconic cyberpunk film ever made, Blade

Runner, was born.

It’s an edgier, more materialistic interpretation of PKD’s novel, forgoing the more on-the-nose

themes of piety and social obligation -- and laser-focusing on the core story of a bounty

hunter tracking down human-like androids -- in this adaptation, known as “replicants”.

The infusion of 1940’s post-war imagery and motifs was palpable, in the unusually

retro fashion in the film.

Blade Runner took the more pious protagonist of Rick Deckard and reimagined him as a rugged,

jaded detective like in the noir classics: another Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade -- trench

coat, grim attitude and all.

The movie’s setting is the character in the film that speaks the loudest.

With a stirring soundtrack by legendary Greek composer Vangelis, and one of the most memorable

openings in cinematic history.

Foreboding spires of metal and neon pierce the blackened skyline of future Los Angeles.

The whole city looks like something from a dream, or perhaps a nightmare, that hasn’t

quite made its mind up yet.

So much of the backstory and worldbuilding is communicated visually.

It’s like the mile-high skyscrapers and urban infrastructure are in slow-motion destruction,

with pillars of fire spouting from the tops, as if the entire city is one big, churning

factory in itself.

Flying cars, searing neon lights, and giant electronic billboards haunt the seemingly

bottomless depths of the city.

Always night, always damp or rainy.

It was a city that never slept, yet never saw the light of day.

Everything in Blade Runner takes on a sort of timeless feeling, with decades-old fashion,

anachronistic architecture, and vehicles with advanced propulsion technology, but stylized

after automobiles the 40’s and 50’s.

It all felt so real.

Painstaking detail went into the film’s visual effects, which included handcrafting

an entire miniature city.

After a visual feast of an opening, the stage is set: in a future Earth with off-world colonies

in need of an advanced and expendable workforce, cybernetic humanoids called replicants are

created.

At first they are a perfect solution, but eventually a design flaw manifests, and the

replicants develop emotions and become dangerously unstable.

A four-year lifespan is put into place as a safety measure to circumvent renegade replicants.

But in the latest outbreak, a crew of advanced Nexus-6 models are reported to have escaped

the off-world colonies and come back to Earth.

And the only solution for this problem is to send Blade Runners, specialized hunters

to “retire” these dangerous replicants.

The iconic Voight-Kampff testing machine is the only reliable way to differentiate a replicant

from a human.

It’s an interesting parallel to the real-life test that computer scientist Alan Turing proposed

back in the 1950’s, designed to estimate an artificial intelligence’s capability

of human-like cognizance.

The film’s Voight-Kampff test is sort of an anti-Turing Test, where a suspected replicant

is asked highly calculated non-sequiturs in order to eventually trigger an emotional response.

Our very first dialogue is between a blade runner screening a new worker.

The testee, Leon, seems nervous and awkward.

The questions are abstract hypotheticals with some sort of empathetic tone.

“Why wouldn’t you help a struggling tortoise?”, “What are some good things that come into

your mind about your mother?”, and the like.

Presumably, a human would brush it off, or reject the premise.

But for a replicant, they have to compute the solution, for which there is no logic.

It’s like putting a nonsense formula into a calculator, then sitting on the Equals key.

Spinning and spinning until Leon suddenly snaps into a murderous rage, and sets the

stage for everything to come.

Blade Runner takes the themes that manifested in the early cyberpunk short stories and boldly

runs with them.

The film, like the novel it was based on, asks the question: Do the androids that walk

among us have hopes and fears?

Dreams and desires?

What differentiates man and machine, or even further, “can a machine become human”?

Or are they merely programmed, soulless, constructed labour, whose presumed sentience is a glitch

that needs to be corrected in the code, and nothing more?

This question is echoed in the tragic character of Rachael, a replicant imprinted with false

memories, with the goal of making her more human-like.

But when she discovers that she isn’t “real,” she undergoes a slow and heartbreaking acceptance,

all the while Deckard begins to question his own humanity while trying to help Rachael

find hers.

In another subplot, the replicant ringleader, Roy Batty, is a renegade on a quest to meet

his maker, literally.

Upon climbing the chain of command, from an optics engineer, to a genetic designer, all

the way up to Eldon Tyrell, the founder of the replicant-creating megacorporation.

When Batty meets both his father and his Creator in the same person, he is filled with both

love and hatred.

For the one thing he desires: elongated life, is the one thing that Tyrell cannot grant

him.

“You were made as well as we could make you.”

“But not to last.”

“The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and you have burned so very

very brightly, Roy.”

Both Batty and Deckard are outsiders, rubbing shoulders with the powers that be, but their

destinies are not scribed by themselves.

At the beginning of the film, Deckard is trying to get out of the killing business, but is

drawn back into taking down replicants, despite his best efforts.

In that time, he wonders if he has become as cold and unempathetic as the very machines

he hunts.

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Sure.”

“Have you ever retired a human by mistake?”

“No.”

“But in your position, that is a risk.”

On the other hand, Batty seeks a future for himself and his friends, but is bound by an

irreversible four-year lifespan.

He feels robbed of the greatest gift that one could have, and he struggles for a way

to grasp it.

In this way, neither character can escape their fate, and ultimately, that’s what

leads to their mutual respect at the end: they are both cogs in a great machine, of

which they have no power to change.

Blade Runner shows off some intriguing technology.

The most famous example is the photo “enhancement” scene, which shows Deckard panning, zooming

and moving the camera position of a photograph, AFTER it was taken.

Video phone calls, and the chilling realism of a future where all animals in the world

are now barcoded counterfeit products, due to the apocalyptic events preceding the story.

Many of the cityscapes, buildings and machinery in Blade Runner were imagined by the highly

respected concept artist, futurist and designer: Syd Mead.

His work spans decades and has either sculpted or highly influenced countless icons of futurist

media.

Mead once called science fiction “reality ahead of schedule,” an attitude that is

abundantly present in numerous films, video games, and media that bears his mark.

From Blade Runner to Aliens, from Star Trek to Elysium, his concept art feels lived-in,

visionary, but most of all, real.

Though this future-noir exploration of humanity wasn't exactly what 1982’s audiences were

expecting, this box office bomb became an absolute cult classic as time went on, in

no small part due to Ridley Scott’s invention of the “Director’s Cut”, specifically

to address the undesirable edits to the film, due to studio intervention.

Blade Runner remains one of the most celebrated cinematic masterpieces of all time, and has

been imitated by countless cyberpunk media to this day.

Two short weeks after Blade Runner hit the silver screen, another film released, which

also featured Syd Mead’s creative influence.

Tron wowed the world with some of the earliest computer graphics imagery ever developed for

a Hollywood film.

Starring Jeff Bridges as a computer programmer who, in a freak accident, gets sucked into

his company's mainframe.

He is spawned into a virtual world as a User, and computer processes and programs are represented

as towers, tanks and other humans.

As a family-friendly Disney film, Tron was an unlikely influence on the cyberpunk genre.

If for no other reason than its vivid portrayal of cyberspace.

Brightly coloured grids set in an expansive void.

These visuals set the stage for what circuits, software and computer processes might look

like from within, with a heavy dose of creative license, of course.

Tron would set the standard for the cyberspace aesthetic for generations to come.

William Gibson, an aspiring writer working on his debut novel, Neuromancer, cited Tron

as one of his inspirations for the visualization of cyberspace in his own work, saying that

the movie *was* the bleeding-edge digital aesthetic.

Sadly, many early cyberpunk and cyberspace films were box office flops.

Blade Runner and Tron -- both released within 2 weeks of each other, and in a strange twist

of fate, both brought in a paltry $33 million each, with expensive visual effects budgets.

“The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”

In the summer of 1982, William Gibson had finished about a third of Neuromancer, when

Blade Runner hit the cinemas.

By the time he saw the first 20 minutes of the film, Gibson was sure that his fledgling

novel was doomed, and that everyone would assume that he copied the film’s style.

Panicking, Gibson re-wrote the first two-thirds of the book 12 times, out of a fear that he

would be permanently shamed, and yet, when Neuromancer was published in 1984, it quickly

became an underground hit, spreading through pop culture like circuits on a motherboard.

Neuromancer follows the former hacker, Case, in a downward spiral after his body is permanently

damaged, and he’s no longer able to do the one thing he was good at: jacking in to the

Matrix -- the cyberspace that connects all the world's computers, citizens, hackers and

corporations.

It’s this stark vision of the future that permanently outlined the tenets of cyberpunk.

Set in The Sprawl.

A grungy metropolitan zone that blankets half the eastern coast, filled with low-lives,

organized crime, hedonism and the cybernetically augmented.

Case’s luck turns for the better when he meets the hauntingly beautiful Molly -- a

razergirl, fitted with retractable claws and augmented eyes covered by lifeless mirrored

lenses.

She saves him from a self-destructive path and imminent danger, then presents an offer

to Case, on behalf of the powerful and mysterious benefactor, Armitage.

They fix Case up, make him able to hack again, and give him a new lease on life… with the

caveat that he takes on a very dangerous mission.

He reluctantly agrees, half-deciding to ditch the operation and run for his life, but he

soon discovers their contingency plan: a slowly degrading poison sac inserted into his body

during the surgery, that if he leaves untreated, will cripple his hacking ability and bring

him back to square one, a broken man, just like before.

In indentured servitude, they span the globe, hiring for a big-time cyberheist, and preparing

for the mission of their lives, all the while Case is being contacted and manipulated by

an artificial intelligence with its own agenda.

Gibson’s grisly vision of the future would establish many tropes and themes often replicated

by cyberpunk media.

Things such as decking, street samurai, cyberspace, and Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics

(also known as ICE) all owe their origins to Gibson’s Sprawl Trilogy, composed of

the books Neuromancer, Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive.

Neuromancer became the first science fiction “triple crown” winner, scoring both Nebula

and Hugo awards as the year’s best novel, and incidentally, earned the Philip K. Dick

Award as the best paperback original.

It would eventually go on to sell more than 6.5 million copies worldwide.

Part neo-noir, part heist story, Neuromancer crystalized how a cyberpunk setting looks,

feels and reads for decades to come.

With ultraslick lingo, breathtaking imagery, and a classy stream of consciousness, it was

a peek into our dark and high-tech future, through a hyper-stylized lens.

“People do forget that there was no state-of-the-art in personal computing when I wrote Neuromancer,

and that's why I was using a typewriter.”

“Neuromancer and the first Macintosh were released in the same year, and someone told

me recently, in the same MONTH.

That's difficult for young people to imagine, I know.”

The mid 1980’s saw a virtual explosion of cyberpunk media across all spectrums of entertainment.

From Japanese animation to tabletop games, from film to television.

Case in point: Cyberpunk, the tabletop role-playing game by Mike Pondsmith - which was directly

inspired by Hardwired, the futuristic corporate warfare novel by Walter Jon Williams.

Cyberpunk and its second edition, Cyberpunk 2020 frolicked with the “rule of cool”,

and even had style over substance as one of the core guidelines in creating a character.

The game puts players in the bloodied shoes of hackers, mercenaries and company men all

struggling for money and power in the seedy playground of Night City.

And though the game didn’t pick up as big of an audience as best-sellers like Dungeons

& Dragons, it settled comfortably as an underdog RPG, and further expanded on the collective

cyberpunk lore.

The popular card game Netrunner would later spawn out of Cyberpunk 2020’s fertile setting

as well.

A year later, another pen and paper game hit the shelves.

Shadowrun blended urban fantasy - with the rise of elves, dwarves, and other fantasy

denizens -- into a futuristic, dystopian world where megacorporations reign supreme.

At its core, Shadowrun took familiar fantasy role-playing like Dungeons & Dragons and merged

it with William Gibson’s Neuromancer -- cyberpunk with a dash of Tolkien.

Megacorporations, exploitation and inequality are all themes that drive Shadowrun’s world.

But in this alternate history, magic and metahuman races emerge mysteriously into our modern

society, creating new kinds of prejudice, conflict and dangers overnight.

Shadowrun’s hybrid of fantasy and dark futurism made so many wild scenarios possible: a dragon’s

the CEO of a German megacorporation.

You can walk the streets and see cyborg samurai, mages, trolls, elves and orcs alike.

Shamans can summon spirits to battle their enemies, while deckers hack their way through

the Matrix and riggers remotely control drones and slice electronic security systems.

Such a rich, vibrant world of neon-soaked slums, old-school superstitions and new-school

transhumanism, all backed up by a colorful vocabulary: like calling eachother chummers,

people drink the ever-popular soykaf, and of course, have dealings with the notorious

mercenaries known as shadowrunners.

There's just something addictive about the wholesale augmentation of limbs, bones and

nerves with flashy cyberware.

You could spec out your character with massive claws, conceal shotguns embedded in your forearms,

or implant datajacks to communicate with electronics directly through your mind.

The meshing of flesh, circuit and steel, all in one.

As you might surmise, Shadowrun owes a massive debt to not only to Blade Runner, but especially

to Gibson’s work on the Sprawl series.

Many of its most popular ideas were lifted wholecloth: the virtual cyberspace known as

the matrix, street samurai, razergirls, the nuyen currency, and plenty of other references

all exist in Shadowrun.

Gibson has spoken about FASA Corporation’s zealous borrowing from his source material,

but other than a dismissing eye and a complete denouncement of Shadowrun, he hasn’t gone

further than that, once saying “I've never earned a nickel, but I wouldn't sue them.

It's a fair cop.

I'm sure there are people who could sue me, if they were so inclined...”

Shadowrun may have steered cyberpunk toward urban fantasy, rather than the attempted hard

science fiction of its predecessors, but it was one of the most popular tabletop RPGs

of all time, and acted as a major “gateway drug” to cyberpunk in the 80’s and 90’s.

As time went on, the genre was gaining momentum.

Other films began to adapt many cyberpunk themes while maintaining proven plot structures

-- popcorn films with a cyberpunk twist.

As computers began to proliferate into the consumer industry, Hollywood eventually caught

on, and got to work with new down-to-earth sci-fi concepts.

One of the earliest and most popular movies to tackle computer and hacker culture was

the summer blockbuster “Boy Hacks World” movie, WarGames.

Where a young Matthew Broderick accidentally hacks into a military artificial intelligence,

and starts playing what he thinks is just a strategy game, but in reality is threatening

the world with real thermonuclear war.

Another sleeper hit was Trancers, where a detective from the 23rd century goes back

to the 1980’s to stop a hypnotic death cult bent on ruining the world.

It nails all the hallmarks: hi-tech gadgets, skid row, noir references and even a punk

rocker sidekick.

A cult classic that launched several sequels, Trancers is a fun flick, but not a particularly

deep analysis of the human condition.

More action movies started to take notice of these themes.

Heavily inspired by the works of Harlan Ellison, The Terminator hit movie theatres with a shotgun

blast.

While not a cyberpunk film per se, there is a lot of strong thematic imagery woven into

the movie.

It depicts an apocalyptic future where the dregs of mankind struggle to overthrow the

cyborg stranglehold of the world.

In response to the growing strength of the resistance, a “terminator” -- a robotic

soldier disguised in human flesh -- is sent back in time with one mission: to eliminate

the mother of the future savior of mankind.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most iconic role as an unstoppable cybernetic killing machine

would be seared into our memory for decades, with the help of fantastic special effects,

and a tight-knit sci-fi slasher flick premise.

The movie has been solidified in pop culture as having the most famous of cyborg designs,

an intimidating steel skeleton with glowing red eyes.

And in turn, it has inspired many future depictions of cybernetic body augmentation.

Video games were far behind what movies could do narratively in the 1980’s, but the attempt

at adapting Blade Runner to an interactive format was met with dismal reaction, likely

due to technical limitations.

Another complication was that the publisher wasn’t able to get the rights to the book

or the movie, instead having to jump through an odd legal loophole and license the movie’s

soundtrack.

In what is the most literal interpretation of a story possible, it essentially boils

down to a basic runner game where you have to hunt down so-called “replidroids”,

dodging cars and crowds before gunning them down.

Between runs, you navigate the city in a maze-like world, where you locate potential suspects

as blips on your map, which you can land your spinner down to, with the intent to pursue.

Simple and repetitive.

Even so, the Blade Runner game had some potential, especially had it been on more powerful hardware

and offered more variety in terms of action gameplay or storyline.

But despite the recognizable brand name, it made only a minor blip in the industry at

the time, a forgotten game releasing at the tail-end of the video game crash.

As cyberpunk further steeped into pop culture, so did we experience the short-lived but beloved

“mascot” of cyberspace.

American actor, Matt Frewer, starred in a BBC-made TV movie, Max Headroom: 20 Minutes

Into the Future, where he played a cocky, star journalist named Edison Carter.

The relentless Carter nearly exposes a conspiracy involving “blipverts,” TV ads that can

kill.

The powerful media executives behind the plot manage to trigger a traffic barrier to kill

Carter as he tries to escape the building.

Panicking after the attempted murder of a celebrity reporter, the media corporations’

computer genius proposes a plan: preserve the mind of the severely wounded Carter, and

convert him into a computer generated character.

Thus, they hope to cover up his supposed murder.

Through a bunch of greedy mishaps, the AI lands in the hands of a couple of scavengers,

who decide to broadcast it on a whim.

The AI quickly develops a wisecracking personality, and names itself “Max Headroom,” after

the warning label on the object that nearly killed its human host.

Ironically, its original and unpredictable show soars in the ratings, and proves to be

a formidable competitor to the media execs who tried to have Carter killed.

Watching this movie over three decades later, there is a chilling prescience to it.

Max regularly checks his viewer count in real time, and reacts to his audience like he was

a livestreamer on Twitch or YouTube.

Max quickly became a cultural icon of the 1980's, and has appeared in numerous commercials,

cameos and even an infamous television broadcast hijacking.

Rapper Eminem would later parody Max Headroom in his music video for ‘Rap God’, now

sitting at over a billion views.

“Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Max.

What I wanna know is, why are the only funny lines on this show, the ones behind me?”

Films like RoboCop, set in the desolate hellscape of Detroit, embrace many themes of cyberpunk,

such as transhumanism and class struggle.

Despite the title sounding like a bog-standard action movie, RoboCop was set in a satirical

near-future setting, where society’s moral fibre has broken down.

Soaked in a comical cynicism brought to life by director Paul Verhoeven, the story follows

Alex Murphy, a straight-laced cop whose life is destroyed by a sadistic crime lord, only

to be involuntarily revived as a cyborg as a last-ditch experiment.

Now a husk of a man, living in a cybernetic armored shell, the movie is actually a tragic

tale of Murphy’s loss of humanity, as he devolves further into an unthinking justice-dealing

machine.

Haunted by fragments of memories of his former life and family, his torment is crystallized

in one horrible moment...

“I can feel them… but I can't remember them.”

RoboCop, like many future Verhoeven movies, features a deeper movie underneath the shallow

Hollywood veneer.

The crime lord who “kills” Murphy is an unconventional, spectacled villain named Clarence

Boddicker, a smart guy, rather than your typical thug boss.

Boddicker is secretly working with one of the executives at the megacorporation, OCP

-- the designer of police tech such as the menacing ED-209 robot, and RoboCop himself.

This parallels the arms dealers who profit from both sides of a war.

RoboCop cleverly criticized the unchecked and growing crime presence in urban America,

as well as the increasingly militarized police force, all while showing that heroes do still exist.

OCP’s indifference after watching one of their directors get shot into a million pieces

at a ED-209 product demonstration, bordered on the ridiculous -- it was like selling a

driverless tank as a replacement for a beat cop!

RoboCop was met with huge success, and launched a comic series, multiple sequels, a TV show,

eventually a reboot movie and even a crowdfunded statue in its adopted setting of Detroit.

The film remains today an icon of cinema, and a true-to-form cyberpunk story, as told

from the so-called authority, rather than from the underdog’s perspective.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

The movie’s success also launched various iterations of video games for the arcade and

consoles.

It didn’t try to do anything deep or thought-provoking, instead serving as a visceral, beat-em-up/shoot-em-up hybrid.

Like Double Dragon meets Contra, with a robotic kickass hero.

The game enjoyed modest success and would be followed by sequels as the movie franchise

continued.

The Running Man follows a similar suit.

This 1987 Stephen King adaptation features another dystopian future, with megacorporations

reigning supreme.

After a grisly prison breakout, the escapees find themselves in a desperate fight for survival,

with only one last chance at freedom: to win the death gauntlet known as the Running Man.

It’s brilliant satire of the gluttonous game show media, pro wrestling and boxing

promoters, as well as the public’s growing desensitization toward violence.

Not to mention predating the reality show craze that would seize the attention of audiences

for decades.

The movie directly inspired the hit competition TV series, American Gladiators, which a producer

purportedly got the show greenlit, using clips from Running Man, explaining, "we’re doing

exactly this — except the murdering part."

On the other side of the world, Japan took to the Blade Runner aesthetic, and the 80’s

and 90’s were chock full of classic anime with strong cyberpunk themes.

Bubblegum Crisis was a stark depiction of wealth inequality, with megacorporations treating

the world like its their own personal chess board, and powerful cyborgs being used for

both good and evil deeds.

Despite its questionable name and deceivingly bright aesthetic, the show and its spin-offs

explored the bureaucratic shielding of corruption and the potential dangers of unchecked capitalism.

The 1988 anime film, Akira, embraced cyberpunk to a T. It follows a biker vigilante and his

friend who are caught up in a clandestine plot -- when an accident lands one of them

with horrific psychic powers.

There are a ton of cyberpunk tropes here: uber-stylized motorcycles, laboratory experiments

gone wrong, and the rise of Neo-Tokyo from the ashes of a cataclysmic event -- paralleling

the cities lost during World War Terminus in Blade Runner.

Akira is set against a city rebuilt, one that is being torn apart by terrorism, anti-authority

protests and corruption.

Through high-octane action and an ever-deepening plot, Akira managed to wow audiences around

the world with gorgeous animation and brutal body horror.

Its unforgettable imagery would kickstart many other cyberpunk anime series, and is

considered one of the greatest animated sci-fi works of all time.

With the rise in technology, video games would become sophisticated enough to properly wrestle 0:39:26.470,1193:02:47.295 with the themes of cyberpunk.

Most notably, Snatcher, a gritty, futuristic detective game, designed by Hideo Kojima,

now famous for his smash hit series, Metal Gear, first releasing a year earlier.

Snatcher is set in a tumultuous future, where there is an imminent menace of cyborgs who

“snatch” the body and roles of humans and hide among the populace.

They may perfectly resemble people on the outside, but are robotic with superior strength

and high-tech weaponry underneath.

You play a gumshoe/bounty hunter who must piece together evidence at grisly murder scenes,

to track down suspected Snatchers.

It’s been said, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.”

If that’s true, then by that logic, Kojima is the greatest artist in the world.

Snatcher's protagonist was traced from Blade Runner’s Rick Deckard, and even the department

calls the cyborg bounty hunters, “runners”.

One bounty hunter, Random Hajile is a carbon copy of pop musician Sting’s character in

the 1984 adaptation of DUNE -- and entire shots were traced from Blade Runner and its

concept art.

Despite treading dangerously close to plagiarism at times, Snatcher was one of the first and

most engaging simulators of cyberpunk noir we’ve experienced to date.

A surprisingly modern take on the adventure game formula, the game was presented from

a cinematic and graphical point of view, often taking a first person perspective view of

the city, its inhabitants and the sometimes macabre visuals in front of you.

The cyberpunk setting and presentation carry the gameplay, which is familiar to pre-point-and-click

adventures, with various commands like talk, look, and basic item usage -- as do many games

in the genre.

But learning the specifics, guessing at the many story twists, and enjoying the quaint

details Konami put into the game is still captivating, decades on.

Snatcher hits all the right beats: high-tech cyborgs, low-lives and punks abound, and a

neo-noir aesthetic, though it does so in a heightened way and is tonally inconsistent.

Sometimes coming off as incredibly cartoony, despite other scenes of legitimate horror

and thematic depth.

Nevertheless, it remains one of the shining early examples of cyberpunk interactive media

-- and has been remade with better visuals multiple times for various platforms, namely

the Sega CD and Sega Saturn.

“One of the things that the so-called cyberpunk writers have done, either consciously or unconsciously,

is to look around the world outside, look at the fine arts as well, and import whatever

they could use into the literary ghetto of science fiction.”

In the late 80’s, William Gibson’s Neuromancer was advocated for other media adaptations,

primarily by a renegade psychologist Timothy Leary, a friend of Gibson, who had purchased

the rights to a video game, and even helped shop a movie pitch to Hollywood for years.

The book also got a gorgeous, yet sadly incomplete graphic novel adaptation, and Interplay picked

up the video game interpretation.

Brian Fargo led the development, known for making Wasteland, which heavily inspired the

Fallout series, years later.

“Neuromancer: The Game” was an early point and click adventure, in the style of Maniac

Mansion and Monkey Island.

The game has a charming look to it.

But it doesn’t quite capture the desolate and cynical cyberpunk “feel” the novel

purported.

However, underneath the primitive presentation, is a fascinating exploration into the Sprawl.

The writing is a combination of situations and dialogue explicitly written by Interplay,

but also contains quotes plucked directly from the novel.

The most interesting situations are probably the optional scenarios you can get stuck in,

like in the very first scene.

You are at a diner after a pricey meal.

You can either withdraw money from the bank and pay the bill, or you can dine and dash,

and get arrested and tried for your crimes.

It’s these peeks behind the linear storyline that make the game most engaging.

Neuromancer comes into its own during its brief cyberspace sequences, where Case navigates

the matrix, represented by surreal, geometric forms.

Though short-lived and obtuse, it inspired the imagination, and this cyberspace frontier

would be even further explored by future video games such as the Shadowrun series.

More and more, the 1980’s were filled with cyberpunk spreading out across a number of

different mediums, and more importantly, it was beginning to become a distinct genre independent

of its science fiction origins.

The genre as a whole came to a head in June, 1989.

Essays written by various literary critics, scientists, and scholars were presented at

a conference hosted by the Universities of Leeds and California, Riverside.

It was at this symposium that academics, media experts, and fiction writers debated the central

points of cyberpunk and the future of fiction.

The question of where cyberpunk came from, what it is, and where it was going were points

that were hotly contested.

“I really don't think of myself as a predictive, extrapolative science fiction writer.”

“I think I think of myself as almost as a surrealist.

I think that what I'm what I'm doing, is taking a sort of hallucinatory, very impressionistic

take on contemporary reality, and presenting it as science fiction.”

“Science fiction is my excuse for what I do, rather than what I do.

It's a flag of convenience.”

The term “cyberpunk” itself seemed to provoke an emotional response from many of

the participants.

For example, although none would deny the importance of writers such as Gibson, Sterling,

and Williams, many “hard” science fiction writers criticized the genre for relying too

heavily on style over substance, claiming their works didn’t use enough researched

extrapolation.

That is to say, educated guesses about the future, rather than stylized fantasy.

In response, the genre’s proponents assigned their creation an identity that separated

it from both science fiction and mainstream fiction.

It had its own literary canon, as well as criteria for determining what was and wasn’t

considered part of the genre.

That meant that cyberpunk was free to exhibit whatever literary styles it wanted to, because

it was much more than simply being a facet of science fiction.

It was its own thing, and while it shared much of the same foundation as the house of

Asimov, Herbert, Dick, and Clarke, it was not beholden to the same principles as the

genres that preceded it were.

The 80’s may have given cyberpunk its birth, but it would be the 1990’s that would further

augment it, and shape it into something both recognizable and even fashionable.

There was a veritable boom of movies, TV shows and video games on the horizon, and not only

obscure media or cult classics, some of the most successful blockbusters ever made!

The end of the decade wasn’t the end of the genre, it was only the beginning.

Thanks for watching this introduction to cyberpunk, it’s been a long time coming, and we’re

incredibly happy with the final product.

A shout out to Shalashaskka for his help in writing and researching this project, and

my deepest appreciation goes out to my Patrons for helping make this level of production possible!

Stay tuned for parts 2, 3 and 4 of this series, and thank you for watching!