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What is Cyberpunk?

1.

Cyberpunk

2.

What is Cyberpunk?
• Cyberpunk is a combination of “cybernetics” and “punk”,
coined by Bruce Bethke in 1980 for his story of the same title
(published in 1983).
• Cyberpunk is a sub-genre of science fiction which became
popular in America in the late 1970’s and early 80’s and was
noted for its focus on "high tech and low life“.
• The formation of cyberpunk was greatly influenced by the
rapid development of science and technologies, especially
computer technologies.

3.

Prominent Writers
William Gibson
Neal Stephenson
Bruce Sterling
Pat Cadigan
Rudy Rucker
John Shirley
Lewis Shiner

4.

Characteristics
1. Dystopian
Earth

5.

• Cyberpunk typically portrays dystopic worlds where civilisation
has been shattered by environmental or political catastrophes.
• The environment is often unstable or hostile, nation-states tend
to be extinct.
• Cyberpunk is usually based on a near-future Earth, rather than
some far-flung, futuristic alien world.
• Technology has become deeply enmeshed in everyday human
existence.

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2. High Tech, Low Life

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• The people have artificial limbs, eyes and other senses, they
may have additional memory storage, or direct ‘wi-fi’
connection to various systems via a link in their brain.
• The cities have become 'sprawls' where only the strong
survive.
• There is bleakness and dread.
• Characters spend most of the day plugged into the digital
world, even neglecting their physical bodies for days at a
time.

8.

3. Cyberworld
People have the only freedom in cyberspace.

9.

4. Mega
corporations
• vast organisations which control Earth’s planetary
resources, services and industries.

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5. Artificial intelligence

11.

• Protagonists in cyberpunk tend to be outsiders, hackers, antiheroes, outcasts, criminals who try to make something good
in a world where there is no justice and nobody is on their
side. The underlying aspect that applies to all of these groups
is their subversive nature.

12.

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Main theme
• a conflict among hackers, artificial intelligences, and mega
corporations, tending to be set within a near-future Earth.

14.

William Gibson

15.

• an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer widely credited
with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk.
• Gibson popularised the idea of cyberspace: a "consensual
hallucination" created by millions of connected computers.
• Gibson's early writings are generally near-future stories about the
influences of cybernetics and cyberspace (computer-simulated
reality) technology on the human race.
• The first novel, Neuromancer 1984.
• “Sprawl trilogy”, "Bridge trilogy "

16.

• Neuromancer is a complex story that deals with the future
computer technology and the impact on the lives of the world
citizens;
• matrix, cyberspace;
• technological advancement is not paralleled by social progress;
• crime, violence, corruption;
• human relations and interactions are mostly represented as part of
transactions;

17.

The Themes:
• The influence of computer technology on
people.
• High tec, low social life.
• Transformation.
• Manipulation.
• Freedom.
• Identity.
• Isolation.
• Drugs and alcohol.
• Violance.
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