The Mysticism and Grandiosity of Cyberpunk

This week I’m showing off a genre that is either overlooked, dismissed, or simply miscategorised as general sci-fi. I’ll explain some background as well as the elements that make this a great genre, and some recommendations for any who wish to delve deeper into the genre.

The term ‘Cyberpunk’ maybe a bizarre one but it describes the genre perfectly. It takes core elements of science fiction but takes its own step away from other genres like space operas or military sci-fi and takes a more pessimistic approach to what future life might be like. It has the usual high-tech gadgetry of other sci-fi pieces of art but usually contrasts it with either a breakdown in society or drastic changes to how social issues are seen. Around the sixties and seventies, writers like Philip K. Dick and Harlan Ellison were writing works that were part of what was called New Wave science fiction. Eventually works like Neuromancer would set the elements of cyberpunk and clearly define what the genre was about.

So what are those elements? I’ve already mentioned one when I talked about the changes in society. This was in direct contrast to earlier works before the sixties when most sci-fi pieces of art were utopian, or at least were problems set in a utopian society. Now though, cyberpunk was changing the mood of the pieces. They became a lot more depressing and nihilistic. Showing humans for what they truly were and what lengths they would reach to obtain their goals. This was commonly associated with an increase in capitalistic values in these fictional societies, adding more the idea of greedy humans or even the idea that humans were purely sinful. Spreading this idea of capitalistic spread, the societies within cyberpunk works commonly included large and faceless companies that controlled the government, provided a service that society had become ‘addicted’ to or some big resource that everyone needs. Sometimes from those big conglomerates or sometimes another source, there’s some form of an online world similar to our internet but a lot more advanced and a lot more dangerous. Then we get into the meaty part of cyberpunk and one of its elements I absolutely love. Philosophical story. Because of this vast arrangement of elements that attack society and the humans that inhabit them, a lot of philosophical questions are raised and used as themes throughout these pieces. A huge advancement in AI will usually lead to a question of what is human? Should these new intelligence be classed as sentient beings? If a human adapts their mind to add AI, do they become less human? These stories are sometimes told as the main part of the plot, but often they are used in side stories that will teach you to question different parts of the world that its creator has made and get you to apply them to either the other side stories or to the main plot of the piece.

Since I love film and television, my examples are going to be exclusively from those two types of medium. The first is going to be Blade Runner. A classic that a lot of you have probably seen, but is a great example of showing off the elements that I talked about. Released in 1982 and adapted from Philip K. Dick’s ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?’, Blade Runner gives us a grand experience with neon-lit cityscapes and long establishing shots that help submerge us in the vast world that never sleeps. Great detective film that mainly deals with the idea of whether AIs deserve the same rights as regular humans. The film does a great job of making the story like a regular day in society. It does put the heroes on huge pedestals and act as if they’re some kind of ‘chosen ones’, so it gives a great insight in the general workings of this world. When you have a director like Ridley Scott and great actors like Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer and Daryl Hannah, it’s no surprise you come out with a classic.

Something that most wouldn’t have heard of, Akira. A japanese animation, released in 1988, that became incredibly popular in a cult following of the film. The film focuses on the corruptible human nature and how gaining some power instantly makes you crave more and more till it consumes you and you perish because of it. Again, in a short amount of runtime, the film manages to set up a believable future and develop its story and characters that fit this world they’ve created. If you’ve not watched to much animation and might dismiss it, at least give something like Akira a shot. It uses the medium it’s in to be able to tell its story to full effect as it can animate things that you simply would not have been able to do with a live-action film in the eighties. True, you could do it right now with lots of CG, but I feel you wouldn’t be able to get the full horror of some of the scenes in Akira down to the way they animate the film and manipulate each drawing to create even more disturbing imagery.

The Wachowskis’ projects vary in their quality, but one big standout that you’ve probably seen is the Matrix trilogy. These films focus of the idea of online worlds like the internet and whether you would know if you were in reality, or a dream. Revolutions detracts a bit from the trilogy overall, but the first film itself is a great example of how cyberpunk answers questions on the plot and its characters while opening up philosophical questions that aren’t fully answered or only answered from certain character’s perspectives. Then in between these philosophical moments, we have great action sequences with industry defining shots and digital work. The film and its two sequels have been examined to death when it comes to the philosophy, so I suggest you ignore a lot of that and sit through it again, or for the first time, and think to yourself, maybe share with a friend. The fantastic cast includes Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving.

Back to animation briefly when I talk about the huge franchise Ghost in the Shell. If you haven’t seen any of this franchise then I suggest you take a look at the self-titled film released in 1995. It shows off most of the great characters you’ll encounter with the rest of the franchise as well as establishing the main themes that will run the course of this film and the other films/television shows. One of those main themes is a result of the universe they’re in. Most people in Ghost in the Shell have had their brain encased in a cybernetic case to allow enhancements and connection to the web possible, some going further and getting other body parts replaced to make their lives easier, their jobs easier, or even their crime life easier. Because of this, you get great storylines where you’re unsure who is who, or whether the characters are actually who they were born as after years of enhancements and near death experiences. An additional note, I would avoid the 2017 live-action adaptation unless you start getting into the franchise a reasonable amount. It has some good qualities but is lacking some of the essence that I would associate with the Ghost in the Shell franchise.

And finally a recent gem in that of Altered Carbon, the first season being released on Netflix in 2017. It’s great to see that cyberpunk is still living on and that creators can still make stories that work in the genre. Altered Carbon pays homage to many of its predecessors. Especially running with a similar concept to Ghost in the Shell when it comes to enhancements, but plays on the immortality side a lot more. People in Altered Carbon have what is called a stack in their upper spine. It’s basically a digital mind where memories are stored so that, for example, the police could examine the stack to see who the murderer was in a case they were trying to solve. Though, if the stack gets destroyed, you are dead for good. The rich are practically immortal since they have the money and resources to keep their stacks backed up in secure servers. The show plays on a lot of themes to do with immortality and whether humans deserve it. One aspect that the show delves into that doesn’t appear in Ghost in the Shell is the issue of being put into another body. So in Altered Carbon, the wealthier side of society can purchase exact replicas of their bodies for use incase their current one is destroyed. But for the regular working side of society, this is luxury many cannot afford. Instead they will sometimes be put into bodies that are vastly different to their original which can lead to serious mental breakdowns. The show is a bright gem in the vastly increasing number of television shows being broadcasted.

So there they are, check some of these out and give them a chance. It’s a great part of sci-fi that doesn’t get all of the credit it truly deserves. They’re great stories.

And those who heard the story cried for the death of love.

-Boad

Originally published at bodaciousboad.wordpress.com on August 12, 2018.