THE ARTFUL DECLINE OF REALITY: THE CYBERPUNK GENRE AND CYBERSPACE AS THE NEW WORLD

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Introduction / History I

Throughout the transformative threads of technology interwoven in the masses of film and media, there has been an infiltration in the way the internet culture represents itself. While not analog in its physicality, the internet has become somewhat tangible through the lens of a futuristic-esque subculture genre. The emergence of the cyberpunk aesthetic dates back to the early 1930s. As defined by Quianchen Cheng in the “Exploration and Analysis of Cyberpunk on the Self-Identification of Juvenile from the Perspective of Visual Culture”, ‘cyberpunk’ is a word which derives from Cybernetics, which studied “the control and communication between machines, living organisms, and organizations” (Chen, 123). The second part of the word, punk, comes from the punk subculture of the music scene that became visibly popular in the 70s. The term’s meaning continued to constitute growth in abundance along with the rise of science fiction as a literary genre and technology demand over the decades. In the modern day, the term cyberpunk represents its original futuristic characteristics while accentuating a refined digital and technological aesthetic that appeals immensely to young generations.

The cyberpunk subculture’s aesthetic promotes a new way of living. Technology drives the world, not the other way around. Buried deep in between crevices is the dying remnants of nature. Ridden above it exists vertical screens caressing tall skyscrapers, adopting the formula of landscapes from urban areas like Tokyo, Japan and Hong Kong, China. juxtaposing the limitless verticality is the tight-knitted horizontality, offering endless dimensions of layers. Words are no longer stagnant signs; they are immersive flickering neon lights, inescapable even from your peripheral vision. The neon colors can even be seen through the reflection of the rain puddles, dripping a constant stream of wakefulness. Amid the wide screens and bright lights, the city that never sleeps is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The infiltration of cyberpunk culture in the media has been a prominent factor in the very evolution of film itself. Cinema was forever radicalized through the cyberpunk aesthetic for its very voyeuristic appeal.

Ridley Scott’s Bladerunner (1982)

Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s The Matrix (1999)

Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira (1988)

Masamune Shirow and Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell (1995)

STRAY (2022)

Welcome to your

new home.

C Y B E R S P A C E IV

We cannot see the internet. Or can we? Cyberspace provides a way of seeing. The home base of the cyberpunk aesthetics, Wendy Chung describes cyberspace in “Orienting the Future” as the “image of the internet (protocol/network of computers) as a virtual space or place”.

A centra;lized disembodiment of the internet. The new realities are our minds. On the internet, we can be anyone or anything.

cyberpunk culturAL CHARACTERISTICS V

RURAL VS URBAN

ANALOG VS DIGITAL

ORDER VS FREEDOM

AUTHORITARIAN VS ANARCHY

Where and how does cyberpunk subgenre influence internet culture and our perception of it? This genre makes the new age of digitizing humanity real through the lens of a tech-ridden dystopia. It gives people the access to become one with their desires- and what's more- escape the ugly aspects of the real world. A driving force between the ambiguous internet world and ever evolving technology, cyberpunk culture becomes the merger that signifies a theoretical uprising and a dystopian future that is not so far away. The cultural aspects of cyberpunk grounds the sense of freedom that is in atonement with the nature of the internet. Cyberspace is given a domain. The insanity becomes sane and visually permanent.

THE DIGITALIZATION OF HUMANITY

negative effects vii

Reality becomes distorted. While actively fighting it, ignorance is bliss. Cyberpunk is merely a filter that can only dilute the consciousness of real world issues surrounding technology like artificial intelligence and control by the government through the use of surveillance and internet tracking and databases. The control is within the freedom itself. The promotion of freedom can be conveyed as the threshold of power.

Hypersexualization

of women

The Cyberpunk Aesthetic and Culture has caused controversy for its overly saturated use of Orientalism, the Western perspective and exoticism of Eastern countries. Cyberpunk utilizes crucial aspects of their cultures while seemingly ignoring the history and significance of it.

self-expression

The rise of the cyberpunk genre brings an interactive experience to the user of the internet and the user of technology, becoming the foundation of the two. Through its visually appealing aesthetics, the environment and identity of the self is compacted with an invitation of individuality and creativity.

growth in numbers,

moral consciousness

will you join?