“High tech and low life”: nevÂer have I heard a litÂerÂary genre so eleÂgantÂly encapÂsuÂlatÂed. I repeat it whenÂevÂer a friend who finds out I enjoy readÂing cyberÂpunk novÂels — or watchÂing cyberÂpunk movies, or playÂing cyberÂpunk video games — asks what “cyberÂpunk” actuÂalÂly means. We’ve all heard the word thrown around since the mid-1980s, and I seem to recall hearÂing it sevÂerÂal times a day in the 1990s, when the develÂopÂment of the interÂnet and its assoÂciÂatÂed pieces of perÂsonÂal techÂnolÂoÂgy hit the accelÂerÂaÂtor hard. At the dawn of that decade, out came CyberÂpunk, a primer on the eponyÂmous moveÂment in not just litÂerÂaÂture, film, and comÂputÂers, but music, fashÂion, crime, punÂishÂment, and medÂiÂcine as well. That time saw techÂnolÂoÂgy develÂop in such a way as to empowÂer less govÂernÂments, corÂpoÂraÂtions, and othÂer instiÂtuÂtions than indiÂvidÂual peoÂple: virÂtuÂous peoÂple, sketchy peoÂple, everyÂday peoÂple, and that favorite cyberÂpunk charÂacÂter type, the “genÂtleÂman-losÂer.”
We recentÂly feaÂtured No Maps for These TerÂriÂtoÂries, the 2000 docÂuÂmenÂtary starÂring William GibÂson, author of novÂels like NeuÂroÂmancer, Idoru, and PatÂtern RecogÂniÂtion and the writer most closeÂly assoÂciÂatÂed with the cyberÂpunk moveÂment. CyberÂpunk describes him, a decade earÂliÂer, as “the man who may be said to have startÂed it all,” and here he shares insights on how the litÂerÂary form he pioÂneered made posÂsiÂble stylÂisÂtic develÂopÂment withÂin and the imporÂtaÂtion of eleÂments of the wider litÂerÂary and artisÂtic world into the reacÂtionary “goldÂen ghetÂto” of the sciÂence-ficÂtion indusÂtry. We also hear, amid a farÂraÂgo of glossy, flamÂboyÂantÂly artiÂfiÂcial earÂly-1990s comÂputÂer aniÂmaÂtion, from a numÂber of cyberÂpunk-inclined artists, musiÂcians, sciÂenÂtists, and hackÂers.
This lineÂup includes psyÂcholÂoÂgist, LSD enthuÂsiÂast, and NeuÂroÂmancer PC game masÂterÂmind TimÂoÂthy Leary, in some sense a progÂenÂiÂtor of this whole culÂture of self-enhanceÂment through techÂnolÂoÂgy. How has all this worked out in the near-quarÂter-cenÂtuÂry since? It depends on whether one of GibÂson’s darkÂer preÂdicÂtions aired here will come true: if things go wrong, he says, the future could in realÂiÂty end up not as a grand perÂsonÂal empowÂerÂment but as “a very expenÂsive AmerÂiÂcan teleÂviÂsion comÂmerÂcial injectÂed directÂly into your corÂtex.” ForÂtuÂnateÂly for cyberÂpunks the world over, we haven’t got there yet. Quite.
(And if this docÂuÂmenÂtary gets you wantÂiÂng to jump into cyberÂpunk litÂerÂaÂture, you could do worse than startÂing with Rudy RuckÂer’s Ware TetralÂoÂgy, two of whose books won the Philip K. Dick Award for best novÂel, all of which come with an introÂducÂtion by GibÂson, now availÂable free online.)
CyberÂpunk will be added to our colÂlecÂtion, 285 Free DocÂuÂmenÂtaries Online, part of our largÂer colÂlecÂtion, 4,000+ Free Movies Online: Great ClasÂsics, Indies, Noir, WestÂerns, DocÂuÂmenÂtaries & More.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
William GibÂson, Father of CyberÂpunk, Reads New NovÂel in SecÂond Life
What’s the InterÂnet? That’s So 1994…
ColÂin MarÂshall hosts and proÂduces NoteÂbook on Cities and CulÂture and writes essays on cities, lanÂguage, Asia, and men’s style. He’s at work on a book about Los AngeÂles, A Los AngeÂles Primer. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.