Cyberpunk introduc0on
Class trip to Toronto
• Merril Collec*on of Science Fic*on, Specula*on & Fantasy
• 4:30-‐5:30 Lecture, Show and Tell specifically for our class
• 5:30-‐7:00 Dinner in Toronto • 7:00-‐9:00 John Scalzi and Gardner Dozois at the Merril Collec0on
• hIp://whatever.scalzi.com/
ASSIGNMENTS
• Assignment 1: SciFi Futures • Presenta0ons – get into groups
Early science fic0on
• First Golden Age of science fic0on – 1930s through 1950s
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1946)
• Nineteen Eighty-‐Four by George Orwell (1949)
What is cyberpunk?
• A sub-‐genre of science fic0on • Near-‐future technologies • Ubiquitous computer networks • Rebel-‐hackers • Corrupt corpora0ons or powerful gangs (Yakuza)
• Ar0fical Intelligence (AI) • Humans with body modifica0ons
Typical themes
• Dystopic futures • Underground lifestyles – e.g. The Sprawl, use of designer drugs, black markets, etc.
• Majority exploited by rich and powerful • An aIempt by a small minority to subvert this • Fe0shiza0on of technology, body mods
Aesthe0cs
• Film noir style • Hard-‐boiled detec0ve fic0on wri0ng style
• Punk aesthe0cs
Typical ques0ons in cyberpunk
• What makes us human? • What is the nature of reality?
• How do we know what we think we know?
• How can we push the limits of technology?
POST-‐APOCALYPSE FILM AND FICTION
What is post-‐apocalypse fic0on?
• Sedng is aeer a major world-‐wide catastrophic event
• A new society is being developed from the scraps of the old
• Generally a lack of energy, oil, electricity
• Oeen dystopian, but some0mes libertarian
Ques0ons raised • What is the nature of
governance? • How do we define what is
important aeer all laws and rules are off?
• How would humans react under extreme stress?
• How do people show and acknowledge leadership?
• How can we survive as a human race?
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Neuromancer
• Experimental narra0ve style • Ques0ons of memory • Nature vs. culture or humans vs. technology – Inters00al spaces – Post-‐humaniza0on
debate
Technology will set us free Technology will destroy us
For next week:
• Watch Bladerunner – the original (1982) – the Director’s Cut (1992) – the Final Cut (2007)
• Read Donna Haraway – “A Cyborg Manifesto”