The Phenomenon of Cyberpunk (Full Version)

[@MahlenMorris]

Speaking as someone who was an adult when so much of cyberpunk literature and film was created, allow me highlight a couple points: * Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash! Ignore the influence of that book at your peril. * The "Asian" element was almost entirely Japan. From the destruction of WWII, it had risen to dizzying heights. By the 1980's, the Japanese growth in wealth looked like it would never end. It had overturned the US auto industry, which seemed unthinkable, and Tokyo real estate was phenomenally valuable. It seemed very plausible that Japan's interlocked corporate structures would stride the globe. Didn't go that way, of course. * And of course, "punk" was still a small, marginal subculture then. Nice production values and all, but little of what you were saying seemed grounded in the perspective of the time that informed the artworks themselves, or even referred to it. Like discussing jazz without talking about The Great Migration.

[@gabbar51ngh]

I would say Hong Kong and Japan. Hong Kong led to the whole neon light theme while it also happens to be one of the most market driven regions where corporations are allowed to vote. Cyberpunk started out as critique of that.

[@MahlenMorris]

@@gabbar51ngh It is true that Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong is a pivotal force in Snow Crash, though in a positive light, in that Hong Kong had, IIRC, greater freedom and wealth than the fairly broken USA. What other cyberpunk lit of that period referenced Hong Kong that you're thinking of?

[@gabbar51ngh]

@@MahlenMorris while neuromancer & Gibson's work is mostly Tokyo based he did mention Hong Kong, especially Kowloon walled city. A lot of anime & live action adaptations also mention Hong Kong as minor influence from Blade runner to ghost in the shell. It may not be as big as japan but aesthetic wise Hong Kong was heavily Influential. So there's that. Snowcrash is considered a post cyberpunk novel so not surprised it presents it in positive light. It is true when it comes to actual critique & Economics, the cyberpunk isn't really that good. Both Hong Kong & Tokyo are far from dystopian nightmares cyberpunk portray them to be when compared to other places which are much worse.

[@MahlenMorris]

@@gabbar51ngh Oh, yeah, I can see Kowloon Walled City being _very_ ripe for cyberpunk call outs. That high-density no-rules stolen-electricity-wires vibe is right what they wanted to evoke. Now you're making me want to reread Mirrorshades.

[@gabbar51ngh]

@@MahlenMorris hearing first time about "mirrorshades". Lemme look it up. Might put it on reading list if it's good

[@richardextall2002]

Unimaginative appraisal of Cyberpunk.

[@brianborell4469]

Great examination of the genre of cyberpunk. However I have to say that I believe it's roots go back further than the '70's. Look into the 40's-50's writings of Robert Heinlein and his contemporaries.

[@jdub7771]

Hey you got my attention. I'll check this out!

[@richardextall2002]

You are correct.

[@gabbar51ngh]

Cyberpunk's true origin lies in economic prosperity of Asian countries. The whole neon light theme is from Hong Kong and Japan was almost eclipsing past US economy until running into lost decade. These two countries are what led to cyberpunk. Other authors may have written similar stories before but I don't think the visual Aesthetic or the setting would even be possible without these two countries. SciFi previously always dealt with similar subject but I think it truly because cyberpunk when these two countries influenced the genre

[@Tobazhniazhi]

Their observations are so sterile and pragmatic rather than being critical. I think a large part of cyberpunk was gradually engendered through the imagination of visionaries who, in one way or another, were responding to a prescience to what the future may hold. It is both reflecting a sense of reality while at the same time being a realm of escapism.

[@roachkid2818]

I've heard this somewhere before

[@timleung1893]

😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@timleung1893]

😊

[@lanechange1]

Non material ? That’s bs. Cyber punk is material by def . The goal is treating the material beings as if we would seemingly non material beings . This is basic ethics

[@Leo-sd3jt]

Blade Runner's future wasn't orientalist and it's kinda weird that that's the only thing that was spotted by the speakers from watching the movie. The Hungarian, Spanish aspects of Cityspeak aren't an Asian language and show a huge mix of cultural variations. Maybe the speakers thought it was an Asian language being spoken because the proprietor of the noodle stand is Asian? There's Chinese and Japanese writing but there's also Russian writing and other languages as well. Not to mention that Blade Runner came out in 82 which predates the rise of Japan as an economic powerhouse. Neuromancer starts off in Japan but doesn't stay there and the trilogy that it's part of is called the "Sprawl Trilogy" named after the east coast megalopolis that features a lot more prominently in the works. The reason for Japan though? Gibson's wife taught English to Japanese people in Vancouver so he set the opening of the novel there. But the answer to the question of why parts of Asia are seen as futuristic? It's because they are and no greater example exists than Hong Kong and the 1995 Ghost in the Shell anime where the animators of the anime went to Hong Kong and directly drew the scenes that they took photos of because, according to them, Hong Kong looked like how Japan would look in the future. To think that cyberpunk focuses on Asia rather than seeing that Asian influences are on the same level as European and other influences in cyberpunk works seem to suggest that the speaker treats American and European influences as "normal" and everything else as "appropriation" rather than seeing the influences on their own terms. The fact that a lot of seminal cyberpunk works are literally Asian (Akira, Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell) and are from the same time period (all were written in the 1980s) as other cyberpunk works through the suggestion that cyberpunk is about the east invading the west kinda out the window. Cultures travel and people intermix and it's quite common these days to see signs of many languages in city neighborhoods. In Brooklyn one might see a pharmacy with its sign in English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, and Chinese all in one big rectangle. Looking at that, focusing only on the Chinese writing and calling it "appropriation" and "orientalism" is, in my opinion, the equivalent of what's been mentioned here. Wow, wall of text. Anyways, that's the only part of the video that rubbed me the wrong way but other than that I like it! Please post more cyberpunk stuff! Thanks for the video!

[@thefaramith8876]

It focuses on Asia because compare population of Tokyo with Amsterdam.

[@neodecker]

They are outsiders doing an opinion piece on a genre they truly don't understand.

[@Sulfurico]

This is just Epic. Leaving a Big Like 👍

[@richardextall2002]

I bet they haven't even read Neuromancer...

[@jthadcast]

cyberpunk has transitioned into merely a fashion statement, pure consumer hokum.

[@lanechange1]

This is a sad intro to some good stuff. But honestly bad philosophy and for high schoolers . Yet I’m watching

[@FILMBIONICX]

Lucy?!

[@lucier4254]

What was that song playing in the background?

[@alanpoon9275]

we will be there in no time .

[@calvingrondahl1011]

We are a species of story tellers… cyberpunk is one of those stories. Like Star Trek and Star Wars… will it make money?

[@Genethagenius]

Indigo Gaming’s Cyberpunk retrospective does a MUCH better job than this…

[@squigglesmcjr199]

yeah these guys are total gonks

[@S3MediaWorks]

Thanks for watching! WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CYBERPUNK FILM OF ALL TIME?

[@Cunningstunts23]

This video is basically one giant stretch intended to force a political face onto an art medium.

[@sandwichninja]

Cyberpunk is definitely political. All speculative fiction is. The whole point is to discuss current issues, especially the projected outcome of those issues in a fictional future setting in order to place emotional distance between the the topics and the reader/viewer, to compel them to think third positionally undistracted by personal bias. These commentators, especially the two J-ish ones are attempting to twist things though, since the politics that cyberpunk serves as a harsh admonishment of are politics they likely support (unfettered capitalism, corporatism, multiculturalism, etc.). The one dude trying to say cyberpunk is somehow anti-authoritarian was the worst though, since cyberpunk is anti-foreign influence, and directly admonishes the notion of government taking a back seat to foreign oligarchs.

[@jimmyzbike]

Nice video. A good starting point for a conversation.

[@lanechange1]

Live in East Asia for a bit. It’s clearly ahead

[@marcv2648]

Please don't use nonsense terms like cultural appropriation.

[@gabe_ed]

In the video they name various influences from cultures outside of the american one. Iconography that at this point is just a random addition (see every modern "cyberpunk" work having japanese or chinese neon signs everywhere just because) So tell me, why is it "nonsense"?

[@marcv2648]

@@gabe_ed Because to appropriate something means you take it away from someone else. Tell me, if I light my torch using your torch, do I appropriate your flame? Yes, it's nonsense!

[@marcv2648]

@@gabe_ed The internet is an American invention, so is the light bulb. If you live in another country, you would be appropriating them under your definition.

[@squigglesmcjr199]

@@marcv2648 libtard gonk

[@martinjackman2943]

@@marcv2648 The filament light bulb was invented by Joseph Swan... an English man in England...

[@scotthallgv]

You ever feel like youre watching something created by an AI?

[@JesusProtects]

Only while watching something made by an AI. I don't like it.

[@BlackShogun1]

UCR --- I had my childhood on that's campus🌷

[@gardnerunderhill3661]

As I remember reading somewhere. In cyberspace no one knows if you are a dog.

[@reks724]

So cool

[@nephildevil]

high tech, low life

[@kamanijefferson638]

That's pretty much in a nutshell. Dystopia and mass wealth inequality but everything still looks nice.

[@BlackShogun1]

Outstanding this was better than the Ghost In The Shell Remake. Great Job Guy's...

[@bizbite2]

You ruined video with “Cultural appropriation” propaganda!

[@southernpennsyrailfan8579]

Good luck LMOA you're going to need a lot of luck.

[@gabe_ed]

What's LMOA and why does it or them need luck? Also, "you're* going"

[@MariaDelCarmenMatesanzIz-zy7hd]

😊😊

[@lanechange1]

Vocal fry is the way

[@aaron2709]

This would be better without the incessant music.

[@lanechange1]

This is not good stuff things

[@gabe_ed]

Why?

[@kimalikijames7812]

The whole video is like base line what people know from the recent crazy but not much more kinda hurts watching

[@thekiller0723]

O

[@ppadillagarcia9040]

P

[@lanechange1]

You sound like young Americans

[@gabe_ed]

What does that mean?