Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a peculiar genre to me. Upon reading for class and learning more about it through discussion and the power point presentation I realized that I had been aware of the genre, but not with the knowledge that it was a genre. In other words, as we learned about “what makes cyberpunk?” I was able to recognize the elements of technology, dystopia, etc from things that I have experienced in the past. However, I did not even know that cyberpunk was a specific thing and had always lumped it into the general science fiction umbrella.

It seems that technology plays a crucial part in any cyberpunk story. I think that my generation resonates in a peculiar way with literature that deals with technological evolution, space travel, and cybergenetics. Because we more or less grew up as technology exploded (at least as far as the average consumer is concerned), we see its inclusion in literature not as a far off fantasy, but a more attainable aspect of everyday life. This contrasts the experience of those who grew up in the 60s, 70s, and even part of the 80s who—due to the nature of their time—would have more difficulty picturing space travel and robots as an integral part of consumer life.

It is interesting learning about a genre that is still very relevant, or at least has been recently present in literature, because I am most curious about what is coming next, and how the cyberpunk genre will influence future works. Essentially, we are reaching a point where many more things are possible with the use of technology, and are on the cusp of breaking into new frontiers—literary genres included. Like I mentioned in class, I suspect that both in reality and within artistic expression, a new genre will develop that explores deep psychology, the definitions of human and nonhuman, and the effect that newly developed and increasingly personal technology will have on our inner selves.