The Influence of Neuromancer on Cyberpunk

Post by paparush » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:48 PM UTC

mmaunder wrote: post #146

sneak wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be honest, the descriptions of the metaverse are the parts of Neuromancer that hold up least well. The dirtbags, crime, sex, and drugs are all still perfect, and I imagine will remain so.

They're a 38 year old metaphor. Neil Stephenson's Smartwheels don't exist either, and we still don't have "professional road surfers", but that doesn't make Snow Crash any less relevant: "Smartwheels use sonar, laser range finding and millimeter wave radar to identify mufflers and other debris. Each one consists of a hub with many tiny spokes. Each spoke telescopes into five sections. On the end is a squat foot, rubb…

Post by Mountain_Skies » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:49 PM UTC

dleslie wrote: post #172

the_af wrote: post #17

One thing I read somewhere -- and it might have been an interview with Gibson or with someone else talking about his work -- is how much William Gibson despises derivatives of cyberpunk in the books, videogames and movies that followed. Specifically, he dislikes the focus on the aesthetic, neon lights, mirror shades, etc. I think Gibson really dislikes Cyberpunk 2077, for example. Gibson argued they are missing the p…

Cyberpunk 2077 receives too much grief for its rejection of the mainstream state of affairs, making it quite punk. IMHO. The crux of the story, the full arc and conclusion of your character, is that you are a nobody who seeks to become an influencer, comes to believe that you have a big role to play in world events, but ultimately even your greatest possible achievements amount to being either inconsequential or the…

Post by pmoriarty » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:54 PM UTC

BTCOG wrote: post #161

throw1234651234 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The most perfect metaphor for the West's present switch-over from Japanmania to the Korean Wave." if this is a thing, it has been largely unnoticed. I think educated people think of SK as one of the few countries competing with US tech income (others being Australia, Japan, Singapore, and some (but very few) parts of England (London Finance), Germany (not sure on this one), and Switzerland (banking )). Other than th…

The West (specifically in my experience, the United States) have been buying up everything tech and auto South Korean for pushing over a decade now at this point. Kia and Hyundai automobiles are now running against the Japanese cars here. Samsung and LG electronics are highly popular, as the Japanese versions were a decade or three prior. It's now more Samsung, LG, etc here in the US than it is Sony, for example. Als…

Post by dleslie » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:58 PM UTC

Mountain_Skies wrote: post #183

dleslie wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cyberpunk 2077 receives too much grief for its rejection of the mainstream state of affairs, making it quite punk. IMHO. The crux of the story, the full arc and conclusion of your character, is that you are a nobody who seeks to become an influencer, comes to believe that you have a big role to play in world events, but ultimately even your greatest possible achievements amount to being either inconsequential or the…

Sorry to gatekeep but corporate produced anything cannot be punk. At most, they can serve as a rent seeker for passing along punk to the masses but that's not even what Cyberpunk 2077 is. This is 100% corporate, focus grouped, committee approved, beige trying too hard to be punk. Which is fine if taken for what it really is but what it really is, which isn't punk.

Post by munk-a » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 6:02 PM UTC

IgorPartola wrote: post #156

mmcdermott wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> evil corporations are greedy and use tech in soulless and alienating ways" used to be a radical message but it's not anymore. It seems like you would have to go pretty far back to find a time where that would be a genuinely radical message. The 19th century saw the trusts and rail barons. There was also the East India Trading Company and its affect on India. I haven't read Gibson's work specifically (though I'd lik…

I think in retrospect you can say what you said. But think about your stereotypical grandfather whose big ambition was to be a company man, to work his way through life and be rewarded with a modest pension and a reasonably comfortable retirement. Think also about the fact that while in the US this is less of a dream now, in Japan this sentiment seems alive and well.