The Influence of Neuromancer on Cyberpunk

Post by noirbot » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 6:17 PM UTC

corysama wrote: post #57

Gravityloss wrote: post #2

I was sick at home and finally picked up the Neuromancer which had been sitting in the bookshelf for years. It was an experience indeed. At many points, very high concept (which of course has been copied to death). At other points, naive. Surprisingly few things felt old fashioned. The biggest let down was the unrealistic behavior and motivation of people. It felt very much like an adventure game where everything rev…

In the interview/documentary https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Maps_for_These_Territorie... Gibson is quite self-deprecating. He attributes several aspects of the book that people love to his inexperience as a writer. The main character is cold and vague because he didn’t know how to write a fleshed out character. People jack-in a lot because he was uncomfortable writing scene transitions. Something like “What do yo…

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 6:18 PM UTC

the_af wrote: post #139

BTCOG wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is contrary to numerous interviews where Gibson praises aesthetic and for example, says that Blade Runner spot-on nailed what he was going for with Neuromancer. Gibson all throughout Neuromancer equally himself focuses, almost hyper-focuses on surface textures and visual aesthetic to juxtapose antique forms and purpose with high tech modern materials. It would seemingly be at odds for him to not like aesthetic a…

I don't think it's contrary. First, Blade Runner came BEFORE Neuromancer was released, so it cannot have been a derivative, and there weren't any good representations of the aesthetic on screen either; its visuals broke new ground in many senses. Gibson rightly feared that: > "BLADERUNNER came out while I was still writing Neuromancer. I was about a third of the way into the manuscript. When I saw (the first twenty m…

Post by noirbot » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 6:20 PM UTC

anotherman554 wrote: post #179

jmyeet wrote: post #29

I was honestly underwhelmed by Neuromancer. Maybe because so many people raved about it or that I read it many years after it was written. I honestly don't know. It was... OK. But amazing? I don't see it. I love science fiction. One thing you have to realize about science ficiton is that it is a product of the time it was written. It may share many of the aesthetics, themes, philosophies and politics of that time. Li…

"Cyberpunk as a genre stems from xenophobia, ultimately" Why does mega-corporation mean Xenophobia against the Japanese? Bladerunner, which came out around the same time, has mega-corporations which aren't run by the Japanese. So does Robocop. The second Sprawl book and third Sprawl book both have wealthy villains who are not Japanese.

Post by npteljes » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 6:35 PM UTC

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…

Post by jrochkind1 » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 6:42 PM UTC

pmoriarty wrote: post #162

kemayo wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did a cursory search, and there's certainly "What I tried to do was give people a future that is the world of the Reagan ’80s carried five steps forward and the volume turned up 20 clicks" in an article[1] from 1994. [1]: https://ew.com/article/1994/08/26/william-gibson-first-man-c...

This sounds very hand-wavy, and I wish Gibson was more explicit in drawing the connections. Slums and the dominance of megacorps and the ultra-rich I understand, but what do cyberspace and AI's (two of Neuromancer 's more original and iconic themes) have to do with Reagan? Nothing, from what I can tell.