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Berlin's Sony Center reflects the global reach of a Japanese corporation. Cyberpunk is often set in urbanized, artificial landscapes, and "city lights at night" was one of the genre's first metaphors for cyberspace (Neuromancer).

Cyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life". It is also a musical subgenre of metal. The name is derived from cybernetics and punk and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk" published in 1983^[1], though the style was popularized well before its publication by editor Gardner Dozois. It features advanced science such as information technology and cybernetics, coupled with a degree of breakdown or a radical change in the social order. According to Lawrence Person: Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Download high resolution version (1988x3015, 866 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Wikipedia:Featured pictures visible Helmut Jahn User talk:Solipsist User:Aurevilly Wikipedia:Featured pictures thumbs 03 Wikipedia:Featured pictures candidates/May-2005 Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Sony Center Berlin Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2005-05... Download high resolution version (1988x3015, 866 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Wikipedia:Featured pictures visible Helmut Jahn User talk:Solipsist User:Aurevilly Wikipedia:Featured pictures thumbs 03 Wikipedia:Featured pictures candidates/May-2005 Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Sony Center Berlin Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2005-05... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... This shows the interior of one of the seven buildings that comprises the Sony Center. ... This article is about metaphor in literature and rhetoric. ... It has been suggested that Virtual world be merged into this article or section. ... For the 1988 video game, see Neuromancer (video game). ... A science fiction genre is a division (genre) of science fiction. ... High tech refers to high technology, technology that is at the cutting-edge and the most advanced currently available. ... Low-Life was New Orders third studio album. ... For other uses, see Cybernetics (disambiguation). ... Punks at a music festival The punk subculture is a subculture that is based around punk rock music. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Gardner Dozois (born July 23, 1947) is an American science fiction author and editor. ... Information and communication technology spending in 2005 Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), is the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware. ... Social order is a concept used in sociology, history and other social sciences. ... Lawrence Person is a science fiction writer and editor of SF critical magazine Nova Express. ...

"Classic cyberpunk characters were marginalized, alienated loners who lived on the edge of society in generally dystopic futures where daily life was impacted by rapid technological change, an ubiquitous datasphere of computerized information, and invasive modification of the human body."^[2]

Cyberpunk music often features heavy bass, bass drums, and synthesized sound effects. It is considered a subgenre of metal or EBM (electronic body music). Lyrics tend to lean toward the obscene, but usually include a message of some meaning that fits in with the classic punk. These meanings are often modernized and anti-establisment messages are not quite as common as in regular punk music. Punks at a music festival The punk subculture is a subculture that is based around punk rock music. ...

Cyberpunk plots often center on a conflict among hackers, artificial intelligences, and mega corporations. They tend to be set in a near-future Earth, rather than the far future settings or galactic vistas found in novels like Isaac Asimov's Foundation or Frank Herbert's Dune. The settings are usually post-industrial dystopias, but tend to be marked by extraordinary cultural ferment and the use of technology in ways never anticipated by its creators ("the street finds its own uses for things"^[3]). Much of the genre's atmosphere echoes film noir, and written works in the genre often use techniques from detective fiction. This article is about computer hacking. ... AI redirects here. ... Megacorp is a term popularized by William Gibson derived from the combination of the prefix mega- with an abbreviation of the word corporation. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... Isaac Asimov (January 2?, 1920?[1] – April 6, 1992), pronounced , originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as Айзек Азимов [1], was a Russian-born American author and professor of biochemistry, a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. ... Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimovs Foundation Trilogy (later expanded into The Foundation Series). ... Frank Patrick Herbert (October 8, 1920 – February 11, 1986) was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. ... Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert and published in 1965. ... A post-industrial society is a proposed name for an economy that has undergone a specific series of changes in structure after a process of industrialization. ... This article is about the philosophical concept and literary form. ... This still from The Big Combo (1955) demonstrates the visual style of film noir at its most extreme. ... Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centers upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. ...

Primary exponents of the cyberpunk field include William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Pat Cadigan, Rudy Rucker and John Shirley. For other persons named William Gibson, see William Gibson (disambiguation). ... For other persons named Bruce Sterling, see Bruce Sterling (disambiguation). ... Pat Cadigan (born 1953) is an American born science fiction author, whose work is sometimes described as part of the cyberpunk movement, although she does not classify herself in that way. ... Rudy Rucker, Fall 2004, photo by Georgia Rucker. ... John Patrick Shirley (born February 10, 1953) is an American science fiction and horror writer of novels, short stories, and television & film scripts. ...

Postmodernist investigation of cyberpunk became a fashionable topic in academic circles, and the genre reached Hollywood to become one of cinema's staple science-fiction styles. Many influential films such as Blade Runner, Hackers (film), the Matrix trilogy or the more recent adaptation of Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly can be seen as prominent examples of the cyberpunk style and theme. Computer games, board games and role-playing games (such as Shadowrun or Cyberpunk 2020) often feature storylines that are heavily influenced by cyberpunk writing and movies. Beginning in the early 1990s, some trends in fashion and music were also labeled as cyberpunk. Cyberpunk is also featured prominently in anime, Ghost in the Shell being the most notable. Postmodernism is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding, modernism. ... Academia is a collective term for the scientific and cultural community engaged in higher education and research, taken as a whole. ... Hollywood redirects here. ... This article is about the 1982 film. ... Hackers is a 1995 film that follows the misfortunes of the young hackers Dade Murphy (Crash Override/Zero Cool, played by Jonny Lee Miller), Kate Libby (Acid Burn, played by Angelina Jolie) and their friends. ... The Matrix series consists primarily of three films, The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. ... A Scanner Darkly is a 1977 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick. ... A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... A board game is any game played with a premarked surface, with counters or pieces that are moved across the board. ... This article is about games in which one plays the role of a character. ... Shadowrun is a cyberpunk-urban fantasy cross-genre role-playing game, set 63 years in the future,[1]following a great cataclysm that has brought use of magic back to the world, just as it begins to embrace the marvels (and dangers) of technologies such as cyberspace, omnipresent computer networks... Cyberpunk 2020 is a cyberpunk role-playing game written by Mike Pondsmith and published by R. Talsorian Games. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Motoko Kusanagi from the manga Ghost in the Shell. ...

As a wider variety of writers began to work with cyberpunk concepts, new-subgenres of science fiction emerged, playing off the cyberpunk label, and focusing on technology and its social effects in different ways. Examples include steampunk (cyberpunk themes in the early industrial age), pioneered by Tim Powers, K. W. Jeter, and James Blaylock, and biopunk (cyberpunk themes dominated by biotechnology, including Paul Di Filippo’s half-serious ribofunk). In addition, some people consider works such as Neal Stephenson’s The Diamond Age to be postcyberpunk. Some of the more popular cyberpunk bands include Angelspit, ASP, Chiasm, Combichrist, Das Ich, Seraphim Shock, Suicide Commando, and Zombie Girl. For the comic book, see Steampunk (comics). ... Industrialisation (or industrialization) or an industrial revolution (in general, with lowercase letters) is a process of social and economic change whereby a human society is transformed from a pre-industrial to an industrial state . ... Tim Powers at the Israeli ICon 2005 SF&F Convention Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. ... Kevin Wayne Jeter (born 1950) is an American science fiction and horror author known for his literary writing style, dark themes, and paranoid, unsympathetic characters. ... James P. Blaylock (born September 20, 1950) is an American fantasy author. ... Biopunk (a portmanteau word combining biotech and punk) is a term used to describe a science fiction genre that focuses on biotechnology and subversives. ... The structure of insulin Biotechnology is technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. ... Paul Di Filippo is a science fiction writer born October 29, 1954 in Providence, Rhode Island. ... Biopunk is a portmanteau word combining biotech and punk. // Science fiction Biopunk is a sub-genre of science fiction which uses elements from the hard-boiled detective novel, film noir, Japanese anime, and post-modernist prose. ... Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer, known primarily for his science fiction works in the postcyberpunk genre with a penchant for explorations of society, mathematics, currency, and the history of science. ... The Diamond Age or, A Young Ladys Illustrated Primer is a postcyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Angelspit is a two-piece industrial rock band based in Sydney, Australia. ... ASP is a three-letter acronym with numerous meanings in different contexts. ... Promotional photo of Emileigh Rohn. ... Combichrist was formed in 2003 by Norwegian Andy LaPlegua (founder of the band Icon of Coil) as an Electronic body music project. ... Kramm and Ackermann. ... Suicide Commando is the name of a Belgian musical act combining aggrotech with elements of electro-industrial. ...

Style and ethos

The hacker as hero: Lain from the cyberpunk anime series "Serial Experiments Lain".

Screenshot from anime Serial Experiments Lain, for inclusion on Lain or possibly hacker. ... Screenshot from anime Serial Experiments Lain, for inclusion on Lain or possibly hacker. ... Animé redirects here. ... Original run July 6, 1998 – September 28, 1998 No. ...

Setting

Cyberpunk writers tend to use elements from the hard-boiled detective novel, film noir, and postmodernist prose to describe the often nihilistic underground side of an electronic society. The genre's vision of a troubled future is often called the antithesis of the generally utopian visions of the future popular in the 1940s and 1950s. (Gibson defined cyberpunk's antipathy towards utopian SF in his 1981 short story The Gernsback Continuum, which pokes fun at and, to a certain extent, condemns utopian SF.) Hard Boiled (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; literally: Hot-Handed God of Cops) is a 1992 action film directed by John Woo. ... Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centers upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. ... This still from The Big Combo (1955) demonstrates the visual style of film noir at its most extreme. ... Postmodernism is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or superseding, modernism. ... This article is about the philosophical position. ... This article is about the philosophical concept and literary form. ... For other uses, see Utopia (disambiguation). ... This article is in need of attention. ... The Gernsback Continuum is a short story by William Gibson, collected as part of his Burning Chrome anthology, about a photographer who has been given the assignment of photographing old, futuristic architecture. ...

In some cyberpunk writing, much of the action takes place online, in cyberspace, blurring the border between the actual and the virtual reality. A typical trope in such work is a direct connection between the human brain and computer systems. Cyberpunk depicts the world as a dark, sinister place with networked computers which dominate every aspect of life. Giant, multinational corporations have for the most part replaced governments as centers of political, economic and even military power. The alienated outsider's battle against a totalitarian or quasi-totalitarian system is a common theme in science fiction (cf. Nineteen Eighty-Four) and cyberpunk in particular, though in conventional science fiction the totalitarian systems tend to be sterile, ordered, and state controlled. Online means being connected to the Internet or another similar electronic network, like a bulletin board system. ... It has been suggested that Virtual world be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about the simulation technology. ... In literature, a trope is a familiar and repeated symbol, meme, theme, motif, style, character or thing that permeates a particular type of literature. ... // A brain-computer interface (BCI), sometimes called a direct neural interface or a brain-machine interface, is a direct communication pathway between a human or animal brain (or brain cell culture) and an external device. ... The human brain controls the central nervous system (CNS), by way of the cranial nerves and spinal cord, the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and regulates virtually all human activity. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... A computer network is an interconnection of a group of computers. ... A multinational corporation (or transnational corporation) (MNC/TNC) is a corporation or enterprise that manages production establishments or delivers services in at least two countries. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Totalitarianism is a term employed by some political scientists, especially those in the field of comparative politics, to describe modern regimes in which the state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private behavior. ... This article is about the Orwell novel. ...

Cyberpunk author Bruce Sterling summarized the cyberpunk ethos in Cyberpunk in the Nineties as follows: For other persons named Bruce Sterling, see Bruce Sterling (disambiguation). ...

"Anything that can be done to a rat can be done to a human being. And we can do most anything to rats. This is a hard thing to think about, but it's the truth. It won't go away because we cover our eyes. This is cyberpunk."

Protagonists

Protagonists in cyberpunk writing usually include computer hackers, who are often patterned on the idea of the lone hero fighting injustice: Robin Hood, Zorro, etc. They are often disenfranchised people placed in extraordinary situations, rather than brilliant scientists or starship captains intentionally seeking advance or adventure, and are not always true "heroes"; an apt comparison might be to the moral ambiguity of Clint Eastwood's character in the Man with No Name trilogy. One of the cyberpunk genre's prototype characters is Case, from Gibson's Neuromancer. Case is a "console cowboy," a brilliant hacker, who betrays his organized criminal partners. Robbed of his talent through a crippling injury inflicted by the vengeful partners, Case unexpectedly receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be healed by expert medical care, but only if he participates in another criminal enterprise with a new crew. A protagonist is the main figure of a piece of literature or drama and has the main part or role. ... This article is about computer hacking. ... For other uses, see Robin Hood (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Zorro (disambiguation). ... This article is about the actor/producer/director. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... For the 1988 video game, see Neuromancer (video game). ...

Like Case, many cyberpunk protagonists are manipulated, placed in situations where they have little or no choice, and although they might see things through, they do not necessarily come out any further ahead than they previously were. These anti-heroes — "criminals, outcasts, visionaries, dissenters and misfits"^[4] do not experience a Campbellian "hero's journey", like the protagonist of a Homeric epic or an Alexandre Dumas, père novel. Instead, they call to mind the private eye of detective novels, who might solve the trickiest cases but never receives a just reward. This emphasis on the misfits and the malcontents (what Thomas Pynchon called the "preterite") is the "punk" component of cyberpunk. In literature and film, an anti-hero is a central or supporting character that has some of the personality flaws and ultimate fortune traditionally assigned to villains but nonetheless also have enough heroic qualities or intentions to gain the sympathy of readers or viewers. ... For other uses, see Joseph Campbell (disambiguation). ... The monomyth (often referred to as the heros journey) is a description of a basic pattern found in many narratives from around the world. ... For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). ... The epic is a broadly defined genre of narrative poetry, characterized by great length, multiple settings, large numbers of characters, or long span of time involved. ... Alexandre Dumas redirects here. ... A private investigator, private detective, PI, or private eye, is a person who undertakes investigations, usually for a private citizen or some other entity not involved with a government or police organization. ... Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centres upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. ... Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. ...

Society and government

Cyberpunk literature is often used as a metaphor for the present day-worries about the failings of corporations, corruption in governments, alienation and surveillance technology. Cyberpunk can be intended to disquiet readers and call them to action. It often expresses a sense of rebellion, suggesting that one could describe it as a type of culture revolution in science fiction. In the words of author and critic David Brin, This article is about metaphor in literature and rhetoric. ... Surveillance Technology refers to the system of technological survelience used in many modern cities and private buildings, often involving closed-circut video cameras. ... Glen David Brin, Ph. ...

"… a closer look at [cyberpunk authors] reveals that they nearly always portray future societies in which governments have become wimpy and pathetic … Popular science fiction tales by Gibson, Williams, Cadigan and others do depict Orwellian accumulations of power in the next century, but nearly always clutched in the secretive hands of a wealthy or corporate elite."^[5]

Cyberpunk stories have also been seen as fictional forecasts of the evolution of the Internet. The virtual world of what is now known as the Internet often appears under various names, including "cyberspace", "the Wired", "the Metaverse" or "the Matrix". In this context it is important to note that the earliest descriptions of a global communications network came long before the World Wide Web entered popular awareness, though not before traditional science fiction writers such as Arthur C. Clarke and some social commentators such as James Burke began predicting that such networks would eventually form.^[6] The adjective Orwellian describes the situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being inimical to the welfare of a free-society. ... For other uses, see Elite (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... WWWs historical logo designed by Robert Cailliau The World Wide Web (commonly shortened to the Web) is a system of interlinked, hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE (born 16 December 1917) is a British science-fiction author and inventor, most famous for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, and for collaborating with director Stanley Kubrick on the film of the same... James Burke James Burke (born November 22, 1936) is a British science historian, author and television producer best known for his documentary television series called Connections, focusing on the history of science and technology leavened with a sense of humour. ...

Interesting questions about possible A.I. rights have been introduced using cyberpunk stories as a springboard. Uploads of human minds, such as the Dixie Flatline (Neuromancer) and the Franklin Collective (Accelerando), as well as pure A.I.s such as 'Wintermute' (Neuromancer) or those depicted in A.I., consider themselves to have intelligence and self-awareness. This raises the question as to whether intelligence comparable to humans should give them comparable legal and moral standing. For the 1988 video game, see Neuromancer (video game). ... Accelerando (ISBN 0441012841) is a 2005 science fiction novel by British author Charles Stross. ... A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (actual on-screen title: Artificial Intelligence: A.I.) (2001) was the last project that filmmaker Stanley Kubrick worked on. ...

Literature

Overview

The science fiction editor Gardner Dozois is generally acknowledged as the person who popularized the use of the term "cyberpunk" as a kind of literature, although Minnesota writer Bruce Bethke coined the term in 1980 for his short story "Cyberpunk", which was published in the November 1983 issue of Amazing Science Fiction Stories.^[7] The term was quickly appropriated as a label to be applied to the works of William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, John Shirley, Rudy Rucker, Michael Swanwick, Pat Cadigan, Lewis Shiner, Richard Kadrey and others. Of these, Sterling became the movement's chief ideologue, thanks to his fanzine Cheap Truth. He also wrote articles on Sterling and Rucker's significance.^[8] Gardner Dozois (born July 23, 1947) is an American science fiction author and editor. ... For other uses, see Literature (disambiguation). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Amazing Stories magazine, sometimes retitled Amazing Science Fiction, began in April 1926, becoming the first science fiction magazine and one of the pioneers of science fiction in the United States. ... For other persons named William Gibson, see William Gibson (disambiguation). ... For other persons named Bruce Sterling, see Bruce Sterling (disambiguation). ... John Patrick Shirley (born February 10, 1953) is an American science fiction and horror writer of novels, short stories, and television & film scripts. ... Rudy Rucker, Fall 2004, photo by Georgia Rucker. ... At the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, August 2005 Michael Swanwick (born November 18, 1950) is an American science fiction author. ... Pat Cadigan (born 1953) is an American born science fiction author, whose work is sometimes described as part of the cyberpunk movement, although she does not classify herself in that way. ... Lewis Shiner (December 30, 1950, Eugene, Oregon) is an American writer. ... Richard Kadrey is a novelist, freelance writer, and photographer based in San Francisco. ... A fanzine (see also: zine) is a nonprofessional publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share their interest. ... Cheap Truth was a free series of one-page newsletters published in the 1980s. ...

William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy novels are the most famous early cyberpunk novels.

William Gibson with his novel Neuromancer (1984) is likely the most famous writer connected with the term cyberpunk. He emphasized style, a fascination with surfaces and the "look and feel" of the future, and atmosphere over traditional science-fiction tropes. Regarded as ground-breaking, and sometimes as "the archetypal cyberpunk work",^[2] Neuromancer was awarded the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards. After his popular debut novel, Count Zero (1986) and Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988) followed. According to the Jargon File, "Gibson's near-total ignorance of computers and the present-day hacker culture enabled him to speculate about the role of computers and hackers in the future in ways hackers have since found both irritatingly naïve and tremendously stimulating."^[9] Download high resolution version (1228x772, 138 KB)public domain / picture taken by Fortinbras File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1228x772, 138 KB)public domain / picture taken by Fortinbras File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Sprawl-trilogy, of which Neuromancer is the first part. ... For other persons named William Gibson, see William Gibson (disambiguation). ... For the 1988 video game, see Neuromancer (video game). ... In literature, a trope is a familiar and repeated symbol, meme, theme, motif, style, character or thing that permeates a particular type of literature. ... The 2005 Hugo Award with base designed by Deb Kosiba. ... The Nebula is an award given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years (see rolling eligibility below). ... The Philip K. Dick Memorial Award is a science fiction award sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society, and named after science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. ... The Sprawl trilogy, of which Count Zero is the second part Count Zero (ISBN 0441117732) is a science fiction novel written by William Gibson, originally published in 1986. ... NAKAYUBI (ナカユビ; Middle Finger) Buster Zangai -Shape2- (残骸 -Shape2-; Wreck -Shape2-) Limbo Mona Lisa Girl (Shape 2) Sid Vicious on the Beach Black Cherry Genzai (原罪; Original Sin) Monster Ai no uta (愛ノ歌; Love Song Continuous Information Mona Lisa OVERDRIVE was named after the 1989 novel Mona Lisa Overdrive, by William Gibson. ... The Jargon File is a glossary of hacker slang. ...

Early on, cyberpunk was hailed as a radical departure from science-fiction standards and a new manifestation of vitality.^[10] Shortly thereafter, however, many critics arose to challenge its status as a revolutionary movement. These critics said that the SF "New Wave" of the 1960s was much more innovative as far as narrative techniques and styles were concerned.^[11] Further, while Neuromancer's narrator may have had an unusual "voice" for science fiction, much older examples can be found: Gibson's narrative voice, for example, resembles that of an updated Raymond Chandler, as in his novel The Big Sleep (1939)^[10] Others noted that almost all traits claimed to be uniquely cyberpunk could in fact be found in older writers' works — often citing J. G. Ballard, Philip K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, Stanislaw Lem, Samuel R. Delany and even William S. Burroughs.^[10] For example, Philip K. Dick's works contain recurring themes of social decay, artificial intelligence, paranoia, and blurred lines between reality and some kind of virtual reality, and the influential cyberpunk movie Blade Runner is based on one of his books. Humans linked to machines are found in Pohl and Kornbluth's Wolfbane (1959) and Roger Zelazny's Creatures of Light and Darkness (1968). New Wave science fiction was characterised by a high degree of experimentation, both in form and in content, and a highbrow and self-consciously literary or artistic sensibility previously comparatively alien to the science fiction aesthetic. ... For other persons named Raymond Chandler, see Raymond Chandler (disambiguation). ... The Big Sleep is a 1939 novel by Raymond Chandler, with two film versions, one filmed in 1946, and another filmed in 1978. ... James Graham Ballard (born 15 November 1930 in Shanghai) is a British writer. ... Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American writer, mostly known for his works of science fiction. ... Harlan Jay Ellison (born May 27, 1934) is a prolific American writer of short stories, novellas, teleplays, essays, and criticism. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Samuel Ray Delany, Jr. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (February 5, 1914) — August 2, 1997; pronounced ), more commonly known as William S. Burroughs, was an American novelist, essayist, social critic, painter and spoken word performer. ... This article is about the 1982 film. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels. ... Creatures of Light and Darkness is a science fiction novel by Roger Zelazny published in 1968, as well as a roman à clef about the Social Security Administration at Woodlawn, Maryland, where Zelazny worked. ...

In 1994, scholar Brian Stonehill suggested that Thomas Pynchon's 1973 novel Gravity's Rainbow "not only curses but precurses what we now glibly dub cyberspace".^[12] Other important predecessors include Alfred Bester's two most celebrated novels, The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination, as well as Vernor Vinge's novella True Names. Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. ... Gravitys Rainbow is an epic postmodern novel written by Thomas Pynchon and first published on February 28, 1973. ... Alfred Bester Alfred Bester (born December 18, 1913 in New York City, died September 30, 1987) was a science fiction author and the winner of the first Hugo Award in 1953 for his novel The Demolished Man. ... The Demolished Man is a 1951 science fiction novel by Alfred Bester, and was the first Hugo Award winner in 1953. ... Galaxy magazine cover from October 1956 The Stars My Destination (also called Tiger! Tiger!) is a science fiction novel by Alfred Bester, first published in Galaxy magazine in October 1956. ... Vernor Steffen Vinge (IPA: ) (born February 10, 1944) is a mathematician, computer scientist and science fiction author who is best known for his Hugo award-winning novels A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky, as well as for his 1993 essay The Technological Singularity, in which... True Names was the science fiction novella which brought Vernor Vinge to prominence in 1981. ...

Science-fiction writer David Brin describes cyberpunk as "...the finest free promotion campaign ever waged on behalf of science fiction." It may not have attracted the "real punks", but it did ensnare many new readers, and it provided the sort of movement which postmodern literary critics found alluring. (One illustration of this is Donna Haraway's "Cyborg Manifesto", an attempt to build a "political myth" using cyborgs as metaphors for contemporary "social reality".^[13]) Cyberpunk made science fiction more attractive to academics, argues Brin; in addition, it made science fiction more profitable to Hollywood and to the visual arts generally. Although the "self-important rhetoric and whines of persecution" on the part of cyberpunk fans were irritating at worst and humorous at best, Brin declares that the "rebels did shake things up. We owe them a debt."^[14] Glen David Brin, Ph. ... Donna Haraway, born in 1944 in Denver, Colorado, is currently a professor and former chair of the History of Consciousness Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, United States. ... For other uses, see Cyborg (disambiguation). ... This article is about metaphor in literature and rhetoric. ... Hollywood redirects here. ...

Cyberpunk further inspired many professional writers who were not among the "original" cyberpunks to incorporate cyberpunk ideas into their own works, such as Walter Jon Williams' Hardwired and Voice of the Whirlwind, and George Alec Effinger's When Gravity Fails. These types of writings do not only form into the work of a book, but cyberpunk knowledge is also leaking into the pages of our magazines. Wired magazine, created by Louis Rossetto and Jane Metcalfe, mixes new technology, art, literature, and today’s important topics. It is meant to strike the interest of today’s cyberpunks and has been flying off the newsstands, “Which proves that hardcore hackers, multimedia junkies, cyberpunks and cellular freaks are poised to take over the world.”^[15] Hardwired is a 1986 cyberpunk science fiction novel by Walter Jon Williams. ... Voice of the Whirlwind is a 1987 cyberpunk science fiction novel by Walter Jon Williams. ... George Alec Effinger (January 10, 1947–April 27, 2002) was an American science fiction author, born in Cleveland, Ohio. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

As new writers and artists began to experiment with cyberpunk ideas, new varieties of fiction emerged, sometimes addressing the criticisms leveled at the original cyberpunk stories. Lawrence Person writes, in an essay he posted to the Internet forum Slashdot, Lawrence Person is a science fiction writer and editor of SF critical magazine Nova Express. ... Slashdot, often abbreviated as /.[1], is a science, science fiction, and technology-related news website owned by SourceForge, Inc. ...

"Many writers who grew up reading in the 1980s are just now starting to have their stories and novels published. To them cyberpunk was not a revolution or alien philosophy invading SF, but rather just another flavor of SF. Like the writers of the 1970s and 80s who assimilated the New Wave's classics and stylistic techniques without necessarily knowing or even caring about the manifestos and ideologies that birthed them, today's new writers might very well have read Neuromancer back to back with Asimov's Foundation, John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar, and Larry Niven's Ringworld and seen not discontinuities but a continuum."^[2]

Person's essay advocates using the term "postcyberpunk" to label the new works such writers produce. In this view, typical postcyberpunk stories continue the focus on a ubiquitous datasphere of computerized information and cybernetic augmentation of the human body, but without the assumption of dystopia. Good examples are Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age or Charles Stross's Accelerando. Like all categories discerned within science fiction, the boundaries of postcyberpunk are likely to be fluid or ill-defined. To complicate matters, there is a continuing market for "pure" cyberpunk novels strongly influenced by Gibson's early work, such as Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon. For the 1988 video game, see Neuromancer (video game). ... Isaac Asimov (January 2?, 1920?[1] – April 6, 1992), pronounced , originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as Айзек Азимов [1], was a Russian-born American author and professor of biochemistry, a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. ... Foundation is the first book in Isaac Asimovs Foundation Trilogy (later expanded into The Foundation Series). ... John Brunner John Kilian Houston Brunner (September 24, 1934 – August 26, 1995) was a prolific British author of science fiction novels and stories. ... Cover art. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Ringworld is a Hugo and Nebula award-winning 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... This article is about the philosophical concept and literary form. ... Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer, known primarily for his science fiction works in the postcyberpunk genre with a penchant for explorations of society, mathematics, currency, and the history of science. ... The Diamond Age or, A Young Ladys Illustrated Primer is a postcyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson. ... Charles David George Charlie Stross (born Leeds, October 18, 1964) is a writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... Accelerando (ISBN 0441012841) is a 2005 science fiction novel by British author Charles Stross. ... Altered Carbon (2002) is a hardboiled science fiction novel by Richard Morgan. ...

Subgenres and connected genres

See also: List of precursors to cyberpunk and List of cyberpunk print media

As a wider variety of writers began to work with cyberpunk concepts, new sub-genres of science fiction emerged, playing off the cyberpunk label, and focusing on technology and its social effects in different ways. A prominent subgenre is steampunk (cyberpunk themes in the early industrial age), which is set in an alternative history Victorian era that combines anachronistic techonology with cyberpunk's bleak film noir world view. The term was originally coined around 1987 as a joke to describe some of the novels of Tim Powers, James P. Blaylock, and K.W. Jeter, but by the time Gibson and Sterling entered the subgenre with their collaborative novel The Difference Engine the term was being used earnestly as well.^[16] William Gibsons Sprawl trilogy of novels The following is a list of works commonly ascribed to the cyberpunk genre of science fiction. ... William Gibsons Sprawl trilogy of novels The following is a list of works commonly ascribed to the cyberpunk genre of science fiction. ... For the comic book, see Steampunk (comics). ... Industrialisation (or industrialization) or an industrial revolution (in general, with lowercase letters) is a process of social and economic change whereby a human society is transformed from a pre-industrial to an industrial state . ... Alternative history or alternate history develops out of historiography to identify historical points of view that have been ignored, overlooked, or unseeable. ... The Victorian era of the United Kingdom marked the height of the British Industrial Revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ... This still from The Big Combo (1955) demonstrates the visual style of film noir at its most extreme. ... Tim Powers at the Israeli ICon 2005 SF&F Convention Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. ... James P. Blaylock (born September 20, 1950) is an American fantasy author. ... Kevin Wayne Jeter (born 1950) is an American science fiction author known for his literary writing style, dark themes, and paranoid, unsympathetic characters. ... The Difference Engine is an alternate history novel by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. ...

Another subgenre is biopunk (cyberpunk themes dominated by biotechnology) from the early 1990s, a derivative style building on biotechnology rather than informational technology. In these stories, people are changed in some way not by mechanical means, but by genetic manipulation of their very chromosomes. Paul Di Filippo is seen as the most prominent biopunk writer, including his half-serious ribofunk. Bruce Sterling's Shaper/Mechanist cycle is also seen as a major influence. In addition, some people consider works such as Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age to be postcyberpunk. Biopunk (a portmanteau word combining biotech and punk) is a term used to describe a science fiction genre that focuses on biotechnology and subversives. ... The structure of insulin Biotechnology is technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. ... Kenyans examining insect-resistant transgenic Bt corn. ... Paul Di Filippo is a science fiction writer born October 29, 1954 in Providence, Rhode Island. ... Biopunk is a portmanteau word combining biotech and punk. // Science fiction Biopunk is a sub-genre of science fiction which uses elements from the hard-boiled detective novel, film noir, Japanese anime, and post-modernist prose. ... For other persons named Bruce Sterling, see Bruce Sterling (disambiguation). ... The Shaper/Mechanist universe is the setting for a series of science fiction short stories (and the novel Schismatrix) written by the author Bruce Sterling. ... Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer, known primarily for his science fiction works in the postcyberpunk genre with a penchant for explorations of society, mathematics, currency, and the history of science. ... The Diamond Age or, A Young Ladys Illustrated Primer is a postcyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ...

Film and television

See also: List of films borrowing cyberpunk elements, List of cyberpunk films, List of cyberpunk documentary films, and List of cyberpunk television series

The film Blade Runner (1982), adapted from Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, is set in 2019 in a dystopian future in which manufactured beings called replicants are slaves used on space colonies and are legal prey on Earth to various bounty hunters who "retire" (kill) them. Although Blade Runner was not successful in its first theatrical release, it found a wide viewership in the home video market. Since the movie omits the religious and mythical elements of Dick's original novel (e.g., empathy boxes and Wilbur Mercer), it falls more strictly within the cyberpunk genre than the novel does. William Gibson would later reveal that upon first viewing the film, he was surprised at how the look of this film matched his vision when he was working on Neuromancer. William Gibsons Sprawl trilogy of novels The following is a list of works commonly ascribed to the cyberpunk genre of science fiction. ... William Gibsons Sprawl trilogy of novels The following is a list of works commonly ascribed to the cyberpunk genre of science fiction. ... William Gibsons Sprawl trilogy of novels The following is a list of works commonly ascribed to the cyberpunk genre of science fiction. ... William Gibsons Sprawl trilogy of novels The following is a list of works commonly ascribed to the cyberpunk genre of science fiction. ... This article is about the 1982 film. ... Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a 1968 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick. ... 2019 (MMXIX) will be a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about characters from Blade Runner. ... For the 1988 video game, see Neuromancer (video game). ...

The police station of Blade Runner is the perfect copy (angle of sight included) of one of the gothic skyscrapers of Fritz Lang's Metropolis, the earliest cyberpunk reference.^{[citation needed]} Friedrich Christian Anton Fritz Lang (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) was an Austrian-German-American film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known émigrés from Germanys school of Expressionism. ... For other uses, see Metropolis (disambiguation). ...

The short-lived television series Max Headroom also spread cyberpunk tropes, perhaps with more popular success than the genre's first written works. It has been suggested that 20 Minutes into the Future be merged into this article or section. ...

During the 1989/1990 television season, the setting of the science-fiction show War Of The Worlds was retooled into a post-apocalyptic, dystopian, cyberpunk setting. It is believed this change was made in order to accurately depict the aftermath of the 1953 invasion of Earth.

The number of films in the genre or at least using a few genre elements has grown steadily since Blade Runner. Several of Philip K. Dick's works have been adapted to the silver screen, with cyberpunk elements typically becoming dominant; examples include Screamers (1996), Minority Report (2002), Paycheck (2003) and A Scanner Darkly (2006). But unfortunately for cyberpunk's arguable originator, the films Johnny Mnemonic (1995) and New Rose Hotel (1998) were both flops, commercially and critically. Screamers is a 1995 film directed by Christian Duguay based on the short story Second Variety by Philip K. Dick. ... Minority Report is a 2002 science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg, loosely based on the Philip K. Dick 1956 short story The Minority Report. It is set in the year 1895, when criminals are interviewed based on foreknowledge. ... Paycheck is a 2003 film adaptation of the short story Paycheck by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. ... A Scanner Darkly is a 2006 film by Richard Linklater based on the Philip K. Dick novel of the same name. ... Johnny Mnemonic is a 1995 cyberpunk-based movie, loosely based on a short story of the same name by William Ford Gibson, in which Keanu Reeves plays the title character, a man with a cybernetic implant in his head designed to store information. ... New Rose Hotel is a 1998 film by director Abel Ferrara, based on a William Gibson story of the same name, starring Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe and Asia Argento (Darios daughter). ...

Director Darren Aronofsky set his debut feature π (1998) in a present-day New York City, but built its script with influences from cyberpunk aesthetic. According to the DVD commentary, he and his production team deliberately used antiquated machines (like 5-1/4 inch floppy disks), echoing the technological style of Brazil (1985), to create a cyberpunk "feel". Aronofsky describes Chinatown, where the film is set, as "New York's last cyberpunk neighborhood". Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. ... Ï€ (or Pi) is a 1998 American psychological thriller directed by Darren Aronofsky. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ... A floppy disk is a data storage device that is composed of a disk of thin, flexible (floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic shell. ... This article is about sections of an urban area associated with a large number of Chinese residents or commercial activities. ...

The RoboCop series has a more near-futuristic setting where at least one corporation, Omni Consumer Products, is an all-powerful presence in the city of Detroit. Until the End of the World (1991) shows another example where cyberpunk provides an assumed background, and a plot device, to an otherwise mood and character-driven story. Gattaca (1997) directed by Andrew Niccol is a futuristic film noir whose mood-drenched dystopia provides a good example of biopunk. RoboCop is a 1987 science-fiction, action movie and satire of business-driven capitalism, directed by Paul Verhoeven. ... This is a list of fictional companies. ... Motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes - this motto was adopted after the disastrous 1805 fire that devastated the city) Nickname: The Motor City and Motown Location in Wayne County, Michigan Founded Incorporated July 24, 1701 1815  County Wayne County Mayor... Until the End of the World (German: Bis ans Ende der Welt) is a 1991 film by the German-born film director Wim Wenders; the screenplay was written by Wenders and Peter Carey, from a story by Wenders and Solveig Dommartin. ... Gattaca is a 1997 science fiction drama film written and directed by Andrew Niccol, starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law with supporting roles played by Loren Dean, Gore Vidal and Alan Arkin. ... Andrew M. Niccol (born 1964) is a screenwriter, producer, and director. ... Biopunk (a portmanteau word combining biotech and punk) is a term used to describe a science fiction genre that focuses on biotechnology and subversives. ...

The Matrix series, which began with 1999's The Matrix (and now also contains The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, and The Animatrix) uses a wide variety of cyberpunk elements. The Matrix series consists primarily of three films, The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. ... This article is about the 1999 film. ... The Matrix Reloaded is the second installment of The Matrix series, written and directed by the Wachowski Brothers. ... The Matrix Revolutions is the third and final film in The Matrix trilogy. ... Animatrix The Animatrix is a major part of the Matrix series, a collection of nine animated short films set in that fictional universe. ...

Also worth mentioning is 1995's Strange Days. Set on New Year's Eve 1999, it features many key elements of the cyberpunk genre, both technological and social. Strange Days is the title of a 1995 science fiction film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and produced and co-written by her ex-husband James Cameron with the assistance of Jay Cocks. ...

Anime and manga

See also: List of cyberpunk anime works

Cyberpunk has been used widely in anime (animation) and manga (comics). In Japan, where “cosplay” is popular and not only teenagers display such fashion styles, cyberpunk has been accepted and its influence is widespread. William Gibson’s Neuromancer, whose influence dominated the early cyberpunk movement, was also set in Chiba, one of Japan’s largest industrial areas, although at the time of writing the novel Gibson did not know the location of Chiba and had no idea how perfectly it fit his vision in some ways. The exposure to cyberpunk ideas and fiction in the time mid 1980s has allowed it to seep into the Japanese culture. Even though most anime and manga is written in Japan, the cyberpunk anime and manga have a more futuristic and therefore international feel to them so they are widely accepted by all. “The conceptualization involved in cyberpunk is more of forging ahead, looking at the new global culture. It is a culture that does not exist right now, so the Japanese concept of a cyberpunk future, seems just as valid as a Western one, especially as Western cyberpunk often incorporates many Japanese elements.”^[17] William Gibson is now a frequent visitor to Japan, and he came to see that many of his visions of Japan have become a reality: William Gibsons Sprawl trilogy of novels The following is a list of works commonly ascribed to the cyberpunk genre of science fiction. ... Animé redirects here. ... This article is about the comics published in East Asian countries. ... Cosplayers Cosplay ), a portmanteau of the English words costume and play, is a Japanese subculture centered on dressing as characters from manga, anime, tokusatsu, and video games, and, less commonly, Japanese live action television shows, fantasy movies, Japanese pop music bands, Visual Kei, fantasy music stories (such as stories by... For other persons named William Gibson, see William Gibson (disambiguation). ... For the 1988 video game, see Neuromancer (video game). ... Chiba Prefecture ) is located in the Greater Tokyo Area of Honshu Island, Japan. ...

"Modern Japan simply was cyberpunk. The