Postcyberpunk

Postcyberpunk describes a genre of science fiction which is believed to have emerged from the cyberpunk movement. Like its predecessor, postcyberpunk focuses on technological developments in near-future societies, typically examining the social effects of widespread telecommunication, genetic engineering and/or nanotechnology. Unlike "classic" cyperpunk, however, the works in this category feature characters who act to improve social conditions or at least protect the status quo from further decay. During the 90's. some performance artists such as Stelarc, Eduardo Kac, Orlan, Zhu Yu or Éric Létourneau / Benjamin Muon brought these paradigms into the art world, and consequently, into social reality.

History

The term "postcyberpunk" was first used circa 1991 to describe Neal Stephenson's science-fiction novel Snow Crash. Lawrence Person argued that the term should be applied to an emergent genre, which he proceeded to identify. In 1998, he published an article called "Notes Towards a Postcyberpunk Manifesto" in the small-press magazine Nova Express; the next year, he posted the article to the popular technology website Slashdot. The article identified the emergence of a postcyberpunk as the evolution of the cyberpunk genre of science-fiction popular in the late 1970s and 1980s characterized by movies like Blade Runner and books like William Gibson's Neuromancer.

Related Topics:
1991 - Neal Stephenson - Snow Crash - Lawrence Person - 1998 - Nova Express - Slashdot - Cyberpunk - Genre - Science-fiction - Blade Runner - Books - Neuromancer

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Like its predecessor, postcyberpunk depicts realistic near-futures rather than space opera–style deep futures. The focus is on the social effects of Earth-bound technology rather than space travel. Person argues that postcyberpunk is distinct from cyberpunk in the following ways:

Related Topics:
Space opera - Cyberpunk

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• Cyberpunk typically deals with alienated loners in a dystopia. Postcyberpunk tends to deal with characters who are more involved with society, and act to defend an existing social order or create a better society.
• In cyberpunk, the alienating effect of new technology is emphasised, whereas in postcyberpunk, "technology is society" (including more technocracy and cyberprep themes than traditional cyberpunk).

Other possible characteristics:

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• A more realistic depiction of computers, such as replacing virtual reality with a sort of super voice/audio/video/holographic Internet-based network.
• A change in emphasis from metallic implants to biotechnology-enabled body modification.

Postcyberpunk possibly emerged because SF authors and the general population began using computers, the Internet, and PDAs to their benefit, without the massive social fragmentation of this Digital Revolution predicted in the 1970s and 1980s.

Related Topics:
Internet - PDAs - Digital Revolution

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