Cyberpunk Genre Analysis | Hot Trend or Outdated Mess? [Trope Notes]

Подписаться 11 тыс.

Просмотров 7 тыс.

50% 1

Cyberpunk is not fresh in the forefront of our minds thanks to Cyberpunk 2077, but did you know that the video game is based on the book Neuromancer from 1984? And did you know that Neuromancer was written by William Gibson who is regarded by many as the father of cyberpunk? Well, you know now. In this video I'll talk all about this speculative corner of science fiction, to tickle curiosities and guide writing alike. From the 80's origins to Blade Runner 2049, I'm diving into all of it.
Note: I focused on Western Cyberpunk, but the genre does also appear in early anime and manga. So that's a whole other branch of history you can check out
Also note: this video contains some flashy lights that may not be optimal for photosensitive viewers
The Hero's Journey in Blade Runner 2049: • The Perfect Hero's Jou...
Looking for a more detailed video? And I mean WAY more detailed? Check out ‪@HelloFutureMe‬ 's video • You're Wrong About Cyb... because it's awesome
#cyberpunk2077 #videoessay #writing
**Citations and Sources**
docs.google.com/document/d/1F...
**ALETHEIA IS NOW AVAILABLE ON AUDIBLE!**
Audiobook Trailer: • Aletheia | Official Au...
Link (If you're a new member you can even pick it up for free): www.audible.com/pd/B08TRJQW62...
**Support me on Patreon by joining the Kitten Coalition ( / cloudkittenchronicles)**
Special shout out and thank you to everyone in the Cloud Kitten Tier. Check them out because they’re awesome!
-Steph Arven: / steph_arven
-Michelle Winkler: / @mwinklerbooks
-Jennifer T. Jarrett: / jenntjarrett
**Aletheia is available in audiobook, hardcover, paperback, and ebook (including Kindle Unlimited)**
-Audiobook Trailer: • Aletheia | Official Au...
-Launch Trailer: • Aletheia (Official Tra...
- Amazon: bit.ly/buyaletheia
- Signed copies: www.megantennant.com/shop
-Other Retailers: megantennant.com/external-ret...
- Goodreads: bit.ly/grAletheia
***Products I love (contains affiliate links): www.amazon.com/shop/cloudkitt...
**Social Media**
Newsletter: www.megantennant.com/mailing-...
Website: MeganTennant.com
Twitter: / _megan_tennant
Bookstagram: / _megan_tennant
**Referenced Media**
Cyberpunk - BBC Late Show
Burning Chrome by William Gibson
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Cyberpunk by Bruce Bethke
Cyberpunk 2077
Blade Runner 2049
Blade Runner
Alita Battle Angel
Akira
Ghost in the Shell (Anime + Film)
Minority Report
The Matrix
Stranger Things
Big Hero 6
Sonnie's Edge
Blind Spot
Altered Carbon
Ready Player One
Mr Robot
Tron
Bioshock
**RU-vid Videos Referenced**
Daniel Green Neuromancer Review: • NEUROMANCER - RAVE REVIEW
Two the Future Neuromancer Review: • Neuromancer book revie...
The Eighties Full Docu • Video
William Gibson Humanities Festival • William Gibson: Techno...
PBS Willian Gibson • Is William Gibson A Mo...
**TIMECARDS**
00:00 - Intro
00:44 - Cyberpunk Origins
02:34 - Cyberpunk Basics
05:16 - Old Fears Futuristic Canvas
10:00 - Aesthetic VS Story
12:00 - Sister Genres
14:30 - Too dated to survive?
17:06 - The Future of Modern Myth
18:20 - Outro

Развлечения

Опубликовано:

4 авг 2024

Ссылка:

Скачать:

Готовим ссылку...

Добавить в:

Мой плейлист

Посмотреть позже

Комментарии : 93

@Sleepy_DOOD1701 3 года назад

If Cyberpunk ever stops being an awesome subculture it's because mainstream audiences ruined geek culture once again.

@dreamingacacia 2 года назад

"Using old genre as inspiration, but never a road map" nice quote there. After this video I got an idea, rather than define my own work with genre I should work toward the point that my own works define the genre.

@mdaniels6311 2 года назад

What a cool video, and great channel. I love coming across gems like this. I'm actually in the process of writing a cyberpunk book, and am really trying to come up with something fresh. It's difficult as the genre is quite clearly defined with certain tropes throughout, but I'm hoping my story is interesting enough to survive. I am shattering tropes (e.g. the "asians" are the good guys) and making my low-life drug dealer the stories protagonist, and hopefully hero (readers can make up their own mind). Tech wise, in my story people can steal information via people's dreams. I "borrowed" (hey CP is all about low-life, right) concepts from Inception, except in this world, you can hack into dreams via VR and steal passwords etc... I'm trying to read as much CP as I can to get into the zone. It's a great genre to write as you get to just voice your own opinions in the page.. you can play god, and say what the F you want. I have loads of social analysis in my story, and I borrowed the style from the classices like Snow Crash and Neuromancer. Also, on the politics.. if you read books like Planet of the Slums, and Capitalist Realism, it is clear we are headed into a cyberpunk univerise. In 40 years time I wonder if CP is even a genre, as it is just "real life"?

@CloudKitten 2 года назад

It sounds like you are writing in the right genre. It's so cool to see your passion for the story and style and to see you're pushing back against the tropes. It's a solid plan and is important for keeping the genre fresh and alive. And I'm so happy you liked the video!

@deadshot4197 Год назад

I'm sorry but I think the neon lights actually still work because they are supposed to look pretty. But they are just a cover for whats really going on. Vegas is actually a good example because casinos are really just predatory companies that make you feel good to spend money. And when you run out they change the tune.

@PseudONym-kz3fr 3 года назад

Literally can’t wait for this channel to blow up!!! Awesome content!

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

This is my favorite type of comment

@ramblinbananas888 Год назад

The phone booth scene in Neuromancer is obsolete but it so good.

@adamlane8751 3 года назад

Excellent study. Great analysis of cyberpunk. I especially like your thoughts on the future of the modern myth.

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

Thank you! And you're super in luck because I have a video dropping in like 3 weeks that will be all about modern mythology and the future of myth using Blade Runner 2049 as my primary example

@tobymartin2137 3 года назад

In terms of addressing modern concerns and modern myths, I think the anime series Psycho-Pass manages to cover this within elements of the cyberpunk genre (or maybe I just want to shill it, who knows?). It deals with themes of data gathering creating profiles of us that define who we are, the question of how to run a society with the most damage-control, and, true to cyberpunk's neo-noir themes, focuses on a police force. I'm also glad you brought up biopunk, because, maybe when it becomes more established as a genre, we'd get a trend in post-biopunk stories. With so much to explore in the world of biotechnology, it would be nice if some stories showed the positive sides of it too - it's biology that can eradicate disease and deal with starvation after all...maybe I'll just write my own post-biopunk...

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

I'll have to check out Psycho-Pass. I've been trying to watch more anime lately. It really has a great wealth of creativity and inspiration. It feels less constrained than a lot of western media, at least in terms of following narrative 'rules'. That's an excellent point about post-biopunk! I didn't even think about that. Bio-engineering portrayal at the moment is defenitely heavy on the fear and negativity side. It's always scientists doing immoral things for the sake of their research or research doing terrible damage. Not a lot of stories exploring bio-engineering in more of a fun way. I'm excited to see the genre explode.

@propthepoet Год назад

This video was fantastic; thank you!

@CloudKitten Год назад

You are so welcome!

@a.j.torres3131 3 года назад

This video was amazing and I can't wait to get the audiobook! I'm getting it this month and listening to Aletheia next as soon as The Towers Ends :D

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

Hope you enjoy it! I'm really happy with how it turned out.

@JackMyersPhotography 2 года назад

Fantastic video, thanks.

@CloudKitten 2 года назад

Glad you enjoyed it!

@itisi7027 3 года назад

awesome vid!

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

Thanks!

@darylallen2485 2 года назад

Well done cloud kitten. I enjoyed this.

@timwelch482 Год назад

thank you so much for this video. I'm working on writing a Cyberpunk book.

@CloudKitten Год назад

Glad it was helpful!

@user-te2kk2nt4q 3 года назад

Fantastic video! A great overview and I pretty much agree with your conclusions: It's the story that matters. In regards to Cyberpunk 2077 (and the original PnP RPG) it's worth to note that it draws even stronger inspiration from Walter Jon Williams 1986 novel Hardwired which is a kind of cyberpunk classic that flies under the radar most of the times. Where Neuromancer is more of a neon-noir heist novel Hardwired is a more of a western (with cybernetic controlled ground-effect tanks) that plays out in the fractured remains of the United States where unlikely allies are fighting against orbital corporations. Highly recommended.

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

Ooh interesting, I didn't come across that other book in my research. I'll have to check it out.

@gregcoyle9030 8 месяцев назад

Hardwired is an amazing novel. I have a signed copy of the first printing!

@phangkuanhoong7967 Год назад

So long as we live under capitalism, cyberpunk will always be relevant, and always at the same time, be reduced to mere aesthetics. which is kinda like punk music.

@michelep9477 3 месяца назад

capitalism will crumble. capitalism can only survive in a world that allows for infinite growth. unless we start colonizing other planets in the next 10 years we will either see ecological disaster or some mass rebellion after 99 percent of the population becomes impoverished and destitute

@damiancrowley569 3 года назад

I dig cyberpunk, and it seems like a possible reality for our future. Also, I love the music

@Steve-yn3cs Год назад

0:10😅 Try telling that to RU-vid too. It doesn't seem to know the difference. Great video.🔥

@sailor.britters 3 года назад

We're waiting for the unbroken version lol. But this is a super interesting topic to deep dive into! I didn't know some of this backstory before watching this.

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

It was really fun to research. I'd actually planned on doing a short 9 minute video or something but then once I dug into it I found too much information lol

@bash3997 Год назад

nice video sister!

@CloudKitten Год назад

Thank you!

@j.e.purrazzi484 3 года назад

Yay! Cyberpunk and Biopunk! I've learned that Biopunk is a bit to early to really be profitable, though it's still my favorite!!!! But I love what you touched on and I feel like it's what SF really needs. I love Cyberpunk. I love the themes and the giant playground of advances to play with. I love the high-concept focus, and the easy sources of tension. But cyberpunk is so hard to define and yet I feel like it has some of the most strict adherents. Every genre evolves along with society. So what if your plot doesn't focus on taking down a corporation, there is so much more to explore. So what if your story isn't super grungy and raw, or sexual... cyberpunk can breathe a little bit and still grow. We allow it for every other genre and subgenre! Genre is a marketing tool, we shouldn't use it to cut the legs out from under our stories. Really enjoyed this video essay!

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

Yeah Malfunction matches biopunk really well from what I can remember, so if that genre takes off you will kick ass in it. I really do hope it becomes more of a thing. It has so much potential. Maybe that will be the next big trend. I feel like remakes are the current trend and I'm pretty meh on that.

@j.e.purrazzi484 3 года назад

@@CloudKitten Yes! I would love to see biopunk take off, it's such an awesome genre with so many fun things to explore. And thank you. Yes, I define Malfunction as a Biopunk/Dystopian. I totally feel the same about remakes. And on some level, "retellings", though some are pretty cool.

@TallicaMan1986 Год назад

I think Biopunk is lumped in with Cyberpunk is because you need that type of knowledge to apply augmentations. Cyberpunk implies many things such as Cloning, Brain Transplants, Organ Synthesis from Stem Cells etc. Biology cannot be ignored when trying to replicate it with machinery and thats the point. Automating the Soul sort of speak. Imagine and AI reptile thing going up against a weird gene spliced thing designed to kill. Who would win? I'd bet my money on the machine. The machine is without a dooubt our next evolutionary line.

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

Have you played Cyberpunk 2077 yet? Or are you waiting on an unbroken version? I started it but then decided to wait but it keeps tempting me, especially when researching for this video

@MacAttack001 3 года назад

I have played through the game twice, on PC. I am now waiting for patch 1.12 which will hopefully make mods safe to use. To the eye and ear, the game is stunning. To my mind however, the game's story is plagued by the 'capitalism is evil' bs. Frankly I am so over that trope it is like fingernails across a chalk board for me. Right now, I bet Mike Pondsmith is cringing with each new CDPR story that comes out.

@darylallen2485 2 года назад

Im waiting until I can buy a new computer that can run the game reasonably well!

@kienesel7 2 года назад

Cyberpunk 2077 isnt based on the book Neuromancer tho its based on the Cyberpunk ttrpg series by Mike Pondsmith, most notably Cyberpunk 2020.

@certs743 Год назад

While that is technically true if you look at it on exclusively the franchise level. But Mike Pondsmith didn't come up with the genre, its themes, aesthetic or much else. It was an RPG set in a genre created from Neuromancer and many other sources which came before. The only things really unique to his game are specific characters. The same can be said that White Wolf didn't invent werewolves and vampires or the horror genre. Even Cyberpunk 2020 is based on older inspiration.

@tropetrinitytrilogy8533 3 года назад

16:51 🤣😂🤣😂 I'm dead Congrats on your audiobook! I'm especially curious about biopunk that seems cool! Do you have any book recs for it?

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

If you're looking for something indie, Malfunction by J. E. Purrazzi is pretty hardcore biopunk. Otherwise I can't really think of anything of the top of my head besides Bioshock and that Love Death and Robots episode. It isn't very common yet, which is sad. I really hope to see it explode sometime soon.

@tropetrinitytrilogy8533 3 года назад

@@CloudKitten would you ever write biopunk?

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

Most definitely. I actually have a stand alone story in the backburner that technically counts. It's a futuristic, post-apoc little mermaid retelling with major Bioshock vibes. I might try my hand at it for Nanowrimo this year. I've been playing with the idea of doing a series of standalone, dark scifi fairy tale retellings. I think biopunk would fit quite a few of them

@tropetrinitytrilogy8533 3 года назад

@@CloudKitten that sounds so cool!

@Duchess_Van_Hoof 6 месяцев назад

It might be due to the short length of the video, but I feel that it focuses on surface elements rather than the deeper socio-political questions of the genre. Staggering wealth inequality, political corruption, faceless megacorporations, police brutality, private armies, disenfranchisement of minorities, technological advancements being ruined by profit motives, the question of who gets to decide who is human. All of it is still very relevant to the modern day, as the issues haven't been solved, but instead being worsened as time goes on. We live in a cyberpunk dystopia already, and a work in the genre only needs to have an actual point to make in order to keep the genre alive.

@HousePlant_Ambient 3 года назад

Honestly, ever since the game came out, the genre itself became outdated mess. I haven't seen no news of any cyberpunk genre, but while the game was being promoted, so much of the genre was being out there.

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

It really doesn't help that because of the game's name you can no longer search "cyberpunk" without half the results being about the game. It will be interesting to see what sort of impact that has.

@AntonWongVideo 3 года назад

why is 2:04 a clip from Sex Education? I've seen the show but am I missing a reference? also, GREAT work breaking this topic down! i can tell a lot of work was put into researching, writing, and editing this video!

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

I couldn't find footage of flyers being handed out on the Las Vegas strip and that was the closest I could come up with that gave visual to the words lol I'm glad you liked the video!

@ace_of_cups4096 3 года назад

When ur too early to see anybody's comments XP lol Luv u Megan!

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

But early enough for me to see your comment, so there's that

@basilg695 7 месяцев назад

Cyberpunk is SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT OUR HUMANITY!!! It's supposed to draw us to a deeper or more nuanced understanding coming from that little jump into the future. I love the existential dread and the harsh comparisons to current geo-political landscapes we're actively facing. I don't like it when it's just an aesthetic or the idea it could get old. I love it because it's always going to be relevant regardless how people fail to convey it.

@ThinkPIONEERing 3 года назад

Cyberpunk will only go out of style as a genre when something better takes its place or whenever we become just as technologically advanced as the worlds these stories tend to build.

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

I mean I'd argue that if you read old cyberpunk we're basically already encroaching on that tech, but newer stuff still aims for 20 minutes in the future. It's interesting. I think the genre is more at risk of becoming dated because of the 80's aesthetic than the tech, honestly, because the tech is easier to shift with each story and the aesthetic is viewed as a genre staple.

@NayrAnur 2 года назад

Haven't watched all episodes of Love Death + Robots, but I gotta say Sonnie's Edge has to be my favorite.

@mazzaleenh8388 6 месяцев назад

Nah my books gonna be the best new cyberpunk fixture in the culture since Mike pondsmith

@heymike7037 2 года назад

I'm a Millennial (Xennial technically) born in the '80's and have pretty good memories from that time. I've always been into Cyberpunk even if I wasn't aware that's what it was called but I don't think I'm into it for the same reasons younger generations are. The OG cyberpunk stuff like Blade Runner was very-definitely a critique of modern society. It was doing what all good science fiction does and using a plausible future to explore current trends and issues while also warning of what might become. I still feel profoundly uncomfortable with the look and feel of cyberpunk worlds from Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, and Cyberpunk 2077. I don't want to live in those futures. I am fascinated by the genre and the aesthetic and think it's fun to visit for a time but I am desperately hoping that never becomes our actual future. I want our future to be more like the one from Star Trek, shiny and bright and full of greenery, magical technology, and fun recreational hobbies and interests to explore. I think what William Gibson and others were getting at with Cyberpunk is a warning to anyone who will listen. It's a future that is wrong and should not be. It's telling us that allowing mega-corporations to continue unimpeded and unregulated as they currently do is dangerous for our freedoms and economy (***cough Amazon/Google/... cough***). That if we continue burning stuff as we do in our cars, houses and factories that the world will become uninhabitable - as we are now seeing start to happen. We aren't supposed to WANT to live in Blade Runner's version of LA or Night City. We're SUPPOSED to find them uncomfortable and take that as the warning it is. That if we don't resist these things now and make the changes we need to make then it WILL become our future. Our Dystopia.

@blazemordly9746 3 года назад

holy guacamole~ best intro screen ever I think. Meow meow

@pandemicphilly60 Год назад

What's going to replace subways?

@MechanicWolf85 3 года назад

Almost every cyberpunk game I have play (from observer to cyberpunk 2077) their aesthetic and art style are all outdated and no longer represents what our future would look like, (similar to how steampunk is just an ideal past) But even it's themes are starting to wear off, no longer "corporations bad" holds any meaningful value cause we all know capitalism is bad and corporations owning the world is even worst, and "what does it mean to be human" is becoming a mute point given how we are caring less about human ideals when our world is becoming terraformed do to climate change I bolive cyberpunk could become relevant again with the idea of "what it means to survive and live in a planet that no longer holds life like it use to" or "what it means to become more than human" ie evolve past our limitations or surviving in a new hostile world where our past ideals no longer hold value in the future That for me is more present in our ever changing world then what ever old dilemma cyberpunk use to hold (that was created in a far more "peaceful" past then our chaotic present)

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

Agreed, though I wonder if we'll see a new genre name emerge to hold the new version, since losing aesthetics and shifting focus seems enough to deserve a new name.

@ColonyWarsRedux 3 года назад

Anyone into The Amaranth Chronicles series? This shits gonna be big.

@HoldinCoffeeReturns 3 года назад

This idea isn't going away any time soon. It can't.

@coriander1521 3 года назад

One I would really like to see grow is solarpunk! While it may not have the same messages as cyberpunk, I’d like to see what stories could be made in the genre!

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

I actually don't know much about solarpunk, but you've caught my interest. I may have to look into it. Maybe I'll do a mini-series covering all the branches of punk.

@ace_of_cups4096 3 года назад

Hii!

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

Well hello there

@joe-wi8nj 7 месяцев назад

Apunkalypse...nuh unh....😊

@joe-wi8nj 7 месяцев назад

Finally someone who enjoys ldr as much as me 😊

@R49_Complete 11 месяцев назад

Ladies and Gentelment this video is what happens when someone who has no clue what they're talking about slaps a quick cram essay together because the topic is trending. This didn't age well did it? " I'm diving into all of it." - No actually you didn't even come close. Like you literally didn't even scrape the surface.

@gamervox1707 3 года назад

Biopunk and cyberpunk are one and the same well post cyberpunk is something different. post cyberpunk should be called cyber gray. Nope corporation even the one I am using now have no passive history from Alric bring Jim crows to corporations creating banana republics. so post cyberpunk could be called cyber grey fantasy.

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

Biopunk is different. As I mentioned in the video it focuses on the dangers of bio-engineering. It doesn't center around hackers, doesn't have the film noir roots, and isn't bound by the same 20-minute-into the future time constraints to name a few of the primary differences. They are sister genres as I mention in the video and so sometimes have cross-over, but they are separate enough to deserve their own names.

@gamervox1707 3 года назад

@@CloudKitten let me just say that connecting brain to a pc connect the genres together.

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

It's less about what is involved and more about what the focus is on. Bioshock has a huge focus on bioengineering with very little cyber tech. Sonnie's edge belongs more to both genres as it does have both, but it focuses more on the biological.

@gamervox1707 3 года назад

@@CloudKitten bioshock had a man combined with machine meaning bioshock was also cyberpunk and biopunk.

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

Bioshock focused on biological advancements. I mean bio is literally in the name. Also I played it less than a year ago and have no memory of a man combined with a machine besides some encorporation of armor and lesser tech. The big daddies are spliced and bio based. Do you mean infinite? I haven't played infinite but I know that where that one diverges from biopunk it intersects steampunk. There is nothing even remotely cyberpunk about the bioshock series. I don't know how biopunk hurt you, but you should consider letting it into your soul. It is the future

@hulkbrogan2015 2 года назад

I don' think cyberpunk is going anywhere.

@mrillmatic95 Месяц назад

I might just be old but yellow fear was not what cause cyberpunk to be that way. It was actually happen. Sony was shitting on IBM and intel. America for the average citizen was a less technology advanced life in comparison to what the Japanese had. It wasn't a fear but a reality that was slowly coming true. If it was not for IBMs war with apple and the development of Microsoft. Japan would have eclipsed Europe and America technology wise. Food and drugs are the worse things to actually be effected in cyberpunk but its not as cool and sexy as big tech bad guys.

@gorequillnachovidal 3 года назад

japan actually has a declining population...they need to make more babies.. even back in the 80s I don't think it was overpopulated...although there are a lot of people in tokyo

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

Tokyo is overpopulated though which is why that is a common inspiration

@nyarlathotep13 3 года назад

Love the channel, but the genre is steampunk.

@CloudKitten 3 года назад

Steampunk is a completely different genre that focuses on Victorian era aesthetics. I plan to cover it sometime soon. Or did you mean that the dead genre is steampunk?

@megamike15 2 года назад

i find cyberpunk as a genre way to samey and as such not that interesting as once you seen one you have seen all of them.

@CloudKitten Год назад

That's fair. I think genre generally works best as a backdrop for a story and with cyberpunk people let the genre play a little too much role in the plot. It's interesting the way that plagues some genres more than others.

@milestrombley1466 10 месяцев назад

Cyberpunk stories now are becoming cliché. Always dark, serious, and edgy. Why not something that makes fun of the genre?

@dalveal01 2 месяца назад

Cyberpunk 2077 feels and looks like gta with a cyberpunk skin. They have so many opportunities, and they miss all of them. Plus, the story is nonsense, and the written is borderland cringe