Week 9: CyberPunk

Now, theres a lot I could talk about so I'm going to run through and make a couple of different points with simpler explanations.

Cyberpunk as a genre.
      Each film Genre has whats known as a "genre starter". It isn't necessarily the first film of its kind, but it is the film that had EVERYTHING that later becomes the genre, and also gained the popularity needed to launch a new trend. Akira was this for cyberpunk. It had the bio-human combination, it had the 80s feel, it had the extreme separation of socio-economic classes, the detailed tech visuals, and above all- it had the widespread popularity it needed.
      Cyberpunk is different from other genres though. We have space movies that come from the populations new interest in the space program and exploration. We have westerns that came from an American sense of nostalgia, and a classic battle of good and evil. Cyberpunk is a genre thats rather dark and rebellious- but more interestingly, it sparked a trend of other genres. Steampunk, Diesel punk, biopunk, atompunk, nano punk- all of these wouldn't exist without it. While different from cyberpunk- they adopt its format, which is- "Genre must include; 1 A specific look from a time in human history, 2 Exaggerated mechanics and technology(usually from that era), 3 combination of humans and technology/mechanics".

Modern Cyberpunk
      Paprika and Summer wars are considered cyberpunk however they aren'r nearly as dark and depressing as its fore-bearers.  Things certainly get life-or-death int he films, don't get me wrong, but the "punk" aspect to them has changed. This is due to the younger generation's visual concept of revolution being very different than in previous generations. Previous generations created rock and roll, gangs, and general violence to voice themselves. These are old news, and in someways are now part of the establishment. Modern rebellious tendencies are entirely different. Rebelling by caring about the environment, rebelling by planting food instead of buying it, rebelling by sharing what we don't need instead of forcing everyone who has-not to contribute money for their resources. Rebellion has a new face and visually, its a much "nicer" one.

Here's what I've read and seen-

Early Cyberpunk

- Akira Manga (1982 - 1990) v Film (1988)
- Ghost in the shell manga (1989) v film (1995)
-Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)
- Cowboy Bebop ( 1997)


 Modern Cyberpunk

- psycho pass (2012)
- paprika ( 2006)
- Summerwars (2009)