Cyberpunk: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth

Cyberpunk is a typically problematic genre in that it is both inherently singularly defined and yet still oddly nebulous. The same core tropes can be seen time and time again, from the dystopian environments to the themes to technology's renaissance having turned into a dark age, but for a smaller sub-genre of science fiction, it has proven to be oddly malleable. This isn't to say that most sub-genres typically have a single "proper" take to fit in with a constraining list of requirements to fit a definition. However, few can be reworked, revamped and completely remade so easily as cyberpunk, to fit into almost any setting or style. This is likely part of what has left it with such an enduring appeal, and a benefit of coming into being at exactly the right time. Something which allowed it to remain inherently linked to the mid-80s to early-90s, while still benefitting from the quality listed above.

To truly examine the idea behind the genre of cyberpunk, you need to seriously take into account the two words which make it up, especially the latter. While "punk" is easily applied to everything, from teslapunk to the ever popular (or over popular) steampunk, the term means more than a simple tacked on term to help define a gimmick genre. The innate themes within cyberpunk itself are anti-authoritarian, opposing a tyrannical governing force. Commercialism is out of control, corporations often hold more sway than governments themselves, while rules are enforced for the benefit of those above alone. The only ones who seem to escape this belong to fringe groups, a newer trend of those who refuse to be fully associated with the wider majority. Groups who are both bitter and cynical, and emphasize the "anti" in antihero, and often ditching the "hero" part entirely.

While there's no one-to-one comparison which can be fully drawn with the musical genre or subculture as a whole, it's easy to see how many ideas which inspired them were present here. It pressed to oppose what was seen as a lie, and to more aptly cope with the reality of the world before it. In the medium of science fiction, you can clearly see this thanks to how the genre developed. The much more optimistic and utopian futures seen in the forties, fifties and sixties had been born of a post-Second World War sense of hope and optimism. Those few which broke from this often only did so in order to comment upon the Cold War and the threats it posed, with the likes of Them! and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Cyberpunk, as a result of this, the perfect societies being threatened by outside alien threats or infiltrators from within were gradually transformed into more ingrained problems. The problems they focused on were not a perversion or corruption of a society, but were simply those created by it being exactly what it was intended to be. Or at least what those in charge felt that it should be.

The impact that new technology had no cyberpunk cannot be downplayed, however, as that first word "cyber" reflected this detail. While older science fiction had been inspired by the likes of the lunar landings and orbital flights, cyberpunk was encouraged by the development of software. The importance of computers, the wide scope of networked machines and their importance never could have been predicted. With this, cyberpunk had something of an edge to work within its science fiction elements - a new unexplored realm that no past story had truly delved into. It's why virtual reality, internet interfacing and other concepts similar to this often played such a prominent part, along with the greater emphasis on cybernetic augmentation. Some of this had been delved into before, of course, but it wasn't in the same gritty style. Stories which delved into such things as VR were often a grander or more high concept take which did not offer the same thematic choices. Think of it as the differences between It! The Terror from Beyond Space! and Alien, for all their similarities.

However, the last truly significant work of great significance within the genre was printed in 1992 with Snow Crash. There were exceptions to this, and it did hold on in other genres, but few epics ever matched up to its literary strength and sheer bold reworking of an environment. So, what happened? Simply put, society and technology moved on. While the 1990s themselves saw no end of strife and domestic problems, the same cynicism and contempt was moderated with more hopeful elements. For more than a few people, it was an idyllic change from the economic disasters of the 1970s or insanity born of the 1980s. The economy was better, Thatcher was gone and Regan's administration was a fading ghost, while the Cold War itself was rapidly winding down. Compared with what had come in the two decades before, it was practically a new golden age.

On the technology front, the new idea of computers lacked the same fresh fascination that they had benefitted from a few years before. Rather than being a truly new craze, a technology which was just within reach, they were rapidly becoming household appliances. Without that same sense of the unknown or fascination of what might come about because of them, the stories behind them slowly but surely became much tamer and more in line with what widespread audiences would generally expect. As a result of this, cyberpunk gradually lost a lot of its substance. It was more of a fashion, a craze and aesthetic choice over a more definitive sub-genre. Something audiences would prize for its aesthetic than how it would truly resonate with people. Hell, even the benefit of Orientalism which, had seen a resurgence with Japan's economic boom and the anime craze, had died away. As such the Western-Eastern corporations and the sense of cultures mashed together didn't have the same appeal as before.

The franchises which did continue to carry the torch greatly focused on a specific thematic choice within the cyberpunk setting at the cost of all others, or broke away from it entirely. Ghost in the Shell, for example, is definitely cyberpunk and an incredible franchise but its themes focus on transhumanism and identity theologies above all else. Many of the anti-authoritarian elements are downplayed or are typically depicted via factional infighting over the true opposition. 

Equally, Shadowrun's enduring appeal often comes from its hybrid nature and association with typical fantasy elements. The Middle-Earth meets Blade Runner descriptions are what often gets the attention of fans over its cyberpunk elements. In fact, the major successes of the past decade have heavily emphasized magic in its stories over technology. Each of the Shadowrun Returns trilogy games utilized fantasy enemies and magic based threats as their "big bad" and the tabletop game has largely done the same. While emerging AI has been a major game-changer in multiple points in the timeline, it frequently returns to the subject of the horrors or insect spirits for its ongoing narrative.

In order to survive, more the genre itself had to stop being true to what had fully inspired cyberpunk. This often happens with most genres, as trends take hold and are then subverted, deconstructed, and fade away in time. Pick any major individual franchise, let alone a full storytelling setting, and you can easily pick out a similar ongoing arc. Star Trek alone is a perfect example of this, depicting both a willing break from the ideals which founded it and, in the case of Voyager and early Enterprise, the sins which can even come from being unwilling to evolve. When the genre did attempt to return to its roots, the only creators who willingly did so were the ones who wished to parody its ideas. The sorts of stories and video games (hello, Far Cry: Blood Dragon) which either lovingly mocked the era which inspired it, or the aged aesthetic ideas which helped to identify and found the genre.

So, with that in mind, why has cyberpunk seen something of a rebirth of late? The answer is simple: The exact same qualities which inspired it in the first place have come back into focus. While cyberpunk itself still lacks the major blockbuster literature hit or masterpiece it needs to fully re-emerge into the limelight, we have seen the same aspects come into existence yet again. Technology is once more advancing into a brand new field which breaks away from most previous definitions, with the likes of VR and cybernetics being far more feasible than ever before. Corporations hold infinitely more power than ever, looking to benefit themselves at the cost of their employees with Amazon working people to death, and MacDonalds attempting to defend its "living wage" by offering a financial guide to employees. One which required them to manage two full-time jobs. Well, that and to not use basic living requirements such as heating.

Even if you ignore the constant issue of police brutality, the increasingly tyrannical nature of the USA and UK's governments, or the rise in neo-Nazi groups, more than a few general social trends are beginning to align with the dystopias of cyberpunk. As such, their stories carry more weight and relevance than they might have done previously, offering something which directly connects with those reading, playing or watching media on some level. This is only further encouraged by enthusiasts who remember the golden age of the genre - Shadowrun Returns itself came about thanks to this - and offered it the opportunity to return in a position of strength.

The question now is how cyberpunk as a whole will continue to evolve and develop. There are any number of ways in which it could experiment with its core tropes, and use old ideas in a new manner to experiment with ideas in this new era. With the likes of Cyberpunk 2077 on the horizon and the likes of Black Mirror emphasising the threat of technology developing beyond our control, there's plenty to work with. Let's just hope that life doesn't start to resemble fiction too closely.