What Is Cyberpunk? Where Do We Even Begin? The intention of this article is not to rehash the origins of cyberpunk or to wrestle amongst ourselves to define what the word “cyberpunk” means. Instead, we at CyberPunks.com were eager to create a “beginner’s guide” to help newcomers figure out what cyberculture to consume first.
Television
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With the upcoming Netflix series announced, there seems to be a renewed discussion of Cowboy Bebop’s cyberpunk credentials. So, after many recommendations by friends and colleagues, I decided to make the decision for myself. I watched the entire 26-episode series.
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The Wire is rightfully mentioned in most discussions surrounding the all-time best TV dramas, but rarely (if ever) because of its status as a classic cyberpunk story. That changes now. The series could easily sit alongside the creations of William Gibson, Ridley Scott, or Mike Pondsmith. Cyberpunk stories tend to be urban, technological, dystopian, and sometimes, but not always, apocalyptic, nihilistic, violent, and highly critical of late stage capitalism. The Wire is also all of these things, just with a bit less rain-drenched neon.
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The film did very well at the time in the box office and has met the test of time with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 86%. This is rather impressive for a movie that even according to Michael Crichton had the audience laughing at the wrong times. The movie doesn’t stand up to the two successful seasons of the HBO show, but it remains very watchable for its own reasons.
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For a series deeply invested in being innovative and futuristic, Black Mirror seems to have lost its sense of imagination. The highly-anticipated fifth season of Charlie Brooker’s sci-fi anthology follows the December release of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, an interactive film in which viewers are active participants in the development of the storyline. Black Mirror Season 5 marks both a return to the show’s standard format and also a notable decline in quality.
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Carly Chaikin assured fans that they will be pleased with the final season, noting that she texted Sam Esmail to ask how he came up with extraordinary aspects of the scripts. Despite multiple viewer requests for spoilers, Carly did not reveal any information about events or developments to come. Shooting for Season 4 will begin in approximately two and a half weeks.