Cyberpunk and Steam Punk
I read Cyberpunk in the Nineties by Bruce Sterling because while I thoroughly enjoy genres like cyberpunk and sci-fi I had never truly familiarized myself with what cyberpunk actually is. I found the explanation to make sense when I thought of a few works I was somewhat familiar with that sound like cyberpunk.
Ghost in the Shell I believe is certainly cyberpunk, and while I don't know too much about it I know it involves cyborg-human hybrids, that concept alone lending itself to the concept of cyberpunk in that it involves enhancing and pushing the limits of the human condition. Humans have been able to live longer and overall healthier lives over the many thousands of years we've existed as our modern species, and we're not about to stop improving ourselves. We already equip ourselves with various forms of technology to be in less pain, to prevent pain, or to simply make our lives easier, and we continue to work to improve these technologies and to invent new ones. We won't stop at knee replacements and ICDs, we will absolutely continue making leaps and bounds in technology to try and help us live as long as possible, not only this, but to preserve ourselves.
Sterling discusses in his piece how humans are already exploring possible ways to download the contents of our brains such as our memories or even our personalities, so our souls in a way. If we were to become human-cyborg hybrids we could most definitely accomplish this as we should be able to upload and download information to and from our brains relatively easily like computers. If we were ever able to successfully do this, we would basically be able to consider ourselves immortal, at least when it came to our minds, and if that's not strengthening or pushing the extent of what humans are capable of when it comes to our own existence then I don't know what is.
Another thing Sterling mentioned in his writing is the idea that cyberpunk is a very realist genre rather than optimistic, not pessimistic however, but simply recognizing our faults. He writes, "Our place in the universe is basically accidental. We are weak and mortal, but it's not the holy will of the gods; it's just the way things happen to be at the moment. And this is radically unsatisfactory; not because we direly miss the shelter of the Deity, but because, looked at objectively, the vale of human suffering is basically a dump. The human condition can be changed, and it will be changed, and is changing; the only real questions are how, and to what end. This "anti-humanist" conviction in cyberpunk is not simply some literary stunt to outrage the bourgeoisie; this is an objective fact about culture in the late twentieth century. Cyberpunk didn't invent this situation; it just reflects it."
I love this kind of thing, because I know humans aren't perfect in the least and when something explores this idea and brings our faults to the surface, I highly enjoy it and the laughing at our lack of divine importance in the grand scheme of things. Whether or not one believes in God, it's pretty obvious that we're objectively just not that important in comparison to the rest of the universe; we're not even an atom in comparison to the universe if it were an organism, and I find this amusing mostly when hyper-religious people get offended at the notion we in fact not that special. I don't mean this to be offensive however, I just find it very funny when people flip out when told they're not the most important creatures in the universe. We are special to an extent of course, we are after all the prime intelligent species on our planet, but there is absolutely other life int he universe, it's far too massive to not have any other intelligent life, so yeah we're special I suppose but not that special; we're no more special than the other intelligent species out there that we don't even know about.
If cyberpunk plays off these anti-humanist ideas and plays with our insecurities, I definitely need to read and watch more things from this genre.
Ghost in the Shell I believe is certainly cyberpunk, and while I don't know too much about it I know it involves cyborg-human hybrids, that concept alone lending itself to the concept of cyberpunk in that it involves enhancing and pushing the limits of the human condition. Humans have been able to live longer and overall healthier lives over the many thousands of years we've existed as our modern species, and we're not about to stop improving ourselves. We already equip ourselves with various forms of technology to be in less pain, to prevent pain, or to simply make our lives easier, and we continue to work to improve these technologies and to invent new ones. We won't stop at knee replacements and ICDs, we will absolutely continue making leaps and bounds in technology to try and help us live as long as possible, not only this, but to preserve ourselves.
Sterling discusses in his piece how humans are already exploring possible ways to download the contents of our brains such as our memories or even our personalities, so our souls in a way. If we were to become human-cyborg hybrids we could most definitely accomplish this as we should be able to upload and download information to and from our brains relatively easily like computers. If we were ever able to successfully do this, we would basically be able to consider ourselves immortal, at least when it came to our minds, and if that's not strengthening or pushing the extent of what humans are capable of when it comes to our own existence then I don't know what is.
Another thing Sterling mentioned in his writing is the idea that cyberpunk is a very realist genre rather than optimistic, not pessimistic however, but simply recognizing our faults. He writes, "Our place in the universe is basically accidental. We are weak and mortal, but it's not the holy will of the gods; it's just the way things happen to be at the moment. And this is radically unsatisfactory; not because we direly miss the shelter of the Deity, but because, looked at objectively, the vale of human suffering is basically a dump. The human condition can be changed, and it will be changed, and is changing; the only real questions are how, and to what end. This "anti-humanist" conviction in cyberpunk is not simply some literary stunt to outrage the bourgeoisie; this is an objective fact about culture in the late twentieth century. Cyberpunk didn't invent this situation; it just reflects it."
I love this kind of thing, because I know humans aren't perfect in the least and when something explores this idea and brings our faults to the surface, I highly enjoy it and the laughing at our lack of divine importance in the grand scheme of things. Whether or not one believes in God, it's pretty obvious that we're objectively just not that important in comparison to the rest of the universe; we're not even an atom in comparison to the universe if it were an organism, and I find this amusing mostly when hyper-religious people get offended at the notion we in fact not that special. I don't mean this to be offensive however, I just find it very funny when people flip out when told they're not the most important creatures in the universe. We are special to an extent of course, we are after all the prime intelligent species on our planet, but there is absolutely other life int he universe, it's far too massive to not have any other intelligent life, so yeah we're special I suppose but not that special; we're no more special than the other intelligent species out there that we don't even know about.
If cyberpunk plays off these anti-humanist ideas and plays with our insecurities, I definitely need to read and watch more things from this genre.
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