Postcyberpunk

Postcyberpunk describes a subgenre of science fiction which some critics suggest has evolved from cyberpunk. Like its predecessor, postcyberpunk focuses on technological developments in near-future societies, typically examining the social effects of a ubiquitous datasphere of computerized information, genetic engineering, modification of the human body, and the continued impact of perpetual technological change. Unlike "pure" cyberpunk, however, the works in this category feature characters who act to improve social conditions or at least protect the status quo from further decay.

History

The term "postcyberpunk" was first used circa 1991 to describe Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash."Fact|date=June 2008 Lawrence Person argued that the term should be applied to an emergent subgenre of science fiction, which he proceeded to identify. In 1998, he published an article called "Notes Towards a Postcyberpunk Manifesto" in the small-press magazine "Nova Express"; the next year, he posted the article to the technology website Slashdot.cite web
last =Person
first =Lawrence
title =Notes Towards a Postcyberpunk Manifesto
work =The Cyberpunk Project
date =1998
url =http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/notes_toward_a_postcyberpunk_manifesto.html
accessdate =2007-06-18 ] The article proposed the idea that postcyberpunk should be seen as the evolution of the cyberpunk genre of science fiction popular in the late 1970s and 1980s characterized by movies like "Blade Runner" and books like William Gibson's "Neuromancer".

Like its predecessor, postcyberpunk depicts realistic near-futures rather than space opera-style deep futures. The focus is on the social effects of Earth-bound technology rather than space travel. Not all readers or critics agree on its precise meaning. Some authors to whom the label has been applied have endorsed and adopted it. However, classification is always difficult.

Person argues that postcyberpunk is distinct from cyberpunk in the following ways:
*Postcyberpunk tends to deal with characters who are more involved with society, and act to defend an existing social order or create a better society.
*Protagonists of postcyberpunk are more often young urban professionals with more social status.
*In cyberpunk, the alienating effect of new technology is emphasised, whereas in postcyberpunk, "technology "is" society".
*Includes a sense of humor, as opposed to the frequently hardboiled nature of cyberpunk.

Postcyberpunk possibly emerged because SF authors and the general population began using computers, the Internet, and PDAs to their benefit, without the extensive social fragmentation of this Digital Revolution predicted in the 1970s and 1980s.

In 2007, SF writers James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel published .

Examples of postcyberpunk

Books

* Greg Bear's "Queen of Angels" and "Slant"
* Raphael Carter's "The Fortunate Fall"
* David Memmott's "Prime Time" [ [http://www.scifi.com/sfw/books/sfw18074.html Prime Time | Book Reviews | SCI FI Weekly] ]
* Ken MacLeod's "The Star Fraction" and "The Stone Canal"

* Ian McDonald's "Necroville" (aka "Terminal Cafe")
* Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash",Fact|date=May 2008 "The Diamond Age" [http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/notes_toward_a_postcyberpunk_manifesto.html Notes Toward a Postcyberpunk Manifesto] ]
* Bruce Sterling's "Islands in the Net" and "Holy Fire"
* James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel's (editors) "" [http://www.tachyonpublications.com/book/Rewired.html]

Television and Film

The term has also been applied to other media works, such as Person's description of the anime series "" as "the most interesting, sustained postcyberpunk media work in existence." [cite web|url=http://locusmag.com/2006/Features/Person_GhostInTheShell.html|title=Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex|publisher=Locus Online|date=2006-01-15|accessdate=2008-02-07|last= Person|first= Lawrence]

Footnotes

References

*
*cite book |author=Takayuki Tatsumi |title=Full metal apache: transactions between cyberpunk Japan and avant-pop America |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2006 |pages= |isbn=0-8223-3774-6 - Includes an interview with Richard Calder describing his work as "postcyberpunk nanotech science fiction."

External links

* [http://www.librarything.com/tag/postcyberpunk LibraryThing] book listing for Postcyberpunk