. C Y B E R P U N K .
d e f e n i t i o n l i s t
Cyberpunk, the undefinable. Do we really need a defenition? Do we need
to classify ourselves as a seperate entity from the world of the
network. Probably not, but
here are the defenitions given by many
people from many walks of life.
First off,
we have the FAQ defenition. The defenition tailored to please
all and show our image to the
world (you may not think so, that’s your
opinion).
The first use of
"cyberpunk" to designate a body of literature is
credited to Gardner Dozois, who, at
the time (the early ’80s), was
editor of _Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine_. He cribbed
it
from the title of a short story by Bruce Bethke, "Cyberpunk". (Bethke
has
since proclaimed himself to be an "anti-cyberpunk".)
Before its christening,
the "cyberpunk movement", known to its members
as "The Movement", had
existed for quite some time, centered around
Bruce Sterling’s samizdat, _Cheap Truth_. Authors
like Sterling,
Rucker, and Shirley submitted articles pseudonymously to this
newsletter,
hyping the works of people in the group and vigorously
attacking the "SF
mainstream". This helped form the core "movement
consciousness". (A tar-file
containing the run of _Cheap Truth_ is
available by anonymous FTP as
"ftp.u.washington.edu:/pub/user-supported/
alt.cyberpunk/Essays.and.Articles/Cheaptruth/cheap.tar".)
Cyberpunk literature, in
general, deals with marginalized people in
technologically-enhanced cultural
"systems". In cyberpunk stories’
settings, there is usually a "system"
which dominates the lives of
most "ordinary" people, be it an oppresive government,
a group of
large, paternalistic corporations, or a fundamentalist religion. These
systems are enhanced by certain technologies (today advancing at a
rate that is bewildering to
most people), particularly "information
technology" (computers, the mass media),
making the system better at
keeping those within it inside it. Often this technological
system
extends into its human "components" as well, via brain implants,
prosthetic limbs, cloned or genetically engineered organs, etc. Humans
themselves become part
of "the Machine". This is the "cyber" aspect of
cyberpunk.
However, in any cultural system, there are always those who live on
its margins, on "the
Edge": criminals, outcasts, visionaries, or those
who simply want freedom for its own
sake. Cyberpunk literature focuses
on these people, and often on how they turn the system’s
technological
tools to their own ends. This is the "punk" aspect of cyberpunk.
The best cyberpunk works are distinguished from previous work with
similar themes by a
certain style. The setting is urban, the mood is
dark and pessimistic. Concepts are thrown at
the reader without
explanation, much like new developments are thrown at us in our
everyday lives. There is often a sense of moral ambiguity; simply
fighting "the
system" (to topple it, or just to stay alive) does not
make the main characters
"heroes" or "good" in the traditional sense.
Spurred on by
cyberpunk literature, in the mid-1980’s certain groups
of people started referring to
themselves as cyberpunk, because they
correctly noticed the seeds of the fictional
"techno-system" in
Western society today, and because they identified with the
marginalized characters in cyberpunk stories. Within the last few
years, the mass media has
caught on to this, spontaneously dubbing
certain people and groups "cyberpunk".
Specific subgroups which are
identified with cyberpunk are:
Hackers, Crackers,
and Phreaks: "Hackers" are the "wizards" of the
computer community; people
with a deep understanding of how their
computers work, and can do things with them that
seem
"magical". "Crackers" are the real-world analogues of the
"console
cowboys" of cyberpunk fiction; they break in to other people’s
computer systems, without their permission, for illicit gain or simply
for the pleasure of
exercising their skill. "Phreaks" are those who do
a similar thing with the
telephone system, coming up with ways to
circumvent phone companies’ calling charges and doing
clever things
with the phone network. All three groups are using emerging computer
and
telecommunications technology to satisfy their individualist
goals.
Cypherpunks:
These people think a good way to bollix "The System" is
through cryptography and
cryptosystems. They believe widespread use of
extremely hard-to-break coding schemes will
create "regions of privacy"
that "The System" cannot invade.
Ravers: These are the folks who use synthesized and sampled music,
computer-generated
psychedelic ("cyberdelic") art, and designer drugs
to create massive all-night dance
parties and love-fests in empty
warehouses.
However, one person’s
"cyberpunk" is another’s everyday obnoxious
teenager with some technical skill
thrown in, or just someone looking
for the latest trend to identify with. This has led many
people
to look at self-designated "cyberpunks" in a negative light. Also,
there are those who claim that "cyberpunk" is undefinable (which
in some sense it
is, being concerned with outsiders and rebels), and
resent the mass media’s use of the label,
seeing it as a cynical
marketing ploy.
Asking someone to define Cyberpunk is like
asking someone to define art. Each
person has their own ideas about what art is, what
constitutes art and what
doesn’t. Yet we all still know art when we see it. The same is true
for
Cyberpunk - each cyberpunk has their own definition for it, yet common threads
remain. In basic terms, these might be definied by an emphasis on
individualism and technology
(both in the present and in the future - and in
the past as in The Difference Engine [a book
by Gibson & Sterling]).
So what seperates cyberpunk from other types of sci-fi?
Generally, cyberpunk
occures in the not-so-distant-future. It generally occurs on earth, in a
time
where technology is prominent. Characters are generally "average Johnny
Mnemonics" - not some fantastic hero with lots of virtue and a blinding smile.
Cyberpunk
revels in high-tech low-lifes, so you can expect to see lots of crime
and back-stabbing and
drugs and such. These are the basic elements of
Gibsonesque CP (cyberpunk) - we’ve all seen it
before in movies such as Blade
Runner and TV Shows like Max Headroom.
In many
cases, it appears as if our world is evolving into a classic cyberpunk
setting: the rise of
post-zaibatsu Japan with it’s monopoly on technology,
American cities developing into the
"sprawl" (basically just large,
mega-cities), drugs and crime are predominant in
some cultures, and we thrive
and survive on technology. So, it isn’t too hard to see how
cyberpunk evolved
from being just a literary movement into a growing sub-culture - industrial
and
post-industrial aspects of the culture, virtual reality, rave parties,
nootropics,
computer hacking - they’re all aspects of our culture, they all
would fit nicely into a Gibson
novel, and they all exist *now*.
So, what makes a cyberpunk? If you already knew all
this stuff, and you’re
laughing at my generalities and inconsistencies, then you’re definitely
a
cyberpunk. If you’re a techno-junkie or an info-junkie, than you’d probably
consider
yourself a cyberpunk. Basically, if you live in a world in the
not-so-distant-future, ahead of
the masses (the masses being guys named Buford
who sit out in front of their trailer homes in
lawn chairs sipping a Bud and
watching the Indy 500 on an old tv), then you could probably
safely consider
yourself a cyberpunk. It’s a spectrum, though - I mean, it’s kind of like
if
Micahelangelo had an assistant, he would probably not consider the assistant an
artist. Yet to his friends and family, that assistant may seem like a great
artist. I consider
myself a cyberpunk compared to the masses that walk the
halls of my school, yet at a virtual
reality conference in the presence of the
likes of Jaron Lanier, Gibson, John Perry Barlow,
Timothy Leary, RU Sirius,
etc. I would probably be more hesitant in labeling myself a true
cyberpunk.
But one the beauties of cp is that it is still somewhat elitist to an extent:
members of the community realize that we who walk on the fringes of culture
need to hold each
others’ hand until the masses join us - the communal
atmosphere, at times, can be seen as
similair to the early hippie movement of
the late 50’s/early 60’s.
There are
really several definitions of the word ‘cyberpunk’. First
and foremost is the popular
‘electronic outlaw’ image, the rough rider
in a new area of exploration. The western cowboy
all over again…
Other images abound. As is nearly everything in life, it is a matter
of presonal preference and thought. One day you wake up and say "Gee,
I’m a cyberpunk
today" and go off and hack the Pentagon or something
(not that _I_ would _ever_ do
something like that :-)). Then tomorrow
you wake up and say "Gee, I’m a cyberpunk
today" and go off into the
little place called your computer and build a program that
will end
all world problems when uploaded and then forget to save it… 
The whole
point of all this blabber is that the definition is all a
matter of personal interrpretation.
It’s like a new religion; Martin
Luther is just waiting in the wings… Someone will always
have a
different definition but the only definition that counts is yours!
Can’t you tell
I’m into freedom and individuality?
Well, those were the defenitions. Sorry I
didn’t have more. In
conclusion we can say that cyberpunk is undefinable. One cannot
give it a purpose or a founding. Those who would most likely be
considered cyberpunk either
don’t realize it or don’t want to be
cyberpunk. CP is personal. What it means to you is
different from
what it means to me, or what it means to Billy Idol. Let’s just
keep on
doing what it looks like were supposed to be doing and
maybe someday someone will invent
cyberpunk.
In the mean time, I have started this e-zine and intend to continue
it.
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