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- Title
Cyberpunk and the Postmodern Man: A Technical Trauma.
- Authors
Wahaj Mohsin, Syed; Taskeen, Shaista
- Abstract
Science and technology is the deus ex machina of the contemporary postmodern society. The relation between humans and technology cannot be gauged. This 'fearful symmetry' is the architecture of any cyberpunk dystopia. The 'cyberpunk' as an independent term was coined by Bruce Bethke in 1980 for his short story Cyberpunk. It evolved rapidly as a literary genre in the works of William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Pat Cadigan, Neal Stephenson, Rudy Rucker, Frank Herbert and John Shirley. Cyberpunk literature focuses on complex science processes such as information technology and cybernetics. The setting of such cyberpunk novels is usually the post- industrial dystopias. The postmodern society is the one where man is a loner, devoid of all morality and sentiments. The gilded façade of man's fake exterior is a feature of his postmodern identity. The solace he finds in reading, and fantasizing about the phantasmagoric future of an automated planet is the reason behind the success of this literary genre of fiction. Such a robotic and mechanized planet would obviously be power-centric, and not God-centric by any means. The postmodern man with his denial of truth surpasses the Nietzschean concept of 'Death of God' and 'there are no facts, only interpretations.' The ever-growing fervor for cyberpunk has created a global readership. This is an extremely interesting area of study if one wishes to find out the impact of literature on today's youth. Both technical advancements and postmodernist trends have been playing an important role in shaping the future of our planet.
- Subjects
CYBERPUNK fiction; CYBERPUNK culture; DYSTOPIAS in literature; STERLING, Bruce, 1954-; GIBSON, William, 1948-; POSTMODERNISM (Literary period)
- Publication
International Journal on Multicultural Literature, 2015, Vol 5, Issue 2, p94
- ISSN
2231-6248
- Publication type
Literary Criticism