The Nickscast wanders down a gritty alleyway, away from the bright lights and ads to jack-in to their terminals to talk about fans of cyberpunk! Is cyberpunk still relevant to today? What happened to it all? What does it mean for a work to be cyberpunk (vs transhuman) and what does it mean to be a fan of something so broad as a genre? We find out!

Next week, we'll be having a special-guest friend (and fellow Nick) join us as we talk about fans of movies, cinephiles!

## Episode outline

### Fandom Facts

**Origins:**

Cyberpunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, and, as such, is hard to pin down in terms of a fandom. Sometimes it is an element of a work, and other times it is merely an aesthetic.

> In the 1980s, authors like William Gibson and Bruce Sterling wrote dystopian novels set 20 Minutes into the Future, where they explored themes such as the impact of modern technology on everyday life, the rise of the global datasphere as an arena for communication, commerce, conflict, and crime, and invasive cybernetic body modifications. The heroes of these in dark and cynical stories were marginalized, disillusioned, and rebellious "punks" striving for survival against overwhelming odds, often futilely, in corrupt megacities and surreal cyberspace realms. Bruce Bethke called this Cyberpunk, and it was good.>> — [TVTropes - Punk Punk](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PunkPunk)

It is often referred to as "a combination of lowlife and high tech".

> There is no shortage of different definitions of cyberpunk>> — T

Some examples of cyberpunk (or post-cyberpunk) works include:

- Blade Runner- Ghost in the Shell- Neuromancer- Deus Ex- Bubblegum Crisis- Cowboy Bebop- Psycho-pass

**Most Active:**

According to this [analysis of novels and movies released each year from 1980 to 2007 by io9](http://io9.gizmodo.com/346365/the-rise-and-fall-of-cyberpunk), cyberpunk was most popular in the mid-90s, most notably between 1992 and 1995.

### [Last Episode's](http://fanthropological.com/e/29-twin-peaks-fans/) Famous Last Words

**Matt**: Will *Cyberpunk 2077* be the greatest game of all time? Period. End of discussion.

> ... [Cyberpunk] will not be the greatest game of all time. It can't be, because Chrono Trigger is the greatest game of all time. Period. End of Discussion.>> — T

**Z**: Have the graphics that cyberpunks make improved since the *Cyberpunks* documentary?

> In 27 years of technology, the graphical capabilities of *literally everyone* improved.>> — G

**G**: How important is the *punk* to *cyberpunk* (politically) in 2017?

> Cyberpunk was a reaction to the utopian vision of the future.>> — G

> If sci-fi is humans with technology, then cyberpunk is humans versus technology.>> — G

**T**: Is cyberpunk still a thing? Or is it an aesthetic?> Cyberpunk [now] is an aesthetic because the real world is horrifying!>> — T

### What did we discuss?

The difficulty of discussing a genre as compared to a fandom ~ transhumanism and its relation to cyberpunk ~ cyberpunk as a reaction to 1950s utopias ~ cyberpunk and rise of tech noir, digital libertarianism ~ is cyberpunk still a thing? ~ cyberpunk and the dystopia that is the modern day ~ cyberpunk as an aesthetic ~ cyberpunk and its individual, human stories ~ technology going too far ~ anti-consumerism and advertising as key piece of cyberpunk

### In or out

**Z is *kind of* in.**

> **T**: It's a boolean operation! License revoked!> **Z**: Oh no! I'm contractually obliged to stay in!

- Z will probably check out *Neuromancer*, and *Snow Crash*

**G is in.**

> A good litmus test is how excited I get about the thing doing the research for the thing.>> — G

**T is in.**

> When I was looking at some of the things that qualify as cyberpunk or post-cyberpunk I was like, "Yeah! I am all over this!">> — T

> Is t