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Postcyberpunk describes a genre of science fiction which is believed to have emerged from the cyberpunk movement. Like its predecessor, postcyberpunk focuses on technological developments in near-future societies, typically examining the social effects of widespread telecommunication, genetic engineering and/or nanotechnology. Unlike "classic" cyperpunk, however, the works in this category feature characters who act to improve social conditions or at least protect the status quo from further decay.1 History
The term "postcyberpunk" was first used to describe the paperback edition of Neal Stephenson's science-fiction novel Snow Crash, circa 1991. Lawrence Person argued that the term should be applied to an emergent genre, 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 popular technology website Slashdot. The article identified the emergence of a postcyberpunk 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 Neuromancerartificial intelligence, virtual reality, genetic engineering, multinational corporations dominating the world at the expense of the nation-state, and cyberspace (a computer network called the Matrix) long before these ideas were fashionable in popular cu.
Like its predecessor, postcyberpunk depicts realistic near-futures rather than space operaFor other meanings of this term see Space Opera (disambiguation). Space opera is subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic adventure, interstellar travel, and space battles where the main storyline is interstellar conflict and character drama.–style deep futures. The focus is on the social effects of Earth-bound technology rather than space travel. Person argues that postcyberpunk is distinct from cyberpunk in the following ways:
- Cyberpunk typically deals with alienatedAlienated is the name of a Canadian science fiction TV series. The word "alienated" is, of course, the past tense of the verb: to alienate. loners in a dystopiaThe term dystopia is often used to describe a fictional society, usually existing in a future time period, in which the condition of life is extremely bad due to deprivation, oppression, or terror. In Post-Modern social criticism the same term is used to. 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.
- In cyberpunk, the alienating effect of new technology is emphasised, whereas in postcyberpunk, "technology is society" (including more technocracyTechnocracy is an organizational system in which decision makers are selected on the basis of technological knowledge, often because of some conflict or competition where technological escalation is a constant feature. Terminology The term was coined in 1 and cyberprepCyberprep (a portmanteau word combining " cybernetics" and " preppie") is a term that refers to a sub- genre of science fiction or role-playing game campaign that reflects the flip side of cyberpunk. A cyberprep world assumes that all the technological ad themes than traditional cyberpunk).
Other possible characteristics:
- A more realistic depiction of computers, such as replacing virtual reality by a sort of super voice/audio/video/holographic Internet-based network.
- A change in emphasis from metallic implants to biotechnology.
Postcyberpunk possibly emerged because SF authors and the general population began using computers, the Internet, and PDAs to their benefit, without the massive social fragmentation of this Information Revolution predicted in the 1970s and 1980s.
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