Ghost in the Shell is one of the best cyberpunk scenarios but it is not the only one. We review other worlds based on this subgenre of science fiction: Blade Runner, William Gibson's books, Robocop, Deus Ex ...
Cyberpunk is going to be very fashionable. Especially as soon as it hits theaters Ghost in the Shell, Rupert Sanders' (Snow White and the Huntsman) film based on the homonymous manga and anime by Masamune Shirow. And although the comparisons are going to be the order of the day, soon everyone is going to be with the cyberpunk madness on top, referring to how cool this style is and the desire they have to imitate it. In fact, it will be rare if Scarlett Johansson's Kusanagi hair does not become a trend and become a regular thing next year.
But before that comes, we have thought about shedding a little light on the matter and we have proposed to talk about the genre, so that you have some basic notions of it, as well as examples of the most emblematic scenes of cyberpunk. Scenarios that, by the way, range from cinema and literature, to anime, video games and role-playing games.
What is cyberpunk?
Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction literature coined in the 80s. Authors such as W, of which we will speak later, they began to make a new series of science fiction stories diametrically opposed to the space and utopian science fiction that precognized a better future for the human race. In fact, cyberpunk precisely seeks social criticism of the system, warning of the dangers of this future society.
In the stories of the future of cyberpunk worlds, the human species does not experience a great spatial expansion throughout the cosmos. In general, they are stories that show how humanity is still anchored on our planet Earth, which is crowded with a huge overpopulation, Large corporations dominate all political and social spectra and there is extensive use of the cyborogy, applied to a good part of the population. These environments, usually located in the not too distant future, but also have another very recurring ingredient: Artificial Intelligence and virtual reality environments, in which the people live immersed. hackers in constant struggles against megacorporations, but at their salary.
In addition, narratively, there tends to be another factor (not always recurring, but common), the idea of ​​the lonely hero against the government and / or companies. This individual can be someone on the fringes of the institutions, rejected by them or simply who has abandoned them, who confronts them alone with his abilities. Now let's talk about gunmen or hackers, if not both, we see how these individuals end up having to fight the war on their own, with a fairly slim chance of success. In fact, one of the foundations of his narratives is that the protagonist, somehow, loses more than he gains at the end of the story.
Ghost in the Shell
We start with one of the best examples of cyberpunk and also one of the most popular. Masamune shirow created this manga in 1989, featuring one of the most brilliant futuristic works of the ninth art. Later, he would make two more sequels: Human Error Processor and Manmachine Interface. The original story would be adapted into a Mamoru Oshii movie in 1995 as well as an animated series in 2002. In addition, there are other sequels and sequels that we will skip so as not to confuse you.
The world of Ghost in the Shell takes place in Japan in an advanced 9st century. Cyber ​​technology and computing have reached heights of excellence never before thought. But with this technological leap, the criminal threat is also greater. Hence, the Japanese government enables the so-called Public Security Police Section XNUMX, or Section 9, to combat technological crimes: hackers, cyberactivists, traffickers of dangerous technological material, etc ...
Within this security group, the largest Motoko kusanagi, which not only has a completely cybernetic body, but has also replaced parts of its brain to be able to carry out its work much better. Section 9 and Kusanagi herself will find the fit of their shoe when they have to face a dangerous and mysterious cyber-terrorist who responds only to the name of the Master of the Puppets.
If you want to know more about the original manga of Ghost in the Shell it can still be found in some thrift stores. But be prepared to leave you a paste. If you prefer, the 1995 Ghost in the Shell movie and series, subtitled Stand alone complex, they can be found much more easily on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Johnny Mnemonic (and other works by William Gibson)
Although we should have started here, we have decided to leave Gibson for second place to open our mouths with what is popular and that is now on everyone's lips. And, although you may not believe it, the origin of cyberpunk is not exactly a current issue. Very despite, yes, the huge number of titles that exist in the subgenre.
W he is considered the father of the genre, or at least its clearest exponent. In his literary production stands out The Sprawl Trilogy (or the Ensanche), composed by Neuromancer, Count Zero and Mona Lisa Accelerated, and this is possibly one of his most celebrated works where the bases of worlds such as that of Ghost in the Shell. From cinema, however, we know him precisely for Johnny Mnemonic, the Keannu Reeves film whose review you have here, based on one of the stories included in the anthology of Burning chrome. In addition, the film New Rose Hotel is also based on his books, and is considered one of the movement's own cult films.
Be that as it may, one thing is clear, Gibson is the purest author when it comes to cyberpunk. His presentation of virtual realities and the power of hackers to shape the world were clearly precursors to everything that followed in other literary, film and video game sagas.
Blade Runner
While Do Androids Dream of Metallic Sheep?, the story on which it is based Blade Runner It is from 1968. Phillip K. Dick already precognized the foundations of the cyberpunk movement with this story. At least if not the original story, we can point out that the 1982 Ridley Scott film, whose review we offer you at the time, was already located in an environment close to cyberpunk. Although the idea of ​​hackers was not that developed, in its counterpart we had engineers and experts in androids (called replicants).
On the other hand, the idea of ​​megacorporations, AI as the centerpiece of the plot and the premise of a hero who acted as a lone wolf, stereotyped as a cynic who ends up turning against the system when he decided to go outside the guidelines of his skeptical role, they quite match the premise of cyberpunk. In general lines, by this we can say that the film of Blade RunnerAt the very least, it could be considered one of the existing cyberpunk worlds.
Robocop (1987)
While Robocop (1987) also does not affect the idea of ​​hackers, artificial intelligences are present, as well as robotics (and by extension cybernetics). the OCP is the great corporation that even ends up absorbing authority and public powers, turning their private interests into law and law enforcement officials into their automated henchmen. This warning is precisely what can be derived from Robocop, whose criticism you have here.
In addition, that its protagonist Alex Murphy is a lone gunman, especially on his path of revenge, and the fact that his battle is a loss are two cyberpunk elements. His humanity, no matter how much he wants to, will never return. Being a cyborg, more machine than man, he is far removed from the rest of the human race. Criticism is directed at the concept of singularity between synthetic and organic and the resulting alienation problems. This is an element that is partly collected within the philosophy of cyberpunk stories.
Ergo Proxy
Ghost in the Shell isn't the only cyberpunk manganime. Ergo Proxy It also falls into this category. It is an anime created by Dai Sato, set in the perhaps not too distant future. Earth has been devastated for the most part by conflict on a planetary scale. This has forced the population to take refuge in a dome-shaped city that responds to the name of Romdou, which serves as a refuge for humanity.
In Romdou, humans coexist with androids called AutoRaves, under the supervision of a bureaucratic and administrative system. Everything goes in peace until some uncontrolled AutoRaves commit several murders, moved by a computer virus called Cogito. With the population in a fit of hysteria, the relationship of the virus with artificial entities called Proxy, with which the government has been experimenting, will be discovered.
If you want to see the entire series, which looks pretty good, we inform you that there is a chest that collects the 23 episodes of Ergo Proxy.
Shadowrun
We couldn't leave the quintessential cyberpunk RPG off the list (with permission from the Cyberpunk 2020 game). Shadowrun is set in a period between 2040 and 2076 on a planet Earth that has suffered a magical crisis. At a certain point, magic awakened and dragons and fantasy creatures appeared, while part of the human race was transformed into fantasy races: orcs, dwarves, elves, etc ... This change resulted in the confluence of the magic and technology, creating a future as strange as it is full of possibilities.
In this game, the games are set around 2050 and the players embody their own races. Dungeons & Dragons in an environment typical of Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell. Yes, a very careful paranoia! But also a very funny one that has had numerous acolytes throughout its more than twenty-five years of life. In fact, Shadowrun has garnered so much fame that it has even been seen in video games of the RPG and MMO genre.
Deus Ex
We weren't going to leave Eidos Interactive's great shooter / RPG off the list. JC Denton, Alex D, Adam Jensen and Ben Saxon's odyssey through the bleak future that awaits Earth in the next 50 years. If you want a Cyberpunk game, the Deus Ex are your titles. All the elements that we talked about in the first section of our list make up the ingredients of the entire video game series: Dystopian future, large corporations, hackers "doing things", artificial intelligences, a Lone Ranger hero, cybernetic prosthetics. .. come on, a cyberpunk party!
One of the favorite sagas of lovers of the genre. Your last title Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, whose review we have here, has been considered the best Canadian game of 2016 and, of course, is a sweet tooth for addicts to RPG "shooter". Possibly we have in this title the best exponent of the cyberpunk genre in terms of video games.
Matrix
Finally, we reserve the Matrix trilogy as an option that can be controversial, since there are those who think that it is not so much a cyberpunk saga but rather a science fiction story with philosophical and metaphysical overtones. The author of these lines accepts the second meaning, but still considers that Matrix it should be considered as cyberpunk history.
In this regard, the Matrix trilogy, as well as games and spin-offs, moves in a dystopian environment between two realities. The mundane and apocalyptic and virtual reality of the world of machines, where Neo can hack the rules of the servers, altering the source code that supports it at will. On the other hand, while the idea of ​​Megacorporations does not exist, we do have Agent Smith and the other agents, serving as executors of a larger and oppressive entity. Similarly, Neo has the losing battle from the beginning, as you well know. However, if you are not very convinced and want to review the saga again, we remind you that it is relatively easy to find the pack with the three Matrix films, in addition to the animated film Animatrix, which served as a tie-in between the first two films .
