Cyberpunk and Cyberculture : Science Fiction and the Work of William Gibson

Cyberpunk is the fiction of a culture saturated by electronic technology. Its vocabulary is the language of cybernetics, biotechnology, corporational greed and urban subcultures. Massively succesful in both book and film form, cyberpunk has redefined not only contemporary science fiction but also, through its capacity to anticipate "technology" and its cultural impact, analytical work in the social science and humanities. This text explores the work of a wide range of writers, setting their work in the context of science fiction, other literary genres, genre cinema and contemporary work on the culture of technology. Seven main themes are addressed: the impact of virtual technologies on identity, space and community; the interplay of technological and mythological motifs; reconfigurations of the body initiated by technoscience; issues of gender and sexuality; the siginificance of the sprawling megacity; cyberpunk's Gothic traits of monstrosity, transgresison and social unrest; and the editing of history and memory. Cyberpunk is the fiction of a culture saturated by electronic technology. Its vocabulary is the language of cybernetics, biotechnology, corporational greed and urban subcultures. Massively successful in both book and film form, cyberpunk has redefined not only contemporary science fiction but also, through its capacity to anticipate technology and its cultural impact, analytical work in the social sciences and humanities.Cyberpunk and Cyberculture explores the work of a wide range of writers -- Acker, Cadigan, Rucker, Shirley, Sterling, Williams and, of course, Gibson -- setting their work in the context of science fiction, other literary genres, genre cinema -- from Metropolis to Terminator to The Matrix -- and contemporary work on the culture of technology.Seven main themes are addressed: the impact of virtual technologies on identity, space and community; the interplay of technological and mythological motifs; reconfigurations of the body initiated by technoscience; issues of gender and sexuality; the significance of the sprawling megacity; cyberpunk's Gothic traits of monstrosity; transgression and social unrest; and the editing of history and memory. This is a major effort to address how present day culture has been impacted by a new generation as well as a new technology. This Text Explores And Analyses The Work Of A Wide Range Of Writers, Setting Their Work In The Context Of Science Fiction, Other Literary Genres, Genre Cinema And Contemporary Work On The Culture Of Technology. Preface -- A Brief Guide To The Book Introduction: Science Fiction And Cyberpunk -- 1 Cyberpunk And Virtual Technologies -- 2 Cyberpunk, Technology And Mythology Technology And Mythology: Origins Cyborgs -- Myth And Religion In Cyberpunk Fiction, Theory And The Language Of Science -- 3 Cyberpunk And The Body The Cyberbody Idoru: The Body As Personality Construct The Ghost The Stranger Burning Chrome And Mona Lisa Overdrive: The Body As Commodity The Doll -- 4 Cyberpunk, Gender And Sexuality Technologies Of The Gendered Subject Gender Roles In Cyberpunk Virtual Sex -- 5 Cyberpunk And The City Science And Space Digital Maps: On/off -- Venice -- Space And Narrative Structure -- 6 Cyberpunk And The Gothic -- The Uncanny Layering And Architecture Families Fashion -- Time Zones Epilogue: Cyberpunk And Memory. Dani Cavallaro. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 241-249) And Index. Includes Filmography: P. 250.

Cyberpunk and Cyberculture explores the work of a wide range of writers- Acker, Cadigan, Rucker, Shierley, Sterling, Williams and, of course, Gibson - setting their work in the context of science fiction, other literary genres, genre cinema - from Metropolis to Terminator to The Matrix - and contemporary work on the culture of technology.