{"id":95,"date":"2026-09-01T14:36:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T12:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/?page_id=95"},"modified":"2026-09-01T14:37:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T12:37:36","slug":"5-cyberpunk","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/?page_id=95","title":{"rendered":"5. Cyberpunk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The History of Science Fiction \u2013 1980s and 1990s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Bruce Sterling wrote his Cyberpunk manifesto in 1986, much of the original Movement\u2019s radicalism had already been diluted, either by success (and shift to mainstream) or by its member\u2019s continuous search for other modes of writing. Also, there has in recent years been much controversy of who belonged to the Movement, for whom the label does or did not fit and what to do with sf since the oft-proclaimed demise of cyberpunk. The answers are manifold and contradicting. However one views individual works and participants though, one thing is certain, as Michael Levy points out: \u201cThe cyberpunks were indeed the biggest thing to hit sf since the New Wave, and they did change the field significantly\u201d (153).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"390\" src=\"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/neuro.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-96\" srcset=\"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/neuro.jpg 400w, https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/neuro-300x293.jpg 300w, https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/neuro-150x146.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Writing as authors \u201csteeped in the lore and tradition of the SF field\u201d, cyberpunks like Sterling claimed that the 1980s were a \u201ctruly science-fictional world\u201d (x) \u201cthe realm of high tech, and the modern pop underground\u201d (xi) met and joined. Accordingly, cyberpunk prose was harder, more radical and subversive, seeing technology not as the ultimate love affair of science fiction but as invasive and visceral \u2013 engulfing the human and threatening to swallow him whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lecture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the lecture&nbsp;\u201cCyberpunk (1980s \u2013 1990s)\u201d by Prof. Dr. Pawel Frelik (University of Lublin)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Videofile \u2013 MP4<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"480\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 640 \/ 480;\" width=\"640\" controls poster=\"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Lecture-Poster_Frelik.jpg\" src=\"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/53-536_frelik_2012-05-15_18-22.mp4\" playsinline><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>THE ROAD TO SCIENCE FICTION&nbsp;<\/em>(ED. JAMES GUNN):<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Since&nbsp;<em>The Road to Science Fiction<\/em>&nbsp;stops to consider stories after 1977, the cyberpunk movement cannot be covered with this anthology<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>WESLEYAN ANTHOLOGY OF SCIENCE FICTION<\/em>&nbsp;(ED. ARTHUR B. EVANS ET AL.):<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cadigan, Pat. \u201cPretty Boy Crossover\u201d (1986) \u2013 pages 587-97.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cadigan did not originally belong to the Movement, but was later adopted into the cyberpunk canon \u2013 as one of the very few female writers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gibson, William. \u201cBurning Chrome\u201d (1982) \u2013 pages 547-65.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This short story has everything that makes Neuromancer such a wonderful novel, only in shorter and more condensed form. It deals with street punks living illegally by using cybertechnology to break into other people\u2019s account data. The livid prose style, the hard characters, cyberspace \u2013 it is all here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sterling, Bruce. \u201cWe See Things Differently\u201d (1989) \u2013 pages 611-29.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An unusual piece that neatly emphasizes the variety and scope of cyberpunk writing and completely opposes some of Sterling\u2019s manifesto statements. This story is eerily prophetic about the US-Arabian clash of cultures and the resulting war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ADDITIONAL READING (ASIDE FROM THE ANTHOLOGIES):<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Gibson, William.&nbsp;<em>Neuromancer.&nbsp;<\/em>New York: Ace, 1984.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you have the time for a novel, you need to read this book. It envisions a dark sprawling megaplex of cities in which street-wise characters try to eek out a living by all means available. It\u2019s storyline is that of a film-noir thriller whereas its aesthetics are punk and industrial displaying a grimy near-future world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Interesting Links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Works Cited on this page:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Levy, Michael. \u201cFiction, 1980-1992.\u201d\u00a0<em>The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction<\/em>. Eds. Mark Bould et al. London: Routledge, 2009. 153-62. Print.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sterling, Bruce. \u201cPreface.\u201d\u00a0<em>Mirrorshades \u2013 the Cyberpunk Anthology<\/em>. Ed. Sterling, Bruce. New York: Ace Books, 1986. ix-xvi. Print.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">MLA Citation for this page:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">Video Lecture:\nFrelik, Pawel. \u201cCyberpunk (1980s\u20131990s)\u201d. Video Lecture.\u00a0<em>A Virtual Introduction to Science Fiction<\/em>. Ed. Lars Schmeink.\nWeb. 2012. &lt;http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/?page_id=95>.\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">Info Page:<br>Schmeink, Lars. \u201cCyberpunk\u201d. Web Page. <em>A Virtual Introduction to Science Fiction<\/em>. Ed. Lars Schmeink. Web.<br>2012. &lt;http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/?page_id=95>.<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The History of Science Fiction \u2013 1980s and 1990s When Bruce Sterling wrote his Cyberpunk manifesto in 1986, much of the original Movement\u2019s radicalism had already been diluted, either by success (and shift to mainstream) or by its member\u2019s continuous search for other modes of writing. Also, there has in recent years been much controversy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-95","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/95","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/95\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100,"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/95\/revisions\/100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}