| | Yes, that's my drawing upfront. Yes, I know that head is huge. No, I don't care, so LOL in your face!
After reading a lot of William Gibson, one comes to realize that everything one's known about science fiction and the cyberpunk world have been solely based on the short stories of one man. Everything from big multimillion dollar movies such as The Matrix trilogy, down to a little known sci-fi gem mythos called shadowrun; all boil down to one short story called "Burning Chrome". The way Ed surfs the internet is reminiscent of Johnny from "Johnny Mnemonic". Fey Valentine's character is Sandy from, "The New Rose Hotel." Post apocalyptic futures, where corporations run people's lives and make a commodity individuality through the reaping the capitalist rewards of selling thins such as dreams and experience have all originated from the world that Gibson creates. In the world of cyberpunk, little progress has been made.
However, one can reflect on cyberpunk as a mirror image of society and its destination. Corporations are running the lives of people as they lobby with the affairs of the world through congressmen. These same corporations have my email address, and phone number. People are bombarded by ads as they walk down the street, or try to have a quiet meal at home. Everyone's trying to sell me crap I don't want with ever second that goes by. TV, movies, videogames, spam, junk mail, real life junk mail, billboards, telemarketers, and radio ads just to say the least are throwing their product in the faces of society. Needless to say, but like the ants that swarm on a drop of honey, we accept what comes our way.
The only thing humanity has left are experiences and knowledge right? No one can know exactly how you feel when you jump off an airplane and feel the cold wind strike across your face as you plummet towards earth. Not everyone can know what it feels like to become a solider and fight wars. Human experience can never be manufactured can it? Gaming is the first step into selling human experience. If one was to learn how to drive in a simulation videogame designed to teach you how to drive, one could then just as easily put on the real road because you had the virtual experience of driving. What does hunting in a party full of friends, or worse; people you don' t know? Play a first person shooter online and you'll know what teamwork truly is. Eventually, all the experience and memories man has to offer will be a just another drop in the bucket.
What cyberpunk warns its readers about the most is metaphoric 261-45 of individuality. The saying that there are no heroes is true in the current states of the world, let alone cyberpunk. Today's hero is "Bob" down at accounting who comes to work on time and leaves later than he needs to. "Bob" sets an example for all the other less obedient sheep that straggle along the path. “Bob” is happy where he is, that means he doesn’t want to get promoted, which means that we can keep him there till he becomes invalid so “John” can come up and take his place in a couple of years.
Ugh, I’m tired of writing, I’m going to grab a Coca-Cola. |
| | Posted 4/4/2005 11:36 PM - 2 Views - 2 eProps - 1 Comment
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