Starting off as a literacy movement, the term Cyberpunk soon evolved into a subculture organism. Defining the term Cyberpunk is difficult as it has reached a level of complexity that requires multiple definitions at this point since it has become both a culture and genre. In short, Cyberpunk is a sub-genre of science fiction that features advanced technologies in an urban, dystopian future. On one side youd typically have the powerful corporations and private security companies whilst on the other youd have the attractive, dark and gritty underworld of illegal trade, gangs and drugs. Amongst all of this, the genre contains traits of politics, corruption and social upheaval traits of common goals amongst Youth within the modern world.

In the view of the genre being a sub-culture, social reactionhas been mostly negative as a result of the foundations that it stands itself upon. However, since books and films that follow this subculture have recently become drastically commercialised, it has gained a noticeable following and is alluring to the masses. Examples of this are Bladerunner 2049, Ghost In a Shell and the Matrix series.

By masses, this mostly entails the younger generation with the majority being younger boys in their teenage years. Since Cyberpunk is so closely related to the Hacking culture that is prominent within our age of information, it is very much favoured by the Youth as Youth is about transition from a world of paternal authority, where the parents dictate how things are done, to a world of responsibility, where youth make decisions for themselves. The transition is marked by rebellion, defiance and a seemingly single-minded focus on defiance. All of above being underlying traits of the culture that the Cyberpunk genre has cultivated over the decades that it has been present.

Historically, this genre was born at the perfect time for its cultivation as the Youth of the 1980s and 1990s grew up more technologically literate than their parents since they were the first generation to gain commercial access to these devices. And with computing itself being a cultivation of rebellion with a different representation of doing things; the culture was soon blown up to a massive scale. However, the chapter of Cyberpunk during those years has concluded and is a finished chapter in history. The form of Cyberpunk that we are presented with today is still lively and is in the process of ever-goingtransformation.

With Cyberpunk being such a diverse genre/culture, I think it suits the theme of Equality & Diversity almost perfectly as one of the common strives within a Cyberpunk story is to fix the dystopian society that characters find themselves amongst and rid the gap between the underground and corporations; an almost perfect reflection of our current world.

Alongside this, Cyberpunk very much focuses on the more gritty and dark traits of the world we live in. However, the genre often makes sure to portray the contrast of works; the diversity of cultures within these imaginative worlds.

Is.muni.cz. (2018).Cite a Website Cite This For Me. [online] Available at: https://is.muni.cz/th/74895/ff_b/FINAL_THESIS.pdf [Accessed 21 Feb. 2018].

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DPS Research (Cyberpunk) George Dennis