The whole premise of this piece is the same as the deluded "hopepunk" premise. Cyberpunk is sticky because it got so many things right. Both in terms of politi

The whole premise of this piece is the same as the deluded "hopepunk" premise. Cyberpunk is sticky because it got so many things right. Both in terms of political/economic/social predictions and in terms of an attractive aesthetic. And technologically it is now an alternate present where we went with VR instead of smartphones and private military commandos instead of strategic media campaigns. Saying that SF is "broken" because of this, or pushing thoughts-and-prayers-punk trash, is taking the Bannon view that "politics is downstream from culture". That the worth of a genre of fiction is measured by its value as motivational propaganda. I wonder what sub-genre of SF has something to say about the people who are pushing "consume this corporate media that makes you feel happy and hopeful instead of angry" as a response to social problems? Of course the other reason for cyberpunk's staying power is that it is an established genre and media companies know how that established genres are safer investments (best investment: reboot/sequel to something people already like). I wonder what sub-genre of SF had a lot to say about the result of corporate/economic influences on popular art? Gee, what a mystery.