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"Cyberpunk dystopia" seems very inaccurate to me. Nothing whatsoever about Singapore is "punk" in any sense of the word. "Cyber-utopian" is a better descriptor,
by Causality1 6y ago
"Cyberpunk dystopia" seems very inaccurate to me. Nothing whatsoever about Singapore is "punk" in any sense of the word. "Cyber-utopian" is a better descriptor, with the emphasis on the traditional connotations of the word utopian, that being an aim for perfection at significant cost to principals that don't fit the vision.
- noobermin 6y agoYes, there is a lot more drive to conform just culturally, much less along the sense of "punk" or "rebellion" even in the cliche sense.
- Apocryphon 6y agoWell, the ruling corporate authority in a cyberpunk state isn't very punk, either. It exists as an edifice to be opposed or exploited by such a rebellious subculture. Maybe Singapore is a cybernetic dystopia in search of a cyberpunk movement. Also, the street samurai/cowboy hacker trope isn't ubiquitous to every cyberpunk work. Ghost in the Shell, a seminal work, is about law enforcement officers who uphold the state, and occasionally chase down cyberpunk anarchist hackers. (Blade Runner is much the same.) You can have the trappings of the genre without all elements of it.