5 ms·
it's both a parody and one of the foundational works of the genre
by nathias 3y ago
it's both a parody and one of the foundational works of the genre
- aranchelk 3y agoWell said. The setup clearly was an (IMO schlocky) parody of the genre. The meat of it: neuro-linguistic hacking, the raft, the devastating gun called “reason” that was all superb and faithful to the genre.
- nathias 3y agoI think it plays especially well because the parodic exagerations of one era are indistinguishable from the dystopian elements of the future...
- flir 3y ago> the devastating gun called “reason” That punchline... And in the real world there's the Earth model that heavily influenced Google Earth, and the librarian's "intelligence without consciousness" conversational style is looking pretty damn prescient right now.
- aidenn0 3y agoI found the main neuro-linguistic hacking plot to be incredibly campy; it certainly took some of the core concepts of the genre and dialed them up to the point where one could argue it was parody.
- nathias 3y agoI found it deeper than most concepts in the genre, the core of that plot is one of the most impotant questions in contemporary philosophy - the realtionship between thought and language.
- sdenton4 3y agoIn this, it stands beside "Bela Legosi's Dead," which simultaneously invented goth and was the perfect parody of goth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKRJfIPiJGY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKRJfIPiJGY
- gumby 3y agoI think it was a little late in the game to be “foundational”
- dymax78 3y agothe bulk of tech foresight - Metaverse, Gargoyles, Earth (Google Earth)... I think it's foundational. the fact it lagged several years behind the sprawl trilogy, mirrorshades, or schismatrix, etc isn’t relevant imo Edited to be more polite - my intention was not to be rude or uncivil.
- gumby 3y agoFWIW the metaverse goes back to True Names, with cyberdeck roots in Web of Angels…
- dymax78 3y agoand microtransactions in Ubik.... *shrug* I mentioned quintessential works rather than "origin stories" to avoid an inevitable "all work is derivative". edit: True Names surely should have been added in my brief list.
- gumby 3y agoI don’t think True Names is in any way cyberpunk. No mirrorshades vibe at all, which is part of its charm.
- mcpackieh 3y agoI want to assume you're joking, but I've encountered people who earnestly think the essence of cyberpunk is the retro-80s neon aesthetic, so your comment is in Poe's Law territory for me.
- aidenn0 3y agoThen Sherlock Holmes is far too late to the game to be foundational in the detective story genre (first appearing in 1887, 46 years after The Murders in the Rue Morge).