-
Blade Runner produced by Ridley Scott
Blade Runner is a significant moment in cyberpunk history as the film delves into the sci-fi realm of humans verse machines and other characteristics of the genre such as artificial intelligence, neo-noir and social decay (Pivato 2000).
Pivato, M 2000, A very short history of Cyberpunk, viewed 20 August 2012,
http://www.athabascau.ca/courses/engl/491/cyberpunk_history.pdf. -
Term 'Cyberpunk' emerged
Bruce Bethke published his short story "Cyberpunk" in 1983. This was a key moment in the history of cyberpunk as he first introduced the term by combining "cyber" and "punk" to create a sci-fi genre based around computers, technology and rebellion against the status quo (Mallare 2011).
Mallare, J 2011, ‘History of the cyberpunk movement’, Helium, viewed 20 August 2012,
< http://www.helium.com/items/2106607-cyberpunk-movement-machines-cyborgs-science-fiction-near-future-new-wave-technology>. -
William Gibson’s - Neuromancer
A book review suggested that Neuromancer was “the novel that started it all, launching the cyberpunk generation, and the first novel to win the holy trinity of science fiction: the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award and the Philip K. Dick Award” (Books: Neuromancer n.d, para. 1).
Books: Neuromancer n.d, viewed 20 August 2012,
< http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/books/neuromancer.asp>. -
Neal Stephenson's- Snowcrash
After the sci-fi audience got familiar with ‘cyberpunk’, novelist’s writing became cliché; however Neal Stephenson didn’t follow down this path and his novel “Snowcrash basically blew the genre apart” (Pivato 2000, p.2).
Pivato, M 2000, A very short history of Cyberpunk, viewed 20 August 2012,
http://www.athabascau.ca/courses/engl/491/cyberpunk_history.pdf. -
Wachowski's - The Matrix
Larry and Andy Wachowski released the film, The Matrix in 1999. The film was based on some of Gibson’s work and “the resulting movie was a mind-bending success” (Thill 2011) with about $460 - $600 million box office receipts and an Oscar award for its superior visual effects and editing it is definitely a key moment in cyberpunk history (Thill 2011).
Thill, S 2011, ‘The Matrix Hooks Us’, Wired, viewed 20 August 2012
< http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/tag/cyberpunk/>.
