A Brief History of Cyberpunk's Glory Days

Cybernetics

Jan 1, 1948

Norbert Wiener coins and first uses the term "cybernetics" (Project Cyberpunk, 2004).

'The Naked Lunch' is published

Jan 1, 1959

Credited as the founding book of the cyberpunk genre, "Naked Lunch is a postmodern slipstream novel written by William S. Burroughs," (Project Cyberpunk 2004).

Cyborg

Jan 1, 1960

Manfred Clynes and Nathan Kline coin the term 'cyborg' "to refer to their conception of an enhanced human being who could survive in extraterrestrial environments" (Cyberpunk 2021 n.d.)

'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' is published

Jan 1, 1968

Written by Phillip K. Dick, 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' is a science fiction novel set in a post-apocalyptic world.

Punk Music Genre

Jan 1, 1976

Following the release of punk albums from The Ramones, The Sex Pistols and The Clash, punk popular culture gains momentum and influences the cyberpunk movement (Cyberpunk 2021).

'Blade Runner' is released

Jun 25, 1982

A film based off 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' starring Harrison Ford, 'Blade Runner' was directed by Ridley Scott and includes many cyberpunk tropes (Project Cyberpunk 2004).

'Tron' is released

Jul 9, 1982

Another cyberpunk film to be released this year was 'Tron'. Directed by Stephen Lisberger, it follows the story of a video game hacker who becomes stuck in the virtual gaming world.

Cyberpunk

Nov 1, 1983

The alleged first use of the term 'cyberpunk' was used by Bruce Bethke to title his short story 'Cyberpunk' (Project Cyberpunk 2004).

'Neuromancer' is published

Jan 1, 1984

"William Gibson's debut novel Neuromancer gained a cult-status very soon after its publishing by being one of the first novels in a new science-fiction genre called Cyberpunk. So it has become "the definitive cyberpunk book" and the most famous cyberpunk novel of all the time" (Cyberpunk Project 2007).

'Terminator' is released

Oct 26, 1984

This science-fiction James Cameron film depicts the story of a cyborg, known as The Terminator, who disguises himself as a human on his mission to kill Sarah Connor (Project Cyberpunk 2004).

'Burning Chrome' is released

Jan 1, 1986

A series of 10 short stories written by William Gibson, 'Burning Chrome' includes a range of genres, "from conventional science fiction to cyberpunk novellas of the 'Sprawl'-series" (Project Cyberpunk 2004).