Visions of the Future in Contemporary Cyberpunk

master's thesis

• Author: Ivan Stanić
• Mentor: Sven Cvek (mentor)
• Committee member: Jelena Šesnić (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Stipe Grgas (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2021-07-08, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics

Abstract

This paper analyzes the way the future is imagined and the questions that are raised in works within the cyberpunk genre. It compares original works in the genre from the 1980s and 1990s to contemporary works from the late 2010s in order to see how and whether the future imaginary has changed and whether it is possible to imagine a new and innovative vision of the future within the genre anymore. The main works analyzed are the 1982 film Blade Runner and its 2017 sequel Blade Runner 2049, the Japanese cyberpunk anime film Ghost in the Shell from 1995 and its American live-action adaptation from 2017, and the video game Cyberpunk 2077 from 2020. The paper relies on a series of analyses and theories, most notably the theories of Fredric Jameson, Mark Fisher and Jean Baudrillard, to analyze to what extend cyberpunk is connected to the socio-economic state and the prevalent theories of the 1980s and 90s and whether the contemporary works within the genre have managed to move past that and develop the genre in a way that reflects the almost forty-year difference in the time of creation.

Abstract (croatian)

U ovom se radu analizira način na koji se zamišlja budućnost i pitanja koja se otvaraju u djelima unutar cyberpunk žanra. Rad uspoređuje originalne uratke unutar žanra iz 1980ih i 1990ih sa suvremenim uratcima iz kasnih 2010ih kako bi analizirao je li se i na koji način promijenio način zamišljanja budućnosti i je li uopće i dalje moguće zamisliti budućnost na nov i inovativan način u cyberpunku. Radovi koji se analiziraju su film Blade Runner iz 1982. i njegov nastavak Blade Runner 2049 iz 2017., zatim japanski anime film Ghost in the Shell iz 1995. i američka igrana adaptacija iz 2017., te u konačnici video igrica Cyberpunk 2077 iz 2020. Teorijska podloga rada su razne analize tih djela i teorije Fredrica Jamesona, Marka Fishera i Jeana Baudrillarda. Na temelju tih izvora rad analizira do koje je mjere cyberpunk povezan sa socioekonomskim stanjem i popularnim teorijama 1980ih i 90ih i je li suvremeni cyberpunk u stanju napredovati na način koji reflektira gotovo četrdeset godina razlike između nastanka žanra i trenutne cyberpunk produkcije.

• Keywords: cyberpunk; film; Blade Runner; Ghost in the Shell; future imaginary; postmodern theory
• Keywords (english): cyberpunk; film; Blade Runner; Ghost in the Shell; zamišljanje budućnosti; postmoderna teorija
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:893547
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation, TEFL; Course: Literature and Culture; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2021-07-12 12:15:48