Cyberpunk and Identity Politics

Know your enemy

High tech, low life is a common refrain used to describe cyberpunk, and one can easily see why the phrase has garnered traction as the go-to way to describe the genre. Those four simple words encapsulate the dystopian settings, technological excesses, and poverty-stricken urban sprawls that make up the aesthetic.

What it misses for me (or at least just grazes) is the anti-authoritarian essence of cyberpunk. Within the capitalist dystopias, where grizzled detectives slurp noodles at rainy night markets, mysterious hackers navigate digital realms while uploading computer programs the way mages cast spells, and leather-clad vixens with robotic forearms speed by on neon motorcycles, there is a pervasive message that the common person ought to resist the forces of oppression. These forces are usually “megacorps” run by narcissistic megalomaniacs. (Gee, I wonder why that is.)

In short, I think it is important to stress the “punk” in cyberpunk.

I love punk, but I feel the need to be cautious because I have found among all the possible “identities” one can identify with, “punks” seem to be the most gate-keepy (Yes, I’m making that a word). (By the way, have you ever noticed that once you start using parentheses in a writing session, it’s hard to stop?) Punks are kind of the original hipsters. The more obscure the reference, the more cool you are. And god forbid you like something “mainstream” lest you be denounced as a “poser.”

But the side of punk that I love is the genuine acceptance of everyone as long as they are forthright and honest about who they are and what they like. Never have I felt more accepted than in the mosh pit of Cafe Ole’ in the late 90s, as a local band named Soup did a RATM cover show. (Seriously, Halifax’s music scene back then was amazing!) No one cared about anyone’s identity. You could be any ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender orientation, or hair colour- it didn’t matter. Wanna mosh? Great! Wanna stand by the side? Great. Wanna hang out, on the front steps? Great. Just come as you are and everyone’s fine.

That’s the hope I see in the cyberpunk worlds I enjoy. Today, in the real world, it seems nearly everything is filtered through a lens of identity politics. I believe this is an intentional distraction to keep us divided and ignoring real threats. But in cyberpunk dystopias people know who the actual enemies are. The worlds are populated by multitudes of people of all parts of the identity rainbow. And the great thing is that it’s not commented upon. No one cares. They know who deserves their ire and it is not some made-up boundary. It is the real oppressors.

My main rule for morality is that so long as everyone involved is consenting, they are all adults of sound mind, and there is no undue harm being caused, then go for it! Caring about anything else is you not minding your own business. There is a lot we could learn from the background characters in cyberpunk stories. We should focus on the real problems staring us right in the face each day and prevent these dystopias from ever occurring (or perhaps we’re already too late).

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