week eleven: cyberpunk

This week, we had presentations concerning the topic of isekai, cyberpunk, and Made in Abyss. Because I really enjoy the topic of cyberpunk, I'd like to spend this blog post talking about this!

Akira is one of my favorite cyberpunk anime of all time. I first watched the movie several years ago when I was in high school, and back then I was really surprised at the fantasy-esque thread in it because of Akira's famed reputation as a cyberpunk cornerstone in anime. It has so many iconic cyberpunk elements that I ADORE, like neon cityscapes, cool pimped-out vehicles, really beautiful gritty detailed clutter that enriches the background and really allows the viewer to sink into the world that is Neo Tokyo. I personally think Akira's strongest element is in its grounded depiction of terrorism and government corruption - very emblematic of cyberpunk in general - so I was slightly put-off by the fantasy. But it's still a great movie with outstanding animation.

It also asks philosophical questions that mirrors other cyberpunk movies like Bladerunner and Ghost in the Shell. Like, will we use this technology to better ourselves or degrade ourselves? What can we do to stop the government and other people in power from abusing it? How does this change us as a society? This sort of existentialist crisis is a cyberpunk staple, which I think is shown well in The Matrix and goes into this idea of a "simulated reality" where we are all existing as data and people beyond our perceptions are actually controlling us like we're characters in their Sims game.

(I think The Matrix has a great perception of "real vs fiction" and "real me vs society's me" because the Wachowskis are both trans women! And generally most cyberpunk films are directed by men, especially in anime! So it's a great example of watching through the lens of someone in a minority group.)

On the one hand, I do think this idea is pretty ridiculous (the only one in control of my procrastination is me! Just kidding.), but I think there's a valid point in this idea where we become super influenced and addicted to technology that we forget that there's a real world out there, and we start living as our online "persona". Especially at this point, when the argument over technology isn't about "good or bad" anymore - everyone can objectively agree technology enriches us for the better - but about how Big Tech runs our lives, be it by spying in our laptop cameras, listening in through our phones, collecting data in smart devices, and identifying our faces in surveillance cameras.

My sister in law school is writing a dissertation on facial surveillance and brings up the topic of the Uighur situation in China, where the Chinese government tracks these Uighur muslims in the western, predominately-Muslim provinces using facial technology and other data that tracks where they go and what they buy. This is all while the "reeducation" camps are going on where they're forced to discard their Muslim culture, eat pork, drink alcohol, and respect the Chinese government.

Cyberpunk is a super interesting genre to me, because I think the issues of Big Tech, invasive data, and authoritarian leadership is reflective of today. I definitely do think that it could be more grounded, because a lot of cyberpunk anime will drift more towards sci-fi fantasy and have villains that are easily defeated or just straight up go God like Akira. I think if more cyberpunk anime depicted the true evil you have to defeat is authoritarianism or invasive Big Tech, that'd be a lot more realistic and something I could gladly support.