this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2023
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Cyberpunk

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It has low-lifes living in the future, but there really isn't much high-tech and governments are still in control (not corporations). So do you consider Escape From New York to be cyberpunk?

Apparently the movie was an influence for William Gibson:

Escape from New York never made it big, but it’s been redone a billion times as a rock video. I saw that movie, by the way, when I was starting “Burning Chrome” and it had a real influence on Neuromancer.

But that doesn't immediately make it cyberpunk. After all, Gibson was also influenced by hard-boiled detective novels and that doesn't make those cyberpunk.

I could see the argument for this either way so I'm curious what your thoughts are.

It's streaming on Roku Channel and Freevee (Amazon Prime) if you haven't seen it before.

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[–] GCanuck 3 points 1 year ago

All solid points. The lack of computer tech really is the weak point in my argument. But I’d also argue you can have a cyberpunk setting without computer tech being a focal point of the story. In which case, the only remaining point is does this society have a higher level of computer technology? And the answer to that is indeterminate based on the information shown. But I do feel like it’s strongly hinted at.