Cyberpunk in the Media, Movies, books, etc. Options

[Kerris]

There have been several discussions I've been involved in that have mentioned cyberpunk movies, games, books - whatever. However, I can't seem to find anywhere that they're compiled into one thread. So here we go. Let me know what I've missed, and I'll update the first post as necessary.

There are two lists. One for "influential" media that isn't strictly cyberpunk, and one for cyberpunk. Use your judgment on which to list as.

Cyberpunk Media

Movies
• The Animatrix
• Blade Runner
• Dark City
• Freejack
• Hackers
• Hardware
• I, Robot
• Johnny Mnemonic
• Judge Dredd
• Live Free, Die Hard
• The Matrix (and sequels)
• Minority Report
• Nemesis
• Robocop
• The Saint
• A Scanner Darkly
• Sneakers
• Strange Days
• Total Recall
• Wild Palms
TV
• Aeon Flux
• Dark Angel
• Max Headroom
Books
• Anything by William Gibson
• Any George Alec Effinger
• Holy Fire by Bruce Sterling
• Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
• Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
• Harry Harrison (Author)
• Chung Kuo by David Wingrove
• Rudy Rucker
• Richard Morgan
• Tek War by William Shatner
• Greg Mandel books by Peter F. Hamilton
• Streetlethal by Stephen Barnes
• Hardwired by Walter Jon Williams
• "Parrish Plessis" series by Marianne De Pierres
• Keeping it Real by Justina Robson
• Anything by Pat Cardigan
• Dr. Adder and Noir by K. W. Jeter
• Anything by Jean-Marc Ligner
• The Stars, My Destination by Alfred Bester
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
• The Cyborg Handbook
Comics
• Jason Alexander's "Empty Zone"
• Judge Dredd
• 100 Bullets
Anime
• Akira
• Appleseed
• Bubblegum Crisis
• Cowboy Bebop
• Ergo Proxy
• Ghost in the Shell (and sequels: Specifically mentioned: Innocence)
• Serial Experiments Lain
• Technolyze
• Wonderful Days
Manga
• Battle Angel Alita
Video Games
• Bladerunner
• Bloodnet
• Bureau 13
• Circuit's Edge
• Deus Ex
• Dreamweb
• Johnny Mnemonic
• Perfect Dark
• Project Snowblind (PS2)
• Rise of the Dragon
• Restricted Area
• Shadowrun (SNES)
• Shadowrun (Genesis)
• Shadowrun (MegaCD - Japanese only)

Influential Media

Movies
• 1984
• Aeon Flux
• Batman Begins
• Bulletproof Monk
• Children of Men
• Confidence
• Constantine
• Crank
• Escape from New York
• The Fifth Element
• Golden Child
• Hard Boiled
• Heat
• Heist
• Hellboy
• Any James Bond
• Lucky #Slevin
• The Maltese Falcon
• Matchstick Men
• Mission Impossible
• The Ninth Gate
• Pulp Fiction
• Reservoir Dogs
• Rocketeer
• Ronin
• The Shadow
• Shaft
• Sin City
• Snatch
• Soylent Green
• The Spanish Prisoner
• Spartan
• Suicide Kings
• Transporter
• Tucker
• The Warriors
• The Way of the Gun
TV
• Burn Notice
• Due South
• The Dresden Files
• Monk
• Psych
• The X-Files
Books
• 1984 by George Orwell
• The Barimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
• Anything by Raymond Chandler
• Anything by James Ellroy
• Anything by John Brunner
Video Games
• The Godfather
• Prey

[Wakshaani]

Anime

Bubblegum Crisis
Appleseed

Movies

Maltese Falcon
Rocketeer
Tucker
Robocop
Hackers


TV shows

Dark Angel
Max Headroom
Batman Beyond

[Adarael]

If you're serious about the philosophy of cyborgs, the debate on what it means to be human versus other, and the role of self-modification as a means of self-identification, there is no finer piece of media than Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. I mean that quite seriously.

While Ghost in the Shell and the SAC series are fine representations of a cyberpunk or posthuman world, Innocence is all about the philosophy of it. When making the film, he dispensed with the illusion that the plot as it appears is anything more than a vehicle for the questions he wanted to ask. I know a lot of people didn't like the film because it's 'disjointed' or 'hard to follow' - it's true, if you watch it was an ordinary film expecting resolution to a plot-based problem, that's not gonna be what you get.

But seriously, if you want to ponder those questions, I challenge anyone to find a piece of media of any kind that is better for that purpose than Innocence.

[Kerris]

Hmmm... it occurs to me that it may be good to implement a nomination/seconding system. So, somebody nominates a piece of media, and it's not added to the list until it's seconded.

Anyway, Wakshaani, I find it interesting that you've included the Maltese Falcon and The Rocketeer as cyberpunk films. Can you provide some explanation?

[TheMadDutchman]

While I wouldn't necessary consider it to be Cyberpunk, I do consider films such as The Maltese Falcon to be serious currency into the foundations of the Cyberpunk genre. Sort of a pre-cyberpunk.

The whole Film Noir movement is what laid the foundation for the dark gritty feel that most of us automatically associate w/ cyberpunk.

Whenever I start planninga campaign I start watching movies and re-reading books and comics that relate to the genre of game I'm preparing. Currently I'm planning a massive ShadowRun campaign that I'm going to set in San Juan, Puerto Rico (I don't actually have any real in game data on the city so I'm just making it up for now, though I heard it and the Carribean league was covered in cyber pirates so I'm trying to get my hands on a copy.

Some of my favorate movies that I've used to help prepare for this game have been:
Ronin, Shaft (the original), The Rundown, Die Another Day, Golden Eye, Formula 51, Crank, Transporter, Pulp Fiction, Resevoir Dogs, Casablanca, and many more. Enough that I'm not even going to list any more.

None of these are really Cyberpunk; but, to me, they really help me examine a lot of the themes that are pretty omnipresent in Shadowrun. Most of these movies (really w/ the exception of the Bond ones) are about criminals and w/ the exception of The Transporter and Crank which are a little too comical to be gritty, most of them have that kind of gritty abrassive feel that so many of us like in Shadowrun.

I like the bond films mostly for the cars; if I ever get around to playing a rigger it'll be that characters life goal to get one of those cool MI-6 bond cars.

It's been long enough since I've seen the Maltese Falcon that I've actually been hunting around trying to get my hands on a copy but so far: no luck.

[Adarael]

Dutchman's on the money. I think it was Bruce Sterling who said it, but I could be wrong:
"Cyberpunk is what pulp crime dramas have become."

[JonathanC]

Books:
A Fire in the Sun and When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger
(obviously) Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

Movies:
Strange Days
Total Recall
A Scanner Darkly

Videogames:
Restricted Area (obscure German Diablo knockoff; they basically cribbed Shadowrun as much as they could without being sued)

[Kerris]

I completely agree that Film Noir has had an impact on cyberpunk. I'm hesitant to include it in the cyberpunk media list, though.

I think, instead, I'll start an "influential media" list underneath it.

Seconding:
Ronin (influential)
The Maltese Falcon (influential)
Reservoir Dogs (influential)
Any Bond (influential)

EDIT:
Scratching the "Seconding" idea. I'll just put them all in.

[JonathanC]

If you haven't read any of Effinger's novels, I highly recommend them. Snow Crash is already legend, of course. Also, I recently started reading Holy Fire by Bruce Sterling. I haven't finished it yet, but it definitely fits into the genre.

[raphabonelli]

Talking about movies that help getting the mood and the enviroment of the Cyberpunk theme, i would recommend The Crow, and "Detective Story" that is one of the shorts of The Animatrix.

If you like to play SR games involving Mafia, The Godfather is a good call.

[eidolon]

Hmm, I may have to pick up a copy of Restricted Area.

edit. Sweet. Just ordered a copy from Amazon for like 8 bucks.

[nezumi]

Everything I've read by Bruce Sterling is appropriate in one fashion or another. Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash is also considered a great CP book.

Some people might argue otherwise, but I'd argue that Hellblazer is a good source (not cyberpunk obviously, but very punk).

[TheMadDutchman]

I'm also a huge fan of Hong Kong action cinema.

The first time I saw Hard Boiled something really clicked in my brain and none of my WoD or Shadowrun games have ever been the same since.

Starting w/ that super-awesome gunfight inthe restaurant (where the guns were in the bottom of the birdcages) and moving through the murder in the library and the huge gunfight in the hospital. It really had an effect on me.

[2bit]

hot hot kylie minogue making a fantastic entrance - lots of neon and chrome, great cyberpunk look:

youtube link

it's pretty sorayama-like now that I think of it. . . :cyber:

[Wakshaani]

[MYST1C]

I can't believe DEUS EX is missing from the games list!
IMHO one of the best computer games ever made... (I won't say the best because that depends on what genres you like.)

[Strobe]

And I can't beleive Sneakers isn't on the movies list!

But there you go.

-Strobe

[Heimdalol]

[Wakshaani]

[raphabonelli]

[Pendaric]

Diamond age by Neal Stephenson

[Kerris]

The list has been updated.

I'm kind of embarrassed that I missed Sneakers. I mean, I own that one.

[raphabonelli]

MINORITY REPORT would be a good one too, they even have a StreetDocs, and Drones, and something that may look like AR on this one.

Other cool movies:

1984 (The book, from George Orwell, too)
Escape From New York
Aeon Flux
Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo)

And i guess that some people can take some visual ideas from the french movie: City of the Lost Children.

[2bit]

ooo! Lawnmower Man!! lol

[Kerris]

I'm not sure whether that was a joke. Should I add it to the list? I've never seen it.

Also, should I add the Micro$oft's Shadowrun FPS? I kinda feel dirty for even suggesting it.