The Cyberpunk Educator

[janos]

Hello.
Thought you may be interested in this:

QUOTE
“The Cyberpunk Educator is a documentary study of mainstream cyberpunk films of the 1980’s- with a heavy focus on their literary, political, and cultural content.

Holden’s film uses the structure of literary theorist Northrop Frye, and the cultural critiques of renowned anthropologist Michel Foucault to describe the common, repeating stories in Western culture, and their application to the political process. Though it’s an academic film, its also film about robots with guns, and so it should be fun to watch.”

The bittorrent file is now available for download at http://www.cyberpunkfilm.com/ce.htm

The Canadian premier is this week.
Andrew J. Holden
http://www.cyberpunkfilm.com

[Sidhecafe]

Wow, thank you!
I’m very interested in that.

Any mention of Larry McCaffery?

I really enjoyed Across the Wounded Galaxies the interviews were just great.

I haven’t really read much criticism about SciFi or Cyberpunk besides that, which is really interviews with authors….sort of out of the loop on that sort of thing since college. But I love noticing the correlations between movies and fiction of a genre like that.

Though I did have the pleasure of taking a class in school with Samuel Delaney! He’s a great professor and a nice person.

[janos]

Any mention of Larry McCaffery?

Fraid not. The film takes an interesting perspective on what ‘cyberpunk’ is. Rather than try to define it through imagery (the typical way) , the movie asserts that the best way to understand it is structurally (an arrangement of imagery)- because it’s a better predictor- and evades cumbersome, personally biased arguments, better.

So, movies like Robocop, etc, get included by the structural defintion, where a lot of hardcore sci-fi fans might disagree.

You’ll see what I mean though, if you watch it- it roots cyberpunk in the 19th century Romantic movement (Blake, Shelley, etc) as much as the 1970-80’s, and tries to show it as a combo of Romanticism with Existentialism (in structure, tragedy with irony)

Janos

[Sidhecafe]

Rather than try to define it through imagery (the typical way) , the movie asserts that the best way to understand it is structurally

Wow, and yeah I agree that cyberpunk “structure” can be seen in a wide variety of scifi and other traditions, it’s not solely the arena of the folks who made it popular – Burroughs or Gibson.

Structure is a good way to look at it, because anything with a cyberpunk element is recognizable because of the structure…sounds simple but I know I can get caught up in the idea of something cyberpunk as an atmosphere or an aesthetic without knowing or thinking about why I can identify it as such – or is that too deconstructivist??? 😉

I’m excited to see this and relate it to how I’m following your description now.

Looked like I could order the movie, so I think I do that this weekend.
Hope you don’t mind some feedback.

[janos]

Structure is a good way to look at it, because anything with a cyberpunk element is recognizable because of the structure…sounds simple but I know I can get caught up in the idea of something cyberpunk as an atmosphere or an aesthetic without knowing or thinking about why I can identify it as such – or is that too deconstructivist???

Wow. It’s really nice to see someone take a mature stance on understanding film/literature.

I’ve had a lot of people write and tell me how ‘x is not cyberpunk because it does or doesn’t have y’….really comes down to which images they like best.

or is that too deconstructivist???

Hey now way. Deconstructionism is very useful here. People who who would provide the definition based on a hierarchy of imagery, would be reductionist.

Looked like I could order the movie, so I think I do that this weekend.
Hope you don’t mind some feedback.

You can download it for free through bittorrent, but if you don’t have high-speed internet, you can order the dvd.

Feedback is great, let me know what you think.

[Sidhecafe]

Hey now way. Deconstructionism is very useful here. People who who would provide the definition based on a hierarchy of imagery, would be reductionist.

Exactly esp as you referenced Romanticism and existentialism. Every genre or “new” art expression owes something to what came before to make the contemporary form possible. Like picking up a thread of an old sweater and adding it to the new one you’re knitting because you liked the thread’s color or texture and know it’ll help to shape your new creation.

I’m reading Nietzsche right now and I can very much see why he’s called a precursor to the existentialists and why that thread carries into Cyberpunk- the focus on individualism, isolation and a sense of overcoming perception. Whereas the Romanticism is important to the descriptions of the environment, the strength of characters feelings and how important a role that usually plays in the story line…..just thinking off the cuff here…..

I’m not sure my beat up laptop at home will be able to download it so i probably will order it.

Wow. It’s really nice to see someone take a mature stance on understanding film/literature.

yeah well , 😳 that old BA on the wall’s good for something!
And now that it’s 10 years later, I’m applying to grad school! Who knew?

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