cyberpunk
High-tech low-life
Cyberpunk is a science fiction genre set in dystopian futures where advanced technology—especially computing and cybernetics—coexists with social decay.
The aesthetic combines high tech with low life: hackers, megacorporations, neon-lit slums, and body modification.
Blade Runner and Neuromancer defined the genre.
The term extends to the subculture and visual style it spawned.
Inert illuminating element
- fluorescentEmitting light when energized
- glowSteady, soft light
- holographicMade of light interference patterns
- chromeReflective metal coating
gritty · noir · shadowy · smog · graffiti · dystopian · high-tech · low-life
Surgically embedded devices
- hackingInfiltrating protected digital systems
- augmentationAct of adding more
- prostheticsFabricated body part replacements
- nanotechnologyAtomic-scale manipulation science
wetware · biochip · deck · ICE · firewall · uplink · cyborg · synthetic
Colossal corporate entity
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
- black-marketIllicit trading network
- fixerOne who resolves issues
corp · arcology · privatization · oligarchy · disenfranchisement · propaganda · censorship · commodification
Speculative technology-based literature
- NeuromancerCyberpunk AI antagonist
- AkiraJapanese given name meaning "bright"
- MatrixNineties cyberpunk franchise
- TronEighties digital adventure film
speculative · techno-thriller · manga · anime · retrofuturism
Unauthorized system accessor
- hacktivistIdeological computer infiltrator
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
- outlawFugitive from justice
punk · anarchist · renegade · sabotage · dissent · subversion · guerrilla · whistleblower
neon
Inert illuminating element
- fluorescentEmitting light when energized
- glowSteady, soft light
- holographicMade of light interference patterns
chrome · gritty · noir · shadowy · smog · graffiti · dystopian · high-tech · low-life · megacity
implants
Surgically embedded devices
- hackingInfiltrating protected digital systems
- augmentationAct of adding more
- prostheticsFabricated body part replacements
nanotechnology · wetware · biochip · deck · ICE · firewall · uplink · cyborg · synthetic · bioengineering
megacorporation
Colossal corporate entity
- surveillanceSystematic observation of subjects
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
- black-marketIllicit trading network
fixer · corp · arcology · privatization · oligarchy · disenfranchisement · propaganda · censorship · commodification · exploitation
science-fiction
Speculative technology-based literature
- NeuromancerCyberpunk AI antagonist
- AkiraJapanese given name meaning "bright"
- MatrixNineties cyberpunk franchise
Tron · speculative · techno-thriller · manga · anime · retrofuturism
hacker
Unauthorized system accessor
- hacktivistIdeological computer infiltrator
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
outlaw · punk · anarchist · renegade · sabotage · dissent · subversion · guerrilla · whistleblower · freeware
raver
Nightclub dance enthusiast
- synthwaveEighties-inspired electronic genre
- industrialOf factories and production
- otakuObsessive anime enthusiast
- booksnovel, textbooks, study guides, book, paperback
- genresaction, comedy, detective fiction, fantasy, horror
- art stylesimpressionism, surrealism, cubism, realism, pop art
- digital societysocial networks, internet, digital age, internet culture, digital natives
- Dystopia1984, Nineteen Eighty-Four, dystopian fiction, totalitarianism, Brave New World
- film genreshorror, comedy, drama, action, romance
cyberpunktechnophobe
One fearing modern devices
computerphobe · Luddite · neo-Luddite · technophobia · primitivist
cyberpunksolarpunk
Eco-optimist speculative genre
cottagecore · pastoralism · utopian fiction · rural idyll · bucolic
cyberpunkutopia
Imagined perfect society
egalitarian society · communitarian · post-scarcity · traditionalism · establishment
- Cyberpunk 2077Dystopian futuristic action RPG
- cyberpunk aestheticsFuturistic urban decay style
- cyberpunk cityFuturistic urban dystopia