Proceedings of the 2022 2nd International Conference on Modern Educational Technology and Social Sciences (ICMETSS 2022)

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The Transformation of Cyberpunk

From Resistant Subculture to Popular Style

Authors
Weiyi Zhang1, *
1School of Humanities and Social Science, Beijing Normal University - Hong Kong Baptist University United International Collage, Zhuhai, 519000, Guangdong, China
*Corresponding author. Email: s230231173@mail.uic.edu.cn
Corresponding Author
Weiyi Zhang
Available Online 16 December 2022.
DOI
10.2991/978-2-494069-45-9_62How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Cyberpunk; Literature studies; Symbolic value; Transformation; Resistance; Subculture
Abstract

Since the 1980s, innovations in information technology have brought unprecedented impact on human society, and the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence has been thrust into the limelight. Against this background, this study aims to explore how the symbolic meaning of the subculture represented by cyberpunk has changed under the influence of technology, society, and capital. Theoretical insights from symbolic value theory and symbolic interaction theory are synthesized in the context of cyberpunk’s transformation, based on which a conceptual framework is thus proposed. In a documentary analysis, this essay divides cyberpunk’s transformation process into different stages: in the growing stage, classic cyberpunk inherits the resistance of punk culture; in the changing stage, the resistance of post-cyberpunk culture reflects the cultural qualities of postmodernism; and in the merging stage, commercial cyberpunk has become a popular style, gradually losing its resistance to the mainstream culture. It is found that, during the transformation of cyberpunk, its resistance shows different characteristics in different stages, which reflects the relationship between subculture and mainstream culture from resistance to incorporation. With the findings, this study contributes to the cyberpunk culture literature by extending the application of symbolic value theory and symbolic interaction theory. Meanwhile, the findings also provide guidelines for future cyberpunk research in meaning.

Copyright
© 2023 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2022 2nd International Conference on Modern Educational Technology and Social Sciences (ICMETSS 2022)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
16 December 2022
ISBN
10.2991/978-2-494069-45-9_62
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/978-2-494069-45-9_62How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2023 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Weiyi Zhang
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/12/16
TI  - The Transformation of Cyberpunk
BT  - Proceedings of the 2022 2nd International Conference on Modern Educational Technology and Social Sciences (ICMETSS 2022)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 511
EP  - 519
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-494069-45-9_62
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-494069-45-9_62
ID  - Zhang2022
ER  -