{"id":244,"date":"2012-09-16T18:14:11","date_gmt":"2012-09-16T22:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.briancroxall.net\/lit-tech\/?p=244"},"modified":"2012-09-16T18:14:11","modified_gmt":"2012-09-16T22:14:11","slug":"humanity-vs-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.briancroxall.net\/lit-tech\/2012\/09\/16\/humanity-vs-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"Humanity vs. Machine"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to \u201cCyberpunk: Return of the Repressed Body,\u201d cyberpunk has continually been identified as a \u201cgenre best known for its rejection of embodiment and embrace of an existence in cyberspace.\u201d Based on Gibson\u2019s revolutionary novel Neuromancer<\/span>, <\/strong>I believe this statement to be only partially true when applied to the protagonist Case.<\/p>\n

A cyberspace cowboy, Case is definitely fixated on escaping the limitations of his body and entering an alternate reality. The time Case spends in Night City, mentally paralyzed by his restrictive surgery is described as monotone and torturous. Case longs to be engaged in Cyberspace where he can escape the unfulfilling life he has been left with. He desperately scavenges doctors in Night City, looking for a cure to the mycotoxin he was implanted with.\u00a0 A parallel for Case\u2019s dependency on Cyberspace is his dependence on drugs. Case is constantly looking to alter his state of mind and escape from reality. At the conclusion of the novel, Case spends a majority of his money on a new liver so he can reap the benefits of drugs. Additionally, Case pushes through his mission to break the Tessier-Ashpool ice simply because he is devoted to having the toxin sacs implanted in him by Winermute removed. Whether through Cyberspace or the use of drugs, it is evident that Case is desperate to escape from his body.<\/p>\n

However, Case strays from the path of conventional cyberpunk towards the end of the novel when he rejects the offer to permanently live in an alternate reality. Case \u201crefuses the virtual world, denying that it\u2019s real.\u201d This can be found to be slightly alarming, considering the emphasis Case has placed on escaping reality throughout the entire novel. However, I believe that Gibson includes this in the novel not only to challenge the conventional idea of cyberpunk, but also to show Case\u2019s character development throughout the novel. Although at the end of the novel we are told that Case is still operating in Cyberspace, it is implied that he has become more comfortable in the real world. Gibson challenges the common ideologies of cyberpunk and causes the reader to contemplate the struggle between humanity and machines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to \u201cCyberpunk: Return of the Repressed Body,\u201d cyberpunk has continually been identified as a \u201cgenre best known for its rejection of embodiment and embrace of an existence in cyberspace.\u201d Based on Gibson\u2019s revolutionary novel Neuromancer, I believe this statement to be only partially true when applied to the protagonist Case. A cyberspace cowboy, Case<\/p>\n