Cyberpunk is a genre of literature that is set in the near dystopian future that contemplates technological advancements and how they affect society. Cyberpunk’s vision has evolved with the media landscape and is still prevalent as a sub-genre throughout these digital environments. This video essay aims to explore these neon-drenched melancholic spaces within. Throughout my video essay I include film/tv clips, video game sequences, GIFs, ambient score and quotes from Cyberpunk literature to conceptualize these digital spaces. Cyberpunk’s contemporary vivid audiovisual aesthetics form an alluring, ethereal space to contemplate virtual identity. The remediation of these digital spaces form an assemblage of digital identity through the influence of technology, the movement and constant state of flux of these environments are interconnected within the terminal identity of the embodiment of the user. Bio: Jordon J. Jacobson is an M.A. candidate in Cinema Studies at San Francisco State University. He earned a B.A. in History while studying at Washington State University. His areas of research include affect theory, cinematic mood, aesthetic analysis of postmodern noir, genre cinema, media history, digital aesthetics, cinematic memory, and game studies. References: Bolter, Jay David. and Richard Grusin. Remediation: Understanding New Media. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2000. Nakamura, Lisa. Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008. Bucher, Taina. and Anne Helmond. “The Affordances of Social Media Platforms.” In The SAGE Handbook of Social Media, edited by Jean Burgess, Thomas Poell, and Alice Marwick, 233-253. London and New York: SAGE Publications, 2018. "When the Machines Stop: Fantasy, Reality, and Terminal Identity in "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and "Serial Experiments Lain" " -Susan J. Napier “WICKED CITIES Cyberculture and the reimagining of identity in the ‘non-Western’ metropolis” - Gregory B Lee and Sunny S K Lam References: Abbott, Carl. "Cyberpunk Cities: Science Fiction Meets Urban Theory. Journal of Planning Education and Research 27, no. 2 (2007): 122-31. Anno, Hideaki. Neon Genesis Evangelion. Collection 0:4 Collection 0:4. 2000. Tokyo, Japan: Gainax and Netflix. Streaming. Gibson, William. Neuromancer. New York: Ace Science Fiction Books, 1984. Leary, David and Jim Walls. Blade Runner. Computer Software. Las Vegas, NV. Westwood Studios. 1997. Marker, Chris, dir. Sans Soleil. 1983. Paris, France: Argos Films, and Criterion Collection. DVD. Oshii, Mamoru. Ghost in the Shell. 1995. Tokyo, Japan: Shochiku. and Production I.G. DVD. Paco, Jordi de. The Red Strings Club. Computer Software. Valencia, Spain. Devolver Digital. 2018. Pynchon, Thomas. Bleeding Edge. New York: Penguin Press, 2013. Soundtrack: 輕描淡寫, “我昨晚梦见你了,” 2018, track 1 on 小圈子, Bludhoney. Streaming. Diamondstein & Sangam, “I Wish I Had More To Offer” 2017, track 1 on Lullabies For Broken Spirits, Doom Trip Records. Streaming. Helen, “Night City,” 2017, track 4 on 聖域, Self-Publish. Streaming. Sangam x Origami Girl, “Empty Inside,” 2018, track 7 on Empty Inside, Collapsed Structures. Streaming.
