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Online Communication
Chapter 10
Pop Culture and
Online Expression
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In this chapter, you will learn:
 Definitions
for popular culture and the artifacts of it;
 The
development of the cyberpunk literary genre;
 The
common themes of cyberpunk literature; and

Films that have demonstrated these themes.
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popular culture:
a system of artifacts that shape our
common understanding of the world
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artifacts:
bits and pieces of human sense-making:
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books
magazines
movies
advertisements
comics
etc.
Literary depictions of technology
American public life may be defined as a
struggle between two objectives:
The machine as a metaphor for industrialization
The garden as a metaphor for work by human hands
cyberpunk:
1980s literary movement whose primary theme
is the blurring distinction between humans and
machines
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The Rise and Fall of Cyberpunk

Mary Shelley & H.G. Wells

Bruce Bethke’s “Cyberpunk”

William Gibson’s “Gernsback Continuum”

Bruce Sterling’s Mirrorshades Anthology

Billy Idol & Johnny Mnemonic
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Themes in Cyberpunk Literature

The Weakness of Human Flesh

The Power of the Wired Corporation

The Pace of Human Life
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futureshock:
feelings of distress or disorientation
resulting from excessive innovation
and social change
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Internet Era Movies

2001: A Space Odyssey
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Tron
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WarGames

Blade Runner

AI: Artificial Intelligence

The Matrix Trilogy
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meta-communication:
communication about communication
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A Brief Review
1. What is popular culture?
2. What are some examples of artifacts?
3. Who influenced the development of cyberpunk?
4. What three themes emerge in cyberpunk literature?
5. What six films illustrate these themes in the
Internet era?