[Movie] I think Elysium is the best example of a cyberpunk movie that doesn't rely on the 80s aesthetic
[Movie] I think Elysium is the best example of a cyberpunk movie that doesn't rely on the 80s aesthetic
Elysium hits all the themes of a cyberpunk movie. It has high-tech low-lifes, it has corporations in total control, it has a massive inequality gap, it has technology leading to dehumanization. But what it doesn't have, is neon-lit rainy streets at night.
Cyberpunk as a genre has themes that don't rely on visuals and yet so many cyberpunk stories use the 80s aesthetic as a short-hand for "cyberpunk". I think this makes the cyberpunk "look" feel dated even though its themes aren't actually stuck in the 80s.
This video does a great job of breaking down where cyberpunk came from. It was a product of the 1980s. Specifically (in America), the cultural fears of rising crime rates, removing regulations on corporations, and the rising influence of Japan. These were things people worried about in the 1980s and cyberpunk was able to tap into those fears by taking them to the extreme. And while some of those fears were well-founded (removing regulations on corporations), not all aspects of them remained timeless.
Elysium replaces the cultural fears of the 1980s with the cultural fears of the 2010s. Climate change, access to health care, increasing wealth gap. These things are now taken to the extreme while still following the cyberpunk template. I wish more stories were able to separate the 1980s aesthetic from the themes of cyberpunk. The themes of the genre are still relevant today even if the "look" has become dated.
If you haven't seen it, here's a trailer. And it's currently streaming on Netflix.
Upload from Greg Daniels on Prime has been great with this too, and manages to maintain the humor despite the storyline becoming more and more grim and dystopic.
Also the Total Recall remake with Colin Farrell, Peripheral, based on a Willam Gibson novel, and Westworld all fit this as well.
30I mentioned this recently, but I'm very pleasantly surprised by how Upload has been leaning more and more into cyberpunk and away from romantic comedy. I enjoyed season 3 more than I was expecting.
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Have you seen any of the new The Peripheral series? It’s a great adaptation of the Gibson novel and again, not at all 80’s.
18Yes, I'm still disappointed they cancelled it after one season. Apparently it got renewed for a second season but then they changed their mind and cancelled it before it started filming.
I agree though, the updated take on cyberpunk with ubiquitous 3d printing set in a rural area was a great idea. Also, I liked how the "apocalypse" in the future was no single event but just a slow march of bad things one after another. Gibson always has great ideas.
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I really didn't like this movie. I usually have a really good suspension of disbelief, but this one violated reality far too much for me to keep caring about the story and not wonder things like:
- how do you intercept data wirelessly when it's transmitted over cable?
- what were they doing with all the robots? They were making so many, but they weren't being used for manual labor at all?
- why didn't they use the robots for manual labor when it's gotta be cheaper than human labor, it doesn't make sense. Even if you abuse the humans and don't pay them, they need food and shelter to not just die.
I watched this movie in theaters and still remember how much I disliked it.
13I won't argue whether it's a good movie, I only wanted to say that it was cyberpunk. For example, having his parole officer be a robot I think represented how the robots had more rights than the people (technology leading to dehumanization) even if it didn't make logical sense for a robot to do that job. Also, magical healing booths that can cure literally every ailment within seconds through non-invasive shiny light. I can see how suspension of disbelief could get stretched thin.
12I felt that way too, also there was no reason for Elysium to not have healing pods in hospitals/ambulances on earth, as the tech was shown to be EXTREMELY easy to deploy. Even if they were being greedy jerks, rich people clearly still have to go to planetside. The CEO guy wouldn't have died if there was a local flying magic fix-all that zipped in to revive him, which the station later shows that it can do! They have to make them on earth already since the station doesn't have factories. Whole thing was just plot holes on top of plot holes.
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I just watched it and totally agree. Not only the right aesthetic, but the central topics of the 21st century. Although I felt the political message was somewhat subdued in favor of the action. Really enjoyed it! Thanks for the recommendation.
12Never seen it OP, but thanks for the post! I have it on the RAID array, guess I'll spin it up.
It's wild how so much cyberpunk came true, and continues to do so. For young people, it's just how it is. For us GenXers, it was a prophecy.
11where cyberpunk came from. It was a product of the 1980s. Specifically (in America), the cultural fears of rising crime rates, removing regulations on corporations, and the rising influence of Japan.
Robocop! It strange that it's never hailed as cyberpunk because it hits all those notes.
11Matt Damon died to give the world health care.
7Is Johnny Mnemonic just a bad example of cyberpunk? 🤔
Or is just that the 90's looks too similar to the 80's and things made in the 90's still look like the 90's? Cuz Ghost in the Shell also would fit in with Elysium.
5Johnny Mnemonic (and Ghost in the Shell) was still all neon-lit cities at night. My point was more that Elysium goes in the opposite direction by having a dry, arid world in the daylight while still fitting in cyberpunk themes.
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Watched the trailer
Being set in 2153 kinda breaks teh trope of cyberpunk being "near future".
I'm also not seeeign too much of a hi-tech lo-life, but I'll trust you on that.
The themes of the genre are still relevant today even if the “look” has become dated. Why do you think the look is dated? Look at any major east asian city (which the aesthetic was originally based on). It matches pretty well.
That said, a different look could be interesting. I might watch it
4I've not seen it for a few years but I remember it being an alright film but a pretty cool example of cyberpunk "during the day". Don't go in expecting it to be as good as District 9 and you should enjoy!
3You'll see hi tech, low life for sure.
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Thanks for the hint. For an action movie made to appeal to the masses, I found it to be pretty solid cyberpunk-sci-fi. Sure the universe is not super deeply thought through but that was obviously not the main point of the movie anyway. The message is anti capitalist enough, so I won´t complain.
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