Is ‘Inception’ Cyberpunk?

Posted Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 09:00 pm GMT -4 by 0

I consider ‘Inception’ to be the best cyberpunk film since ‘The Matrix’. It scores an 8.9 out of 10 on IMDB.com, which is a very high score for a major production like this. However, some would argue that ‘Inception’ does not fit within the cyberpunk genre. What follows are reasons it may not fit and my rebuttal to those reasons.

There is no artificial intelligence or virtual reality.

It’s true that there is no AI in the movie, but there is a form of VR. The dream state networks people together in a construct that obeys certain rules, and while shared dreaming is not a computer-generated world, it has enough in common with one for the term “virtual reality” to be appropriate.

The visuals are not cyberpunk enough.

While Cobb and his crew are not running around in full-length black trenchcoats and mirrorshades, there are cyberpunk visuals in the film. The dream networking equipment used to link everyone up has a cyberpunk look to it. When the dream collapses, there are graphics that are reminiscent of a crash in a computer graphics program. After Cobb enters dream limbo near the end of the film, we see the buildings he had constructed with his wife. Some of those buildings remind me of the run-down arcologies in ‘Blade Runner.’

Cobb’s team is working for a corporation. They are part of the system, not rebels trying to compromise the system.

For many cyberpunk fans, the “punkness” of the main characters is the determining factor to bestow the cyberpunk label or not. Are the characters rebel enough or outcast enough to function as radical anti-heroes? Yes, Cobb’s team is working for Saito, the head of a major corporation, but this entity is trying to stop a much larger corporation from taking monopolistic control, an organization built by Maurice Fischer. Each of Cobb’s team members has their own personal reasons for taking the job, but the one thing that drives them more than other motives is the question: “Can Inception be accomplished?” This is similar to the quest of computer hackers who could be called true believers. These hackers don’t do it for money, fame, or hatred. They hack because they want to know if something risky and highly difficult can be done, and that is a primary trait of many cyberpunk characters.

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  • http://twitter.com/olsenjaynelson olsen jay nelson

    Thanks for the post Josh.  It’s definitely one of the best, but it’s not cyberpunk. Maybe it’s subversive ‘cybercorp’ … or something.  They are outsiders, though, due to their experiences on the inside; it dramatically changes them, which makes them interested in the question, as you say.

    • http://twitter.com/JoshKEvans JKE

      I would rather keep the cyberpunk label as broad as possible, though I respect those people who prefer a more targeted definition. If I had to choose an alternate label, it wouldn’t be cybercorp. Datapunk, infopunk, or even biopunk (considering dreams are created by the brain) might be appropriate.

  • http://twitter.com/fernanhugo fernando hugo rodrig

    It is an interesting question, which can be amplified: can a film be of a certain genre when its aesthetics proves the opposite? Inception shows some moments when it could be argued that even costumes or locations are choosen to convey a certain vision of a “older” society (in the hotel, at times, we could be in the fifties). I still haven´t seen In Time (not released yet here, in Spain), but I read some reviews wihch may point to the same intention: a certain anachronic ambience. As if the society (and time) portrayed were not really the present or a near future either.

    So, again, which one weighs more, the concept (the plot, the “what”) or the aesthetic expression of it (the locations, costumes, special effects-or the lack of them-, the “how”)? Which one, to determine if a film belongs really to the science fiction genre?

    On the other hand, in what is my personal view, Inception fails in what is, coincidence or not, the same problem of much of science fiction (in literature, too): the excess of explanation, and not precisely by showing but by telling.

    • http://twitter.com/JoshKEvans JKE

      ‘Gattaca’ is a good example of a futuristic movie that has anachronistic elements, though since it has no AI/VR or even androids like in ‘Blade Runner’, it definitely isn’t cyberpunk. Does it qualify as biopunk? Probably not. There is not enough of a “punk” element; no quirky but cool team members like in the ‘Inception’ film, criminals with honor and some empathy who attempt to break the stereotype of criminality.

      I disagree that ‘Inception’ tells too much, rather than shows. The film strikes a good balance, considering the subject matter is difficult to understand and the plot is not simple at all.

      • http://twitter.com/fernanhugo fernando hugo rodrig

        Well, I wasn´t talking about cyberpunk precisely, but science fiction in general. Anyway, I consider Inception an interesting movie, with a great concept but a poor development. It´s been a long time since I felt so overwhelmed by so much talking, and some of the metaphors used are kind of… Well, never mind. It is just my opinion.

        I find much more interesting the debate about what is science fiction (or cyberpunk if you want to be that specific), concepts or aesthetics. Is Alien science fiction or is it terror? Is Back to the future science fiction? I was talking about how the ideas are expressed on images. Maybe the point is that the debate is obsolete, I don´t know, and perhaps nowadays in science fiction, also in literature, classifyng is not anymore that important. I don´t know; I just find it usefuel, the debate.

        • http://twitter.com/JoshKEvans JKE

          Separating science fiction into genres can be important because there are plenty of fans who prefer one genre of science fiction more than the others. Classification allow these fans to locate their preferred genres more easily. BTW, the term “sub-genre” annoys me, so I rarely use it. When using the proper context, it is easy to understand my meaning.

          • http://twitter.com/fernanhugo fernando hugo rodrig

            But the genre fans would read reviews or news on what a certain book is about before buying it, or wouldn´t they? I mean, if you are into science fiction, I´m guessing you prefer to know what you are gonna buy beforehand; the most you like a genre, the most demmanding reader you are. Or so I thought. Maybe reading habits have changed. Anyway, it seems complicated this classification since, like in movies, genre mixing is quite common. On the other hand, and that´s just me, at the end of the day what matters on my decision to buy a science fiction book is it has good reviews or not. And after I read it, what matters to me it is if it is good or not.