Follow-up questions - and what are all these other "-punks" - biopunk, steampunk, solarpunk, etc? Why are they all called -punk? And what is post-cyberpunk?
Follow-up questions - and what are all these other "-punks" - biopunk, steampunk, solarpunk, etc? Why are they all called -punk? And what is post-cyberpunk?
Post-cyberpunk is a 1990s literary reaction to cyberpunk, specifically its distrust of collective action, institutions, technology, and optimism for the future, while maintaining a leftward slant. It's kind of noblebright-cyberpunk, where people overthrow the corporations and build socialism or at least social democracy.
Stephenson's The Diamond Age is considered the initial spark of the movement. The Culture is New Space Opera but has Post-Cyberpunk Themes. Ken MacLeod's Fall Revolution Quartet as well straddles both. Ghost in the Shell is broadly post-cyberpunk in that it shows functioning institutions even under immense pressure from tech change.
Basically, imagine if all the cool cyberpunk tech happened but was used by a socialist society. Solarpunk is an offshoot.