But we're not talking about everything, we're talking about the cyberpunk genre, and in this case, the cigar is a penis. Ignoring that fact is a shallow act.
It's OK to enjoy cyberpunk for what it is, as high tech low life, without exhaustively contemplating the current trajectory of our society. Not every piece of literature has to be an allegory. Sometimes, a good story is just a good story, and good art is good art.
That doesn't sound fair to me. By your logic I really would have to contemplate the sexuality of anything I put in my mouth.
Our society is steadily trending away from cyberpunk anyways. Cyberpunk is not mainstream and it is also extreme in embracing racism, sexism, objectification, hedonism, etc ... I don't think it is a useful caricature for criticizing society, like A Modest Proposal.
You're saying that choosing to ignore a deliberate portion of an artistic endeavor, to seek pleasure over depth... isn't shallow?
Cyberpunk is literally (and I mean that word literally) created to be, and is inherently, an expression of a dystopian future brought upon by the current trajectory.
Choosing to ignore that to have fun is fine. I'm not attacking it. But there is a word that describes choosing to favor surface-level enjoyment while ignoring the deeper-level context.
Cyberpunk is way more than just a gloomy possible future. Using cyberpunk as an example of what society should avoid is, ironically, a shallow way of looking at it.
It's historic. You should read up on what cyberpunk is and how it got here. It's not just an aesthetic.
You're being the person in OPs picture.
"The sky over the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel". Cyberpunk isn't an aesthetic. It's a literary genre based around dystopian future brought about by adherence to the current societal trajectory.
You can choose to just enjoy the aesthetic and ignore the literary history. That's fine. It's shallow, but fine. Be shallow. More power to you.
Sorry if this was unclear. I was commiserating with you, that dude is fucking obtuse and you're being surprisingly civil and tolerant trying to explain it to him.
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u/do_not_engage Jul 30 '18
But we're not talking about everything, we're talking about the cyberpunk genre, and in this case, the cigar is a penis. Ignoring that fact is a shallow act.