RoboCop (1987) • 30 Years Later

In a dystopian near-future Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the police force as a cyborg haunted by memories of his human life before…

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written by Remy Dean.

The term ‘cyberpunk’ was coined by Timothy Leary, who used it when referring to science fiction author William Gibson. The art-rock band Sonic Youth later claimed it to describe their brand of bubblegum noise assault… but the word was first used by mainstream media to describe Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop (1987), an unexpected hit that came to define the emergent genre. The thematic core of cyberpunk is the spirit of the individual, almost entirely swamped by the artifice of an automated society, winning through against the evils of a dominant elite.

Although the defining elements of the genre include graphic violence, a disregard for the sensibilities of the genteel conservative, and a fascination with futuristic high-tech hardware, there must always be an underlying commentary on society. Cyberpunk took form as a response to the rampant Reaganomics and Thatcherism of the 1980s, and today, with the rise of domestic fascism and with an ex-reality show host in the White House, in place of an ex-actor, it seems just as pertinent.