Postmodern Elements in the Cyberpunk Novel: A Study of The Matrix
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Abstract
Postmodernism finds its best expression in fiction more specifically cyberpunk novel, rather than in any other literary form. Cyberpunk is a particular kind of science fiction set in futuristic societies and exploring the interface between humans and technology. The cyberpunk novel emerged as an important genre in the second half of the twentieth century, coinciding with the rise of postmodernism. The cyberpunk novel gained importance with the publication of Neuromancer in 1984. The cyberpunk novel emerged in response to the social theories and technological developments of the latter half of the twentieth century; therefore the new techno-social-economic environment created during this time forms the major concern of the cyberpunk novel. The Matrix is set around AD 2199, while the characters in it are made to believe that they live in 1999. Philosophy and cinema intersect when, in one of the opening scenes, Neo is shown holding a copy of Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation, which reveals the film’s central concept.
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References
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