William Gibson and Cyberpunk–Group 3

The slides for today bring up theories of post-humanism that emerge in the late-twentieth century and the ways that some cyborg characters in Gibson’s fiction demonstrate the potential for human re-definition and rebellion. How do you see Johnny himself at the end of the story?  Is he yearning for pre-cyborg humanity or embracing the fusion of flesh and technology in his own body? Is he a figure who imagines new kinds of selfhood and political resistance, or someone who yearns nostalgically for a purer mode of human life?

6 thoughts on “William Gibson and Cyberpunk–Group 3

  1. Jasmine Chau

    I think by the end of the story Johhny sees himself as human or maybe a Lo Tek now. Is it more human to have animalistic features in cyborg society? I see personally found him more human by the end of the story. Like everyone else has mentioned Johnny was just a body used to house technology. He didn’t have his own autonomy or control over his body due to the implant in his brain that allowed him to house information. So, he was constantly in danger and could not do anything to protect himself. He was basically a glorified network server hosting any information for anyone who would pay. I honestly believe that Johnny yearns for a pre-cyborg society. He carries around a modified rifle instead of getting a weapon implant, like molly or the assassin. He honestly seems kind of disturbed by some of the cyborgs, for example, “Muscle-boys scattered through the crowd were flexing stock parts at one another and trying on this, cold grins, some of them so lost under superstructures of muscle graft that their outlines weren’t really human” and “He rose out of the water, showing us the crusted plates along his sides, a kind of visual pun, his grace nearly lost under articulated armor, clumsy and prehistoric. Twin deformities on either side of his skull had been engineered to house sensor units.” I thought Johhny came off as judgemental about the modifications done. Especially since he modifies himself after becoming a Low Tek. based on his description of himself he is not heavily modified outside of his brain. Until he becomes a Low Tek and modifies his teeth and face. So to me, he comes off as an outsider in his cyborg community. Although I don’t find him a political figure, he is just trying to survive. The selling of information stored in his brain is just a means to make money and not to create change. He seems content to live underground for the rest of his life and sees a simple life for himself after he removes his implants.

  2. Eli Biletch

    Throughout the story, to me, it seems like Johnny is both accepting and a bit unwilling to use his body as storage space for criminal organizations. The writing presents him seeing it mainly from a utilitarian perspective as a way to make money in order to survive and thrive independently in the world of the story, but he seems a bit resentful about others abusing this power and treating him like a feelingless dump for data: “sure I am, Ralfi, a nice meatball chock-full of implants where you can store your dirty laundry while you go off shopping for people to kill me”. When he explains the mechanism of the chip to Molly, he seems rather unenthused, “I reeled off a numb version of my standard sales pitch,” as if it’s just going through the motions to make some cash.

    By the end of the story, though, I think Johnny longs for a day in which he doesn’t have to be treated like a memory unit in order to make money. While he clearly values the freedom and cash of his daily life with the Lo Teks, there are hints in which it is clear that Johnny is tired of others using his body: “it came to me that I had no idea all of what was really happening, or of what was supposed to happen. And that was the nature of my game, because I’d spent most of my life as a blind receptacle to be filled with other people’s knowledge and then drained, spouting synthetic languages I’d never understand. A very technical boy. Sure” (18). Even though he feels this way underneath his thick skin, he relies on reminding himself of the money he is making and the friends he has in order to keep going. It’s a matter of necessity. Survival. Not so much how he feels. One thing that makes it more bearable for him at the end of the story is the fact that he now has the power to understand the messages, so he feels less used and can understand more about his clients.

  3. Erick Felix

    I agree with everyone, Johnny seems to have different opinions of who he is. I think that the reason the story goes from being in a high tech environment to, well, a Low Tek one is important to the development of Johnny. When we first encounter him Johnny sees himself as technical or pure machine. He is after all built for the purpose of carrying sensitive information. However, it is through parts like when he sees the two dogs or when he first meets Molly Millions that he begins to unravel his own cyborg traits. I think that toward the end of the story Johnny starts to view himself as a figure who embraces both his flesh and technology side. In the end he reveals to us that upon arriving to the Low Tek area he saw how hollow he was and we see this in his description of the dogs, Molly, and the dolphin cyborg, but at the same time the ending sentence indicates that he is fine with his technological side. As a result he becomes a figure who accepts his two sides and understands the limitations of both.

  4. Adam Guo

    Throughout the story, given that Johnny operates in a dangerous profession transporting sensitive information and data, Johnny seems to always be in fear of his life and always live with eyes over his shoulders. This can be seen throughout the story, such as when he brings his shotgun to meet Raffi or when he tries to escape the Yakuza assassin. Johnny also does not have the ability to retrieve any of the information that is stored in his head, so even if he were to want to get rid of the information in his head, he would not have the ability to do so. It seems as if he is only a cyborg like man whose only purpose in life is to help others transfer data. In this sense, he yearns for pre-cyborg humanity.

    By the end of the story however, I see Johnny as appreciating and embracing the fusion of flesh and technology in his own body. By blackmailing people of the memories that he has and having the ability to retrieve the data from his head through the help from Jones, Johnny is able to create a newfound identity, making money while not being fearful, and is something that he can value and appreciate. This being said though, by living with the Lo Teks, Johnny seems to want the pre-cyborg humanity but appreciates and takes advantage of the fact that he can make money through this fusion of technology with his flesh. Relating this idea back to the slides for this week, technology that fuses with flesh seem to have the potential to benefit both the powerful as well as create opportunities for people worldwide. While the powerful could take advantage of this fusion of technology of flesh by creating further inequities, other opportunities, like the one Johnny was able to create, can be made to benefit those that are less wealthy and more susceptible to inequities and injustices. Hybrid fusions like Molly with her blades and her attack on the Yakuza also confirm this idea.

  5. Benton Barry

    I think that Johnny has moments in the story where he likes his enhanced body and when he does not like it. He is able to use his mind to his advantage and makes a good living off of transporting data for wealthy people who do not want their secrets revealed. However, it is a dangerous profession as Ralfi placed a bounty on him, so Johnny carries around a sawed-off shotgun for protection. Likewise, a Yakuza assassin is also ready to kill Johnny so the reward of money is starting to not seem worth the risk of data transportation. At this point, Johnny wants the data out of his head so he can be safe from assassins and not have to worry about getting killed. I don’t really see Johnny as somebody who absolutely loves the fusion with technology or as somebody who yearns for the past and a more human way of life. I see him as a business man and an opportunist. Johnny is a smart guy and can make alliances with powerful people. He also knows how to use the data for his personal gain in the beginning and the end of the story. Although in the beginning Johnny simply transports data, at the end of the story he is able to blackmail former clients with it. Overall, I think Johnny is very adaptable to change and can do with or without the fusion of machine and human. He is a survivor.

  6. Austin Cashwell

    I see Johnny as a chameleon who transforms to his environment. There is no yearning for a simpler past or an acknowledged acceptance of the fusion of technology into his body; he is merely living in his present without judging or thinking about the ethical implications since his moral compass is just surviving. The modifying his brain into a storage locker was not motivated by any grand ideals, but the pragmatic approach of earning money to survive. His donning of canine teeth is not a symbol of his newfound resistance to big corporations but the extent he will go to to gain protection and blend into his new community. In this world Johnny is an animal who values self preservation above all.

    Yes, Johnny’s portrayal critiques the system that stole his humanity, but in my eyes, the noble idea of this resistance is also ridiculed. The Lo Teks claim to have removed themselves from society that does not value them by hiding in this area, but they still actively participate and uphold this structure as seen by Johnny, Molly, and Jones selling of information for money making them no different from the Yakuza. They may have embraced the fusion of flesh and technology, but functionally, their goals are still the same. Until Gibson shows a world where cyborgs lead to a functionally different purpose of humanity, the concern of fusing man with machine is not a real concern.

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