Johnny Mnemonic

One of the main reasons science fiction is such a unique genre is its many sub-genres. Of these, one of my personal favorites is cyber punk. Cyber punk stories are generally about high tech societies in which our protagonist rebels against a government or large corporation. This subgenre lends itself to visual aesthetics very well, and gives us classic films like Terminator and Blade Runner. The fusion of humans and technology inspires many great cyber punk stories, and allows the development of fascinating characters.

One classic cyber punk character is Johnny Mnemonic. Johnny is a human that received a cybernetic enhancement that allows him to store data inside his brain; basically he’s a walking flash drive. Johnny uses this feature to transport secret data that cannot be risked being hacked out of a computer. In the story, the audience is exposed to the gritty underground world of a high tech future. Organized crime still exists and they take advantage of the new technology.  This makes the story more accessible to the audience. A high tech, Utopian future is not a concept that most are familiar with, but a poor person struggling to survive in a harsh society is. It is easier to connect with Johnny, who is using this technology to make money for himself, than it is to connect with most sci-fi heroes who are brave space captains fighting aliens and whatnot. This could be why Johnny Mnemonic, and the whole cyber punk subgenre, is as successful as it is. It may take place in a high tech future, but it’s not too different than the world of today.