M3GAN-A seminal Cyberprep Movie or Neo-Cyberpunk Movie

I have only watched clips of M3GAN but the plot is quite familar to me. It is the story of a robot going aganist its servitude and becoming self-aware and how conflict begins here. However, M3GAN has something unique which is it is the encapsulation of a style or sensiblity. It is known as Cyberprep. While there is a clothing style known as Cyberprep, I am talking about a subgenre of Cyberpunk here. To some, Cyberprep is Captialism’s attempt to subvert the Cyberpunk genre, which seeks to create a digital space that is more about cooperatives and the sharing of information for the furthering of human knowledge instead of refining consumerism in global capitalism in our culture. Cyberprep is some sense is the sanitization of cyberpunk and acknowledgment of regression in styles.

Some people in the more left-wing circles have been trying to make M3GAN into a icon of identity politics, the truth is simplier. M3GAN is a movie about transition of styles in America.

Previously, such movies had distinct style which harkened back to two styles I will describe here. While there are offshoots and every movie is different, there are two types in my opinion.

1. Cyberpunk Classic(Japan)

This is the Cyberpunk which everyone knows. It is the one with the Neon lights and the Japanese characters. This is what people think of when they think about Cyberpunk. In the 1980s, it was at its height in media. It is generally an extension of the rebel culture of the 1960s. It is about embracing one’s individuality online. It had an eye on the up-and-coming growing Japan. The Asian country, already with rich tradition of automata in its ancient times during the Heian and Tokugawa eras, was becoming a focal point of what people though the future was going to be. Japanese society, which conformity but also innovation, allowed for a consistency in style. Rural Japan and Urban Japan had their differences, but they tended to be on the same wavelength culturally. In America, the gap is larger between the city and country. While the radio would start the process of closing such gaps, it remains wider than in places such as in Japan.

2. 1990s Internet Chic

This is a refinement of Cyberpunk and the sensibility is more corporate. The internet in its beginning was a computer system known as Aparnet. It was more for scientific purposes and the military, a result of the need to share knowledge during the Cold War. The internet would then go into a transition phase into becoming more commercial as time went on.

By the beginning of the World Wide Web, Hypertext Markup Language(HTML) had become standard and was remaking the nature of internet networks.

With the rise of websites, the internet merged with Cyberpunk but it was no longer about the clunky hardware. While CRT computers were reigning on the throne, the nature of connectivity was no longer about putting on bulky VR headsets. It was now something was contained within a cyberspace. This cyberspace was not navigated with hardware but was hitching a ride on copper wires that were venerable veterans in telecommunications.

M3GAN represents an updating of the 2nd style here.

Generally speaking, M3GAN and its themes are focused on the upper middle-class experience. While some people may say that the robot is not realistic, I think that it makes a lot of sense here. M3GAN is a product of a brilliant if awkward mind. Gemma is genius but held back by the Capitalist system. M3GAN is a representative of Cyberprep.

M3GAN clothing is a throwback to the 1980s Corporate woman, who would often wear clothes in that style. Indeed, such a robot has a fashion sense which is more sophisticated than most Americans now. I would even say that she is reminiscent of a small girl in the body of an upper middle-class woman in 1940s America.

M3GAN is representative of a capitalist system which is starting to fortify in its enclaves. There is no interest in helping the average person even understand what they are getting into. Cyberprep is the Cyberpunk without the edge. The elite of today in places such as Seattle is not interested in guiding mankind towards greatness; it is more about their own people.

M3GAN is really about the palace battles in the corporate halls. To the people farming shimp on the Bayou, M3GAN seems like something out of a Middle Eastern Fantasy story with flying carpets.

M3GAN is true Cyberprep cinema

Why Civilization VIII is going to be made quickly in comparison to the previous games.

With the release of Civilization VII floundering and clearly showing signs of failure, it is clear that Civilization VIII is going to replace it. The gap between Civilization VI and Civilization VII’s releases was 8 years. In comparison, previous Civilization games tended to be released 4 to 5 years apart. The gap between the releases of VI and VII is one of the reasons why VII was as successful as VI.

To elaborate on this, one has to understand that Firaxis was continuing to refine Civilization VI. Instead of making a sequel that was able to come out more quickly, they instead decided to spend time on entrenching it into the minds of gamers. This meant that if Civilization VII was not up to par, Civilization VI would serve as backup for many gamers. This is clearly what you are seeing now.

Civilization VII will need to be made quickly in order for the Civilization games to have any serious reputation amongst gamers. While the older games can still provide a great reputation for the series, the new game is so pedestrian in its appeal, I believe that the games will need a reboot in order remove the stain of Civilization VII. Even if people who support the game may not like it, they have to understand Civilization VII is at worst a detour which damaged the credibility of the series. It’s time for a fresh start and I think it would come sooner than one thinks with this game.

Empire Earth (2001) is a special game

There are not many games similar to Empire Earth. The ability to have a civilization that is going to be able stand the test of time is a truly gratifying experience.

I will say that after spending many years not playing it, the game still holds up as an exceptional game. I think it represents something we haven’t seen in the industry in ages. The video game has a competency in it which is missing in Civilization VII. That idea of someone putting effort into a game and having a great product is being replaced by people making poor quality things on an assembly line of code.

To just emphasize the differences between the games. Just look at the way in which maps are made in Empire Earth vs Civilization VII. While Empire Earth is not a 4X game, it does have some similarities here. What I want to emphasize is that the map generation in the game is much better than that of Civilization VII.

The maps actually look like actual continents.

Civilization VII sacrificed single player for a stale multiplayer experience.

Empire Earth belongs to a time when the industry was in a state of transition. However, there were still many of the old greats working away and it shows in this game. It was grown up but not yet lethargic and nostalgic for the past.

Civilization VII is stuck in the past. Empire Earth was using the past and present to tell a story in the future. It is a game that transcends its video game nature and provides a soundtrack to mankind.

While some may say this is overly idealistic and that it is simply a game, I disagree with this sentiment here. No video game is simply product of recreation. It is art.