Apathy and Addiction in William Gibsons Neuromancer Essay -- Neuroman

Apathy and Addiction in Neuromancer In the postmodern human beings of William Gibsons Neuromancer, nature is dead, and the world is run by the logic of the corporate machine. Confronted by a reality that is stark, barren, and metallic, and the hopelessness that this reality engenders, the postmodern protagonist, like Case, a great deal immerses himself or herself in an alternate skeletal system of reality that is offered in the form of addiction (to virtual reality or drugs, for example), addictions that be made manageable by the same society that makes an escape desirable. Such addictions are analytic products of the post-modern capitalist society because they perpetuate the steadfast power of the corporation by lay offing would-be dissidents an escape from reality, thereby preventing successful rebellion and maintaining the pervasive social apathy necessary to allow the corporation to dominate undeterred. Case, as the habit-forming anti-hero, is a product of this stifling cycle of apathy. Lacking the motivation or drive to instigate any true change in his reality, he avoids the unpleasant realities of his world by entering into the altered reality of addiction. In the reality of the postmodern world, where nature is gone and has been replaced by technology, where the world and earthly concern have become fused with the machine, and the existence of morality and reality are uncertain, it is difficult to find hope for a better existence or motivation to attempt to change ones existence. Addiction then becomes a crystal clear avenue of escape from these bleak circumstances--not affecting reality, but transforming it into something bearable. The addictions that Case turns to allow him to escape from the hard reality of his life th... ...e fictionalisation, and Some Comics. Hanover, NH Wesleyan UP, 1994. Gibson, William. Neuromancer. smart York Ace-Berkeley, 1984. ---. Interview with Larry McCaffrey. Storming the populace S tudio. Larry McCaffrey, ed. Durham, NC Duke UP, 1992. 263-285. Grant, Glenn. Transcendence Through Detournement in William Gibsons Neuromancer. Science Fiction Studies. 17 (1990). 41-49. Hollinger, Veronica. Cybernetic Deconstruction. Storming the Reality Studio. Larry McCaffrey, ed. Durham, NC Duke UP, 1992. Jameson, Frederick. Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of latish Capitalism New Left Review. 146 (July-August 1984) Rpt in Storming the Reality Studio. Larry McCaffrey, ed. Durham, NC Duke UP, 1992. Slusser, George. Literary MTV. Storming the Reality Studio. Larry McCaffrey, ed. Durham, NC Duke UP, 1992.