Necrocapsule created for the dystopian book "Tau", by Tiago Andrade (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CB6W8SDC)
Biopunk is considered a subgenre of Cyberpunk, with more of a focus on biotechnology than the focus on information technology that Cyberpunk focuses on. Biopunk stories tend to focus more on genetic engineering, biohacking, bio-tech mega-corporations, and oppressive government agencies focused on manipulating human DNA.
Visuals[]
Visually, Biopunk shares a lot of similarities with Cyberpunk, but with more of a focus on genetics as opposed to technology, so while the color schemes of Biopunk and Cyberpunk are very similar, there's more DNA, chromosomes, gene-splicing, and biotechnology themes involved with Biopunk.
Fashion[]
As the aesthetic itself stems from Cyberpunk, so is the fashion surrounding Biopunk. They share Darkwear and Techwear inspiration, with Biopunk putting an emphasis on practical, scientific outfits.
This can include:
- Black outfits with neon accent colors
- Lab or trench coats
- Futuristic glasses, eyewear, or masks
- Body modifications
- Cargo pants
- Belts, buckles and pockets
Works[]
Biopunk typically utilizes the written word, but there are physical examples that exist, especially in movies (Super Mario Brothers movie, Pokemon: The First Movie, Repo Men, Gattaca, and even the Cyberpunk classic Blade Runner and its sequel), anime (Akira, Elfen Lied, Neon Genesis Evangelion, even the Haruhi Suzumiya series' hint at this thanks to the character of Mikuru Asahina), television (Orphan Black and its Japanese remake in lesser extent), video games (Bioshock, Half-Life, Parasite Eve, Panzer Dragoon, Prototype, and Resident Evil), and haunted houses (Silo X).
While they are not called biopunk media in China, some Chinese cultivation novels can count as examples of the genre by some definitions. Some, like Dragon Talisman, Five Frozen Centuries, Low Dimensional Game, Desolate Era, and the Ergenverse revolve around modification of the body to become extremely powerful, only through supernatural means instead of technological ones. These novels, unlike other cultivation novels, treat the process almost like upgrading a computer and giving it new types of data to process or as a thing which makes cultivators more intelligent than computers and AI characters, depending on the series. This type of novel typically has the main character become an extremely powerful being that assimilates entire universes into their body or controls various universes in another way in a highly fictionalized version of Taoist beliefs on becoming immortal, and sometimes uses qi or magic as a narrative replacement for technology (and many cultivation novels have their own version of technobabble with one or more of these energies, though the narrator tends to do most of the babbling). Sometimes, technology is shown to exist on "levels" and be supernaturally powerful even beyond most soft sci-fi settings.
Some Chinese fanfiction series, such as The Blue and White, have similar themes.
Cultivation novels inspired the "Heavens are Infinite" genre, a type of LitRPG where the main character typically traverses through at least several universes to complete tasks, and this genre, in turn, inspired series like The Blue and White.
Shows and movies[]
- Repo! The Genetic Opera
- Stranger Things
- Jurassic Park series
- The Island
- BNA
- Elfen Lied
- Sweet Tooth
- Planet of the Apes
- Danny Phantom
- The Island of Dr. Moreau
- Rick and Morty
- Gattaca
- The Seed of Juna
Games[]
- ARMS
- Resident Evil series
- Bioshock series
- Cruelty Squad
- Half-Life series
- Control
- Metroid game series
- Bayonetta 3
- Biomutant
- No Man's Sky
- High in Life
- Scorn
- SiN
- Astropulse: Reincarnation
- Nazralath: The Fallen World
- Necrophosis
Webfiction[]
- Orion's Arm
- Homestuck
- Parahumans
Music[]
Spotify[]
- Biopunk Mix (Spotify Niche Mix)
Grinders[]
Grinders are people who apply the hacker ethic to improve their own bodies with do it yourself cybernetic devices or introducing Biochemicals into the body to enhance or change their bodies' functionality. Many grinders identify with the biopunk movement, open-source transhumanism, and techno-progressivism.
Gallery[]
