The Past, Present and Future Collide!

In Part 1 of Neuromancer, the story takes place primarily in various locations within Chiba City, Japan during an age of advanced futuristic technologies.  William Gibson provides a lot of rich sensory detail when describing the main character, Chase’s, surroundings.  In one particular passage he writes “Beyond the neon shudder of Ninsei, the sky was that mean shade of gray.  The air had gotten worse; it seemed to have teeth tonight, and half the crowd wore filtration masks.” (Gibson 16).  Passages such as this build up an image similar to the cinematic style of movies such as Sin City and The Spirit.  More specifically, this passage elicits the feeling of watching an old black and white movie with only a few splashes of color due to flickering neon lights and signs.  

When the colors black, white and shades of gray are used, they add an old and nostalgic feel to any media.  This sensation is completely at odds with Neuromancer’s futuristic and high-tech setting which gives off a feel of constant progress and change.  By showing this contrast, Gibson could be suggesting that society is longing to return to a simpler time and a slower pace of life.  This is vastly different than “Night City…a deranged experiment in social Darwinism, designed by a bored researcher who kept one thumb permanently on the fast-forward button” (Gibson 7) that Chase experiences on a daily basis.  Gibson could be commenting on the present state of society, with the growing obsessive concern for self-advancement and startling growing lack of concern for fellow human beings and general well-being.