A Study On The Visual Communication Of The Image Of The City In Cyberpunk Films

As a subgenre of science fiction films,cyberpunk films are an important part of the world’s cinematic history that cannot be ignored.Since its inception,cyberpunk films have been recognized by the film market for their superior visual effects and visual spectacle.The city in the film is not only the location and background of the storyline,but also its visual symbols give it a unique imagery,a subtle combination of art and technology,which deserves a more in-depth study.Therefore,this study takes the image of city in cyberpunk films as the research object,visual communication as the main research scope,visual symbols as the core research perspective,relying on Kevin Lynch’s The Image of City Theory,and using three methods: literature research,content analysis,and in-depth interviews.This study is divided into five main chapters.The first chapter provides an in-depth discussion on the definitions,characteristics and connotations of visual communication,visual symbols,cyberpunk films and the image of city,laying a theoretical foundation for the study.The second chapter examines the development trend and characteristics of visual communication of the image of city in cyberpunk films,and finds that with the development of visual and communication technologies,the image of city in cyberpunk films has gradually explored a unique set of visual effects and visual styles,with spectacle,technology and conflict as its main visual communication characteristics.In the third chapter,the visual symbols of the image of city in cyberpunk films are studied.In the part of presentation,the five visual symbols of Path,Edge,District,Node and Landmark present three-dimensional traffic,water and skyline,oriental imagery,ghetto streets,megastructure and neon advertisements.In the presentation part,on the one hand,the filmmakers selectively present the realistic scenes,and on the other hand,the cyberpunk films culturally appropriated the oriental symbols in the portrayal of the urban scenes,making them subordinate to the Western values.The fourth chapter decodes the visual symbolization of the the image of city and finds that the cyber city maps the "anti-utopian" image,with its giant buildings symbolizing the supremacy of power,urban segregation shaping the class dichotomy,and the urban environment creating an atmosphere of confusion between reality and fiction.Finally,The fifth chapter explores the visual communication value of the image of city in cyberpunk films,arguing that the aesthetic of the virtual city is replacing reality,that advances in urban visuals are driving the development of the film industry,and that the image of city serves as a source of inspiration for the spread of cyberpunk culture.Based on a multidisciplinary intersection,this study combines a large number of cyberpunk film texts to examine the visual communication of the image of city in cyberpunk films from theory to practice in depth,providing useful references for the development of related film industries in China.